Make a Diaper Cake
Done well, a diaper cake can be the highlight of a baby shower. Professionals who know this market their creations upwards of $150. Here are my steps to a diaper cake with a few photos to assist you.
Author's note: You can easily use these instructions to create a bridal shower towel cake. See end of this post for how-to.
New baby girl is on the way! My youngest daughter, Amy, is having a baby near the end of August. I'm so pleased to be a grandmother again! To celebrate, I'll be hosting a baby shower for Amy in a few weeks.Thank goodness it's summer vacation! Time is endless these days - perfect for crafting. Yesterday I created a diaper cake for one of the party centerpieces, and I promised some friends I would post instructions for them. Construction is fairly simple, but the cakes require hours for construction. This is my 5th cake (3 bridal shower cakes of bath towels, 2 baby shower cakes of diapers) and it took me about 12 hours total.
Before I started, I searched the Internet for others' examples of diaper cakes. Some of them looked pretty bad. A few on Etsy looked terrific, but they were pricey (ranging up to $130 for a 2-layer cake). Besides, some ready-mades looked gaudy and cheap. I decided to make a cake for Amy.
SHOPPING LIST
1. NEWBORN PAMPERS - LARGEST BOX POSSIBLE. I purchased the largest box of newborn Pampers Swaddlers I could find. It was a box of 96 and it cost about $25 at Target. Many craft sites suggest using Size 1 Swaddlers because new mom will always use that size at some point. However, I remember thinking, following the births of each of my four kids, that the small size was just a little too big. Money was always tight after coming home from the hospital with a new little one, and I would have appreciated having received NB size diapers.
2. ADORNMENTS. I hit the local craft stores for ribbon, artificial flowers, etc. I knew it would be an uphill battle because Amy asked for lavender, not pink, for her baby girl shower. Deep purple seems to be a trend at the craft stores, but my vision was pale lavender... which I did find. In fact, I was really surprised at how inexpensive small bolts of colored ribbons are - under $2 each, and many were also on sale. I bought 3 white Shasta daisies and 3 lavender daisies. They were on sale at Hobby Lobby for under $1 each.
3. CAKE BOARD. One thing I knew I needed to buy was a 12" cake board - it looks like a medium pizza board. I found a set of 4 boards at Michael's crafts for about $4. You could easily just cut a large cardboard circle from a brown shipping box, then cover it with wrapping paper.
3. TWO SIzES OF RUBBER BANDS. To make the cake, you need several regular-sized rubber bands plus a good handful of extra-large rubber bands. I had these at home, but if you need to get them, Office Depot markets them as "folder rubber bands," and Walmart has them, as well, at a really good price for a huge bag that will last you all year.
BEGIN TO MAKE THE BOTTOM LAYER
1. I used all 96 diapers. Start by rolling up three and band them together with a small rubber band.Inner core of the cake layer. Then, continue to roll about 5 more diapers, slipping each into the rubber band, forming a circle. I don't rubberband each diaper separately because it is a great inconvenience for a mom who probably just has one hand free as she grabs for a diaper to change baby.
2. At this point, I added an additional rubber band to the entire ring so that the diapers would be secure at top and bottom.
3. For the next ring, I used two more rubberbands, top and bottom, to secure the diapers. Make sure that each ring is truly concentric; this will alleviate problems later.
4. For all the rest of the rings, start using the really big rubber bands. You will have to wrap the bands twice for the next row.
5. Continue forming rings until the entire cake layer is just shy of sitting on the edge of your cake board. For the final ring, I used 3 large rubber bands, total, to be sure there wouldn't be any slippage.
6. Keeping several diapers unrolled, I slipped them between rings at the top so that the rings didn't cave in at the top (see picture).Notice the unrolled diapers just inside, top of the last ring.
7. The key to making this cake picture-perfect is to measure, measure, measure. <-- Keep in mind for the rest of the cake-making procedure.
8. At this point, you can choose to decorate with ribbons. They will cover your rubber bands, so don't worry. The Pampers don't have cartoon characters on the seats, so the all-white diaper gives the illusion of delicate whipped cream frosting. It's pretty cool!
At first, I tried to arrange ribbons on the cake, but it was a difficult prospect, and there wasn't an easy way to secure them to the diapers without glue. I opted, then, for a neat solution: I created a "Frosting" ring using 12" X 12" scrapbooking cardstock. This added color to the cake.
CARDSTOCK FROSTING
1. It would have been nice to have cardstock that is as wide as the circumference of the cake, but I didn't have that on hand. Perhaps a a poster-board (type kids use for school projects) would work. My cardstock was pastel-printed but sized wrong.
2. I measured the height of the layer and found it was about 8". My cardstock was 12". I simply used an Exacto knife and a straightedge to split two sheets of stock in half. Even though the frosting layer would only be 6" high, I decided it would still show off some of the "whipped cream."
3. The next step was complicated for me. I had to glue the stock end to end, but I had to match up the pattern.
4. Next, measure the circumference of the cake layer. Cut the cardstock to the correct width, leaving about 2" for overlap (needed for gluing).
5. It looked pretty good so far, but I wanted to be sure the "frosting" would be the correct size, so I placed it around the cake just to be sure. (Don't attach the frosting layer yet, however!) YES! This was starting to be really fun! Editor's note: At first, I started using a green cardstock, but I ended up selecting pink. It just seemed to lookbetter to me.
6. Then, I placed the cardstock on a flat surface. I measured out the ribbons I wanted to use.
7. There are two good ways to attach the ribbon to the cardstock. The first method is to lay two pieces of ribbon side-by-side, then connect the ribbons, using Scotch Tape or masking tape on the underside. Then, take another layer of ribbon or lace and position it directly center of the two connected ribbons. Use straight pins to attach (see picture). Then, stitch a seam straight down the middle. Finally, use a good glue to attach the fabric to the cardstock.Use tape and pins to secure your ribbons and lace together. Then, stitch.Unfortunately, my sewing machine was lent out, so I had to use the next method, which worked just as well, I think.
8. I used a ruler and a pencil to mark of the center position on the cardstock. Then, using my trusty glue gun, I simply glued layers of ribbon and lace to the stock. After it cooled and dried a bit, I added tiny fabric roses and tied ribbons for decoration.
9. When I was at the point that I knew the decorating was finished, I carefully surrounded the layer with the "frosting." Make sure the ribbon ends meet up at the back seam. Secure the edges of the cardboard, which should be overlapping a bit, with a large paper clip. It doesn't hurt to pull the cardstock a bit to be sure it is snug.
10. I didn't want to get glue on the diapers, so I carefully removed the cardboard ring. I had to push a few diapers together - they were really snug. Then, I glued the ring. After it set, I carefully repositioned it on the cake layer.Once you get this far, the hardest part is over. Simply repeat procedures to make the smaller top layer.When you finish the top layer, create the ribbon/flower top before securing layers together. Some people choose to use small toys. I ended up making large bows of ribbon.
SECURE THE LAYERS TOGETHER
Since this will be a centerpiece, make sure your ornament is lovely from both front-view and back-view. I placed a daisy front and back. I cut most of the stems off two Shasta daisies. I used one of the stems (it was thick and about 20" long) as a support. Carefully use your fingers to push aside diapers so that you insert the support through both layers until it hits the cake board. Be sure not to pierce through the diapers. It stood up about 2" over the cake top, which allowed me to secure my ornament-top ribbons to it. Then, I gently placed the two daisies onto the top. Voila! Finally, I added a little sparkle by layering clear white metallic crinkle shreds on top of the bottom layer. These have a lavender opalescence, so it was a nice addition to my purple-themed cake.I gently placed a block set that spelled out "BABY" on top of the crinkle shreds.Finally, because the party is not for a few weeks, I used a shrink bag to keep out the dust and cat hair that flies around my house. I realize it's difficult to see the entire cake through the plastic.
The total cost of the cake, not including woman-hours for its creation, was about $40. The price is right! It will be a lovely centerpiece on the cake table for Amy's baby shower!
I have made wedding cakes similar to this diaper cake. The cakes were three-layers. Bottom layer = 2 bath towels. Middle layer = 4 hand towels. Top layer = 4 washcloths. Since baby safety wasn't an issue, I didn't use cardstock for frosting, but simply used straight pins to attach all the ribbons. I bought an inexpensive wedding cake support stand constructed of white plastic pillars with top and base for support. Then, I topped it all off with an inexpensive plastic bride and groom.