Baby Shower Gift: Homemade Diaper Cake {Craft Tutorial}

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It’s that time in life when everyone I know is having babies. That means baby shower invitations fill my mailbox (and inbox) frequently. If you’d like to bring something unique for the mom-to-be consider a diaper cake. They also make a beautiful centerpiece if you’re the hostess of the party and your guest of honor can take it home to enjoy when the party is over.

These are of course not an edible cake, rather a decoration and gift in one. The base of the “cake” is made entirely of diapers. That can indeed get spendy so if you want to add some filler and stability to the center you can wrap them around bottles, lotion, bottle brushes or any other large baby item. Get creative when it comes to decorating your diaper cake. Think of the mom-to-be and shop from her wish-list or registry whenever possible. Maybe you know of some must-have items that she doesn’t have on that list. What a great way to suggest them by including them on your cake.

Diaper Cake Building Supplies:

•  Large package of diapers
• Ribbon (try to coordinate to the shower, gender, or a few key features of the cake)
• Safety pins or bobby pins
• Rubberbands of varying sizes (many small to wrap around center diapers and a few very large to wrap around each layer)
  * You could use yarn or string if you can’t find or don’t have large rubber bands.
• A base (wrap a sturdy piece of cardboard and decorate or consider borrowing a pizza pan for transporting the cake)

Diaper Cake Decorating Ideas:

One featured item for the top or side (something with personality and interest):

• stuffed animal (sit on top or wrap their arms around center layer)
• toy (consider how to attach)
• hand puppet wash cloth
• bib with cute sayings or character
• shoes look adorable perched on top

Small items to spread throughout the cake that aren’t too heavy and can be applied with ribbons or stick directly between the diapers:

• spoons
• pacifier
• wrist rattle
• rattle
• teething ring
• bath toy
• wash cloth
• bib
• hair bows, headbands and ribbons
• socks
• mittens
• hats

These cakes have become pretty common so maybe you’ve already seen these. One of our local baby second-hand stores even sells them now. Speaking of second-hand stores, they can be a great source for some of your items. Although some moms prefer to have all new items for their child, others are more flexible about what they consider using for their new little bundle of joy. Consider items that can of course be sterilized or washed that don’t have stains etc. Many baby items are barely used when they go to a second-hand store. Think about shoes, bibs, wrist rattles, rattles and even some stuffed animals that can be washed.

Diaper Cake Building:

Building a diaper cake can be a bit tricky and is often best done with someone to help hold the layers together as you build.

• Work from the top layer down. Roll three diapers tightly (like you’d roll up a sleeping bag) and wrap a small rubber band around each. Then layer 5-6 flat diapers one on top of the other around those three tightly wrapped diapers. For a mostly white cake keep the decorative edge on the interior and layer each flat diaper over the other working in a spiral. Wrap a large rubberband around the entire layer to hold in place. (Wrap decorative ribbon around these rubber bands once complete to hide the bands)
  (I made these before blogging so I don’t have step-by-step pictures but this blog has a great picture tutorial to check out.)
• Build the next two layers by increasing the number of center rolled diapers and flat lying diapers until you have three layers. Each layer is wrapped in a rubber band and then covered in a ribbon to hide the band.
• If you want to avoid tying the layers together you can hide a tall bottle of lotion or baby wash in the center and wrap the diapers around them. You can also take unsharpened pencils or baby spoons and hide them between the layers to hold them steady. To avoid all of that tie a ribbon from top to bottom around all of the layers as decoration.
  * You could use yarn or string if you can’t find or don’t have large rubber bands.

Once the base is built have fun decorating but consider the fact that the new baby should be able to actually USE these diapers so avoid glue and pins damaging the actual diapers. Yes this is possible with some patience and creative planning. Tie ribbons around items and leave the tails long, threading them deep into the layers of diapers or tying them around the supporting rubber bands and ribbons. Push spoons directly into the diapers. Use hair bows or bobby pins to attach to the top of the diaper or ribbons. You can even attach items together using safety pins and tie a ribbon through the safety pin to thread through the layers without damage.

Most of all, have FUN and personalize to mom and baby whenever possible.