How to Make Diaper Cakes

Diaper cakes are not food! They are a wonderful gift for an expectant or soon-to-adopt mother at a baby shower. They look adorable and make a fantastic centerpiece for the shower event too. Every piece of the diaper cake is useful, too. It's made of rolled and stacked baby diapers arranged in "tiers" stacked two or more tier layers high. Between and around the diapers are other thoughtful items such as pacifiers, baby washcloths, onesies, baby socks, bibs, bottles, toys and more. Diaper cakes are popular because they are sure to be appreciated by the new mom, are useful, and presented in a beautiful and creative way.

Two or more guests can go in on a diaper cake gift, allowing more gifts to be arranged together if desired. Here's what a typical diaper cake would need:

• 60 newborn or stage 1 diapers, either disposable or cloth, depending on the wishes of the mom-to-be.
• ½"-1" ribbon in a pastel color. Try to match the color theme of the nursery, or if the mom knows the sex of the baby, blue or pink is appropriate. You need a good length since it will be wrapped and tied around each tier to hold the diapers together.
• 30-60 small rubber bands. Think of getting colorful ones.
• 6 large rubber bands
• A large plastic or cardboard round cake platter.
• One 8 oz baby bottle or large bottle of baby shampoo
• One 6 oz baby bottle
• Additional baby items such as pacifiers, rattles, socks, onesies, receiving blanket, baby washcloths, booties, teething rings, toys and a stuffed bear or doll.

What to do:

1. Open the package of diapers and roll each one individually. Place a rubber band around the center of each one to hold it tight. The tighter the better!
2. Place the large bottle of shampoo in the center of the platter. Arrange 5-6 rolled diapers around the bottom of the bottle and put a large rubber band around them to hold them against the bottle.
3. Make a second ring of diapers around the first ring, using about 11 or 12, and put a large rubber band around them to hold them there.
4. Make a final, third ring of rolled diapers around the second ring. Tie the ribbon around these to hold them snug to the other rings. This is your first tier!
5. Atop the first tier, make a second tier by making a ring of rolled diapers around the top half of the bottle and putting a large rubber band around them. Then make a second ring around the first, just as you did with the first tier. Tie another length of ribbon around the second tier, and tie it with a lovely bow. Do not make a third ring on this tier so it will be smaller in circumference than the bottom tier.
6. For the top tier, place the baby bottle on the table. Arrange a single ring of diapers around it and fasten them to the bottle by tying ribbon around them. Place this tier atop the second tier. It's a three layer cake!
7. Decorate the cake by placing the baby items around the layers. You may push them gently between diapers, or tuck them into the ribbon, or just set them on top of various places on the tiers.
8. Put the stuffed bear or doll on top of the cake.

There you have it! Beautiful and useful!

A note about cloth diapers: Many moms have jumped on the "green" wagon and want to use cloth diapers to keep disposable diapers out of landfills. These diapers are a little more expensive, but are easier to use than the ones that our moms used on us. These days, cloth diapers have Velcro closures and waterproof outer linings.