Here is a picture of the final product:
{How to make a Diaper Cake}
ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS:
- Diapers (I used Target brand diapers because they were precious with their blue and green polka dots. The number of diapers you need will depend on the size. For this project, I purchased "size 1" diapers and ended up using 63 total - so I needed two cases of diapers. You would need fewer diapers if you used a bigger size. Purchased at Target for $6.29 each)
- Rubber Bands (You will need enough for each diaper)
- Yarn (for the bottom layer - you could also just go ahead and tie it with the ribbon)
- Ribbon (Hobby Lobby 50% off - thick spool = $2, skinnier spool = $1)
- Some sort of "cake topper" (for this project, I used a cool thing-a-ma-jig purchased at Hobby Lobby for just $2)
- A tall bottle of lotion or something to use as the center base (I used Aveno Baby Lotion that was $5.99 at Target)
- A tray or plate of some sort to put it on (Awesome silver plate - $1.99 from Hobby Lobby)
{aka - the stuff that makes it pretty but you don't have to use it}
- Rattles ($1 each at Walmart)
- Small Bottles ($4.99 for a 3-pack at Target)
- Pacifiers ($1.99 for a 2-pack at Walmart)
- Baby Wash Cloths ($4.99 for a 6-pack at Target)
- Rubber Duckies because who doesn't love those?? ($1 each at Walmart)
- Start by rolling the individual diapers up. Start with the end that would be the top of the diaper. It will have a cleaner look if you roll it that way:
- Place a rubber band around the center of the diaper (NOTE: I did a few at first by rolling from the "crotch" of the diaper and that is what is pictured below. It looks a lot cleaner if you roll from the "top" of the diaper. I took mine apart and re-rolled them):
- Place the lotion (or whatever your "center" will be) on the plate/tray and place a row of diapers around it, securing them with a rubber band:
- Place another row around that and then put another rubber band around them.
- For the third row, a rubber band probably won't fit, so you'll need to use yarn or string to secure the row of diapers together. You could use the ribbon, but I found that it's easier to use a thin string/yard that you can tie tightly:
- The bottom layer of this cake has 3 rows with 39 diapers total.
- Next, you will begin with the second layer. You will have two rows with this layer. Simply follow the steps above and when finished, you should have two rows. This cake had 19 diapers in the second layer:
- The final layer can be tricky depending on what you decide to use as the topper. For this cake, I used the "pom-pom" typed topper that had a long "stem". I gathered 5 diapers and put a rubber band around them and then I stuck the stem all of the way down the diaper cake through the center to hold it all together:
- Next, I put the ribbon on. You might need another person to help you with this because it's easier with 4 hands. Simply cut the thick and the thin ribbon to the same length. Place both ribbons around each layer of the cake (thin ribbon atop the thick ribbon) and then tie a knot/bow with the ribbon to hold everything in place. For this cake, I threaded pacifiers through the thin ribbon and placed the rattles under the ribbon before I tied it:
- After I tied the ribbon, I took out 3 diapers and replaced them with the small bottles (pictured above).
- I also created little "flowers" for the cake with baby wash cloths (pictured above) by:
- Pinch the center of the wash cloth:
- Twist it to look like a flower and then secure it with a rubber band....then just stick it into holes of the diapers:
- When I set the cake out at the shower, I added the duckies in front of the cake for decoration:
I was THRILLED with the final project and so was my co-worker. She said she didn't want to take it apart! The final cost of the diaper cake was around $40. Making a diaper cake is easy and fun!
Here are some pictures of the details in the finished project:
