How to Construct a Diaper Cake

Diaper cakes are easier to make than they appear. They are popular as baby shower centerpieces, but they can also be given as a birth present or an office present to the mother or father. The concept is basic but how you adorn the cake is where the cost, ornamentation and variety play their part.

Materials needed:
Base for cake to sit on
Diapers
Rubber bands - lots of them
Ribbon
Baby items like powder, shampoo, baby bottles - these are decoration and the core of the layers
A stuffed animal as a topper
Additional decoration as needed

The basic premise is to start with a base or a form to build the cake upon. Oftentimes a mirror or cutting a shape from the diaper box and then wrapping it works well. The cake is built upon this. Each layer of the cake has a center core item for stability. Here is where the variety begins to take shape. It could be a bottle of baby powder, lotion, or wipes. If the cake is going to be very tall, you may want to discard the baby item idea and opt for a core from wrapping paper to hold the entire cake together on one spindle. Now you need to decide how tall the cake will be. This will determine how many rings of diapers are needed for the bottom layer. Each layer above this will have one less ring.

The use of cloth versus disposable diapers doesn't matter in the construction however the number of diapers needed will vary by what material the diapers are made out of and what size diaper you purchase. To begin, unpack the diapers laying them out flat and rolling each one. Use a rubber band around the rolled up diaper to hold it together. Continue until you have quite a few of these assembled. To construct the cake, use the central core item and then place the rolled diapers around it. You can use a large rubber band to hold the entire piece together at this point. Continue with another ring of diaper rolls around this first ring. Construct, as many rings of diapers as you want layers of cake. A three-tiered cake would have three rings of diapers on the bottom layer. The second layer would have two rings and the top layer would have one ring. Each ring will contain a core item unless you use the wrapper paper core. Placing each smaller layer on top of the larger one, there isn't a need for a connection between the layers. Each new layer will just rest upon the bottom layer.

Now we personalize and stylize the cake. You don't want the rubber bands to show so we need to hide them behind ribbon. Here is where your artistic vision begins to play out. Choosing colors that are in the baby's room or the mother's favorite colors. Working with a theme will result in a more cohesive presentation. Wrap ribbon, fabric or netting around the cake layer's middle to hide the rubber bands. Tie a bow or overlap and tape the ribbon into place. Continue this on each layer.

The top of the cake is typically a stuffed animal but you can use your judgment and vary this as your theme dictates. Stylize the cake with additional baby items placing them in and around the layers of the cake.

While this is the basic premise for construction below I will list a few variations you might like to consider:

• Diapers aren't the only items your can roll up; you could make a layer of baby blankets, towels, washcloths or onsies.

• Blankets or towels could be used to wrap around the entire layer of a cake.

• Use curling ribbon to tie on additional baby items to the cake.

• Consider wrapping the entire cake in clear cellophane or netting to make transportation of the cake easier

• Washcloths tucked into the layers will appear as flowers if they are colored

• Silk flowers can be used to adorn the cake