Know someone who is expecting a baby within the next few months? Chances are you do. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control, July and August are the most popular months for having a baby. With this influx of babies happening, there will be more showers happening this spring. I thought I would share the diaper cake I recently made for my cousin’s baby shower. It was such a cute craft and after the party was over it actually because a useful one too! Read below to see the steps and get some visual aides.
Tools:
- One large pan
- About 75 diapers – give or take depending on how large you want the cake. Also, they should be size 2 or 3. These sizes add bulk to the cake layers and are most useful to moms afterwards.
- Rubber bands
- Pearl-headed pins
- Ribbon in whatever colors you want. Just make sure you have a few different sizes and a few colors.
- A long, stiff and slender piece of cardboard or a wooden dowel rod
- Various, small toys for decoration
Steps:
1. Use the large pan as a guide to begin your build. Curl about three diapers around one another to form the center of 
your first layer. Use a rubber band to hold the center in place.
2. Then, continue to build upon the center of that layer by fanning diapers out in a circle.
3. Once that layer is complete, it should look like the image on the right. Use one rubber band and wrap it around the cake to secure the layer.
4. If you want to make the layer larger, fan out another row of diapers around the first that you have in place. Then, secure with a rubber band again.
5. Once your bottom layer is complete, follow steps 1-4 for the additional layers.
6. Then, center all your “cake” layers on one another.
7. Insert the dowel rod or piece of cardboard so it goes through all three layers and the cake is secure. You can see the piece of cardboard I used for my cake in the image to the left. I first inserted it and then cut off the over-hang at the top. I literally use a piece of cardboard from the diaper box.
8. Wrap your ribbon around the cake layers to hide the rubber bands. I started with my bottom layer.
9. Add the pearl-headed pins to secure the ribbon. I added them in back and then in front so the ribbon wouldn’t sag.
10. Layer in ribbons of varying size and color to give the cake the look you want.
11. Once the layers have been decorated, begin looping large pieces of the ribbon to make the floppy bow at the top of the cake.
12. Pin those loops down individually with the pearl-headed pins.
13. Layer those pieces on top of one another to achieve a full, voluminous cake topper. I used multiple colors of ribbon so that it felt coordinated with the rest of the cake, but you can certainly use one color.
14. Once your ribbon is complete, decorate the cake with little toys, pacifiers, sunglasses, teethers and anything else you 
can find that will fit within the layers. You can make it as simple or as opulent as you like. I kept this one simple by using two teethers and a small picture frame in the final product.
15. You can wedge these items in between your layers of diapers to they stay on the cake. If you are using a cloth item, you can secure that with another pearl-headed pin. I would put these items on when the cake reaches its final destination.
After the party, the mommy-to-be can deconstruct this cake and use the diapers. Using the pearl-headed pins make them easy to find again when it is time to pull everything apart.
You can do this craft using cloth diapers too – either the burp cloth kind or the cloth diapers with snaps. Since my cousin was using a combo of disposable and cloth, I used the disposable. Keep in mind, using all cloth will add significant cost to the diaper cake. Either way, its a beautiful decoration and a wonderful gift once the party is over.
