Making a Diaper Cake

This is such a great gift idea for any mommy-to-be, and perfect for a baby shower. I first saw a diaper cake at my sister-in-law's baby shower a few years ago. Now my other sister-in-law, Elissa, is having her first baby in November, so I decided to give it a try. I looked up Youtube videos and it didn't seem too hard. After buying the supplies, following the steps from the Youtube videos was actually pretty easy. It turned out pretty cute and it was really fun to make! This is such a fun display to have at a baby shower, and the mommy will actually get to use it.

Here's the how-to!

What you will need:
80+ diapers (any size will do, I picked the ones that Elissa had registered for at Target)
rubber bands (lots of small and a few large)
something to fill the middle (ex. baby bottles or baby shampoo) and/or wooden dowels
ribbon
something to use as a cake topper (teddy bear, bow, etc.)
any other decorations you want

Start by opening the diaper packages, and then individually roll up each diaper. Secure with a small rubber band.

Get a large rubber band and wrap it around your middle base. I used a bottle of baby shampoo from her Target registry. Then stuff your rolled diapers around the base.

The 1st tier, halfway done

Once the layer starts getting to the size you want it, wrap your arms around it and "hug" the cake to shape it into a circle. It is very easy for it to be a lopsided circle that is uneven around the base! Repeat these steps for 2 more layers (I guess you could do even more if you wish! I did a 3-tiered cake). Make sure to place them on top of each other to gauge the sizing and how it will look when you put them all together.

For the bottom layer, I ended up putting in a tube of Butt Paste with the shampoo bottle to fill it out more. Then I placed the 2nd tier of diapers over the bottom tier and made space in the middle for the Butt Paste and baby shampoo to come up through.

View of the 2nd tier

Have something smaller for the middle of the top tier as well. If it is taller than the diapers, this is a good thing! Push it through the bottom and secure it in the middle of the 2nd tier. This way you don't have movable layers. I also stuck wooden dowels somewhere in there (not pictured), which helped the entire cake stay together.

The next step is to use ribbon to cover up the rubber bands. I layered 3 different sized ribbons together and secured it with a hot glue gun. Don't glue the ribbon to the diapers! You want this cake to be pulled apart and used :)

I found these baby feet at Michaels! They have lots of baby stuff

After putting it all together, I realized I needed a base. I got a white piece of cardboard at the dollar store, and got my husband to cut it into a circle with a box cutter. I added ribbon to cover up the edge.

The rest is decorations. It is totally up to you to decide what to use! I decided to go with a theme of blue and gray - the colors of Elissa's nursery. It wasn't too hard to find a few cute things that matched. The lovie bear was perfect - I stuffed the blanket part in the top so I didn't have to use glue or string to attach it. I was pretty proud of the result!

Here it is all set up at the shower:

Family and the beautiful momma!