Diapers are an essential part of life with a newborn! And boy do they need a lot of them! Gift the parents-to-be with a few packs of diapers and some baby essentials in a cute way with a diaper cake. Learn how to easily build one that doesn’t require rolling each diaper and lots of tiny rubber bands.
I was recently invited to shower a good friend before the arrival of her baby boy. The invitation had noted that it was a “display shower” meaning no gift wrap was required for the gifts. This allows more time at the shower to be spent eating and enjoying the company of others than watching the mom say “cute” 9,000 times while opening gifts she already registered for and knew was coming. As I had already gathered a few little items that I planned to group in a gift bag, I decided to dress up the collection with some packs of diapers and create a diaper cake.
Diaper cakes are not anything new but there are several ways to make them. I’ve previously created diaper cakes where you roll each diaper and secure it with a tiny rubber bands but it’s time consuming for both the creator and the mama to undo when she needs the cake. Instead I’ve been creating this version for a while now and thought I’d showcase it again for anyone attending a baby shower in the future.
Supplies:
- 2 packs of diapers (I prefer to give a larger size than newborn in case the baby is bigger)
- Cardboard cake round or recycled cardboard
- Gift Wrap
- Wide Ribbon
- Cake pan (used to create the shape, not given away)
- Scotch tape
- Jumbo clear cellophane bag
- Assorted baby gifts
First, cover your base with gift wrap. Lay the cardboard circle on the giftwrap and cut out as a circle shape. Cut fringe pieces 1” apart all the way around the circle.
Fold each flap over and use tape to adhere. Flip over as your decorated base.
Next up, let’s make the layers. This cake was made with 2 packs of diapers. To create the tiered effect, the bottom layer will use one whole package plus a few from the second. Place the diapers in the cake pan and start fanning them out. Add more diapers and consider the fanning effect. You don’t need a cake pan but it certainly does help hold the shape as you’re creating the tier.
To make the bottom layer more stable, I stuffed Sassy diaper sacks inside the center of the bottom tier.
These sacks aren’t always something first time moms think to put on their registry, but are great to include in your diaper bag to help take care of some stinky business! Wrap a large ribbon around the tier while still in the cake pan. Leave a lot of slack before tying a knot and cutting the ribbon. You’ll need the slack to slip in some other gifts, if desired.
Repeat these steps to create the second tier, which again, will use less diapers than the first. I slipped in a few items from her registry, like spoons and a bib, plus toddler forks and this silicon mat we loved when eating out with the girls.
Considering adding a lovey, stuffed animal or plush puppet to top your diaper cake. To make it stand up, I gifted these Sassy Ring O’Links that both my girls loved. They, along with the First year Stacking Cups, are two items featured in my Top 10 Favorite Baby Items for 5 months – 1 year.
As directed on the shower invite, I included a book instead of card. I chose to stay away from those uber popular ones for little babies, as I know someone will already buy Good Night Moon and Guess How Much I Love You. Instead I picked one of my girls’ favorites, Let’s Play by Herve Tullet.
To bring it to the shower, go ahead and wrap it up with a jumbo cellophane bag and tie a bow on top and voila, you’re ready to go enjoy the momosas that the mom-to-be cannot!
And here’s what I else I gifted with this diaper cake: dog onesies! (PS the SVG cut files are available as a free download!)
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