A Diaper Cake Tutorial – Easy as Pie!

Ewww, do you actually eat the diapers? That was the first thing one of my students asked me when I suggested the idea of making a diaper cake for their teacher who was expecting her first child. I could understand the notion of a diaper cake being new to them but I was really surprised that very few people on our staff had ever seen a diaper cake before. For that reason, there were a lot of oohs and ahhs when I showed off the final product. It also caught the attention of Shelagh here at PracticalMum.com and so she invited me to share a tutorial with her readers. It doesn’t take long to make. In fact, creating a diaper cake is as easy as pie!

Materials:

  • I pack of diapers, size 1 or 2
  • An assortment of rubber bands in varying sizes
  • A paper towel roll or heavy cardstock rolled into a cylinder
  • Decorations of your choosing such as ribbon, bows, flowers, etc

Step 1: Begin by rolling up each individual diaper and securing them with a small rubber band. My 5-year-old daughter helped me this time around.

This is the most tedious of all the steps, hence the reason I choose size 2 diapers with a lower diaper count.

Step 2: At this point, it would be best to cut out a circle from some corrugated cardboard about 12” in diameter to serve as the base. This will make it much easier to transport and sturdier when delivering the final project. Start with placing the roll in the centre and placing a medium size rubber band on it close to the base. Then insert a rolled up diaper all around the tube, securing them behind the rubber band. This usually requires about six diapers.

Step 3: Continue by adding another rubber band around the first bunch of diapers and repeating the process.

Step 4: You will then need a large rubber band in order to repeat the process a third time and complete the bottom tier.

Step 5: Begin the second tier by repeating steps 2 and 3. You may choose to cut out a smaller circle out of cardboard or adding a doily for decoration but I tend to keep it simple.

Step 6: For the final tier, repeat step 2. You now have a three-tier cake made of rolled up diapers.

Step 7: You can now begin decorating your diaper cake to your heart’s content. I like to use a wide ribbon and wrap each tier to cover up the rubber bands. A couple of pieces of tape work well. I found this bright green ribbon at the, ahem, dollar store along with the bows. I find you usually need a little more than one roll so be sure to buy two rolls for this style of cake.

I felt it was a little too bright so I toned it down with some chocolate ribbon. Mmm, chocolate!

I usually add some flowers and die cuts that you can make if you’re lucky enough to own a Cricut machine. This is a diaper cake I made last year for baby Chiara using some die cut letters and baby themed shapes, all colour coordinated of course. Notice the chocolate accents.

And here is a close-up of some of the die-cuts I made. I inked the edged of the flowers using a raised inkpad. They are Prima flowers and can be found at Michaels.

There are different styles of cakes you can make using diapers. The fun is in experimenting with the style you like best. Some other ideas I would like to try include making a square cake or wrapping up each tier in a receiving blanket to give it a cleaner appearance.

If you’ve made a diaper cake before, do you have any tips or ideas for making them unique?

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The author of Toronto Teacher Mom and Diana’s Designs Blog, Diana keeps herself busy with a 5-year-old daughter named Madeleine and a 2-year-old son named Paolo. She also works full-time as a French teacher in the elementary panel. She spends most of her free time writing product reviews and hosting giveaways on her main blog but also manages to work in a few posts on her craft blog as well. She enjoys coffee, yoga, chocolate, walking, coffee, Latin dancing, and coffee. You can find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/torontoteachermom and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/teachermomoftwo

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