Last month I got a text from my friend Kristen that said, “I have the best post for your blog!” I told my husband multiple times that I was going to be at Kristen’s house working on a diaper cake and it wasn’t until about the tenth time that he finally asked, “So explain to me how this works…like, do people know they’re eating diapers, or is it like.. a trick cake?” I tried to control my hysterical laughter and explained that a diaper cake isn’t for eating, that would be weird. It’s a darling decoration you can use at a baby shower! The actual “cake” is constructed with diapers and then it’s accessorized with cute baby things. It looks great as a centerpiece at the shower and then the Momma-to-be gets to take it home with her and use all of the items. It’s actually super easy, and it doesn’t take very long, especially if you’ve got a helper!
Supplies Needed:
Diapers– I love Target diapers because they don’t have lame pictures on them. I think the blue and green polka dots are so cute, and as you’ll see below, they totally work with a girlie cake too. But use whatever diapers you want, this is what we used and one box was the perfect amount for the size of cake we made. If you’re looking for plain white diapers, I’ve heard that Whole Foods 365 brand are white, and Seventh Generation are off white. You can also make this with cloth.
–Roll of paper towels
–Rubber bands or string
–Ribbon
–Accessories, like flowers, baby toys, hair bows for girls, toy trucks for boys, socks, toiletries etc.
–optional– tissue, bottle, goodies for the middle opening
You need something at the core of your cake- Kristen suggested a half used roll of paper towels and it worked great! It ended up being the perfect height. You could use a full roll of paper towels as well and then it might require less diapers for the same amount of bulk. I’ve seen people use a large bottle of lotion or baby soap too, and someone in the comment section had the great idea of rolling up a receiving blanket.
There are actually a LOT of ways to make these (go do a Google image search for “Diaper Cake” and you’ll find lots of inspiration) I’m just going to show the two most popular ways below. Shown below on the left, you can roll up individual diapers and secure each one with a rubber band, or tie them with a ribbon. Place the rolled diapers around the cake and secure each layer with one big rubber band or ribbon. We went with the method on the right because it was a lot less time consuming, so I’ll show ya how!
This is definitely easier with an extra set of hands so grab friend. Or an enemy. Doesn’t really matter as long as they have functioning hands. Lay down the diapers overlapping like shown below left. Then take your roll of paper towels and roll the overlapping diapers around the bottom.
When you get a layer all the way around like shown below (that’s actually 2 layers) have one person hold them like this and the other person can easily slip a rubber band around it.
Now just keep adding layers around that base until it’s the size you want it. You can always go back and add more at the end after your other layers are added. If your rubber bands aren’t large enough to fit around the outside layers, you can always use string. I’m pretty sure we used dental floss at one point.
Follow that same pattern, making each tier a little smaller than the one below it. Once you have all three tiers, you can adjust by adding or taking away layers.
Once you have the cake base made, it’s time for the fun part! Kristen grabbed all of this fun stuff from Hobby Lobby. You can see how even with blue and green polka dot diapers, you can still make it fun and girly.
The first step is to wrap ribbon around your tiers to cover up the rubber bands. We just secured the ribbon with tape.
And we did 2 layers of ribbon- I love how this blue dotted ribbon matches the diapers, and it looks so cute over the pink!
You’ll also be left with an open spot on the very top. We just stuffed a piece of tissue paper in ours. You can artfully make it spill out, or fill the open space with goodies, a baby bottle, baby lotion or soap, or just stuff it like we did.
We took some cascading ribbon and used a little wire butterfly decoration to hold them together.
It worked well because we stuck the wire right down the middle of that opening we stuffed with tissue and it helped hold in all the ribbon. We’re sort of geniuses.
And Kristen is a super genius because she grabbed a spool of ribbon, did a few ninja moves, and turned out a gorgeous bow in the time it took me to check my camera settings.
One tip I have is to use the layer of diapers to attach your accessories. Like, if you’re using flowers, leave some stem on and just tuck them in. You obviously don’t want to use glue anywhere that will attach to the diapers, but you can creatively attach things to the ribbon. Be creative and you’ll find it’s pretty easy to stick stuff in there.
We also used this darling initial for the top, and baby utensils that we tied a infant headband around and slipped in the layer of diapers. If you’re doing a girl cake, definitely check out hair accessories- they make darling adornments! Little boy cakes are adorable with little toy trucks tucked in. Little soaps and lotions are cute too.
I think my very favorite thing were these little socks! They came in a box like that, over little plastic foot molds, so we just wrapped another headband around them. We then took a piece of one of the wire flower stems we had cut off and slipped it in the layer of diapers. It acted as a little hook and we just slipped the little sockies on there.
Just move things around until you like the look of it.
and pretty soon you’ll have a gorgeous centerpiece! How cute is that?
Questions & Reviews
Thank you for this information! I actually kept this up on my phone while shopping for reference. I needed a unisex diaper cake on green and didn’t find any online that I liked. Two things – I bought the rubber bands that were for making tie-dye shirts. Worked best for me. Also I used a tri-scented tall pillar candle as the center so my mom to be can use it in the house later! Little more expensive but a better surprise for the mom than just baby shampoo or paper towels 🙂
Great tutorial! I have my own website and make these as a side job. I LOVE it! I construct mine a little differently. I use round cake pans, dif. sizes, and fan my diapers around in the pan. I take the paper towel tube and insert it in the center of the diapers then wrap a big rubber band around the outside of them, making sure they are all uniform. I start with the bottom layer, then as I go on with the other layers, I use the smaller pans and place them all over the paper towel tube. You’re right, 1 tube is perfect for a 3 tier cake. For the 4th tier, when I make one, I roll the diapers and wrap a rubber band around then place all together and wrap a big rubber band around them all and sit on top of the cake.
You can check out my cakes at http://www.wix.com/customangelcakes/custom-angel-cakes 🙂
Adorable cake ladies!!! 🙂
I have made MULTIPLE diaper cakes. My favorite diapers are the Huggies Pure & Natural…they do have a picture on them, but it is very light and pastel-y. Plus you can wrap the diaper the other way and you don’t see it at all.
We do it a little differently…and this way only one person is needed. 🙂 You need diapers (you can make a small cake with a small pack or a larger one with a larger pack and a roll of curling ribbon (I prefer the larger roll like florists or party shops use.
I used an empty paper towel tube stuffed with paper for the center, but anything round would really work.
You start by rolling the first diaper around the tube and tying it on to the tube with the ribbon. DO NOT CUT THE RIBBON. Leave it attached to the roll. Stretch the ribbon out (I do this while sitting on the floor with the roll straight in front of me. Lay the next diaper down flat next to the tube laying on TOP of the ribbon that is on the floor. Start rolling the ribbon and the diaper until it’s rolled 1/2 to 3/4 of the way then layer another diaper and continue rolling.
It’s soooo hard to explain with words…but essentially you’ll be making a “cinnamon roll” effect with the ribbon being the “cinnamon.” This keeps the diapers from coming undone as you roll but also makes it easy for mom to take apart so she can actually use the diapers!
I got one that was individually rolled and banded and it was a HUGE process to undo it!
Your cake is really cute! We also use a cardboard tube when we make our diaper cakes as well. I really like the colors you used!
I want work from making diaper cake I need help to get started
Getting ready to have a baby shower for my DIL, this is her 3rd child but there are 10 years between her last baby and this one. After 2 boys she is so excited to be having a girl. I thought a diaper cake would make a great centerpiece for the gift table. Need to make this one look very girly!!!! I have never tried to make one but your instructions made it look so easy. Wish me luck her shower is in about 3 weeks.
I have been making diaper cakes for over about 20 YEARS! Some good ideas never die, just get better and better. I haven’t made it with the paper towels, but I usually stick a baby bottle filled with M&M’s coming out the top of mine. Gotta have something for mommy too! Then I add lots and lots of little items baby needs. So cute and a fun, practical gift.
Also, this can be done for the Bridial shower towel cake.
Instead of bottles, paper towels etc, I used a large bottle of sparkling white grape juice. (Don’t tell what is in the middle holding the cake together)SURPRISE, when they start using the diapers they find the bottle and can have an unalcholic drink together.
Rolling each diaper does take a little bit longer but I like the look of rolled diapers better. So many cakes I have seen online done the other way end up looking sloppy, lopsided etc. Yours came out very nice though, I love it!
Hi there, I found your web site by way of Google even as searching for a comparable topic, your site got here up, it seems to be good. I have added to my favourites|added to bookmarks.
you can also use bottles instead of paper towels for the inside.
So pretty! I’ve never made one before but I hope to try someday. I had a really nice one given to me at my shower.
I think this is a great idea. I’ve seen these given away at baby showers in the midwest often. Take your time making it. I’ve seen great ones and I’ve also seen sloppy looking diaper cakes. Done right, they look great.
I make diaper cakes all the time, in fact my family and friends have come to expect them everytime they have a baby:) I like to wrap my diaper tiers with receiving blankets (either store bought or homemade…depending on how much time I have) and then top the cake with a stuffed animal. I also try to work with a theme. For example I just did a Winnie the Pooh for my SIL and have done things like butterflies, trucks, monkeys, etc. Then I try to find items that coordinate with the theme. They’re always a big hit and so much fun to make!
The person this cake was made for kept the cake intact (it was not her “present”, but a centerpiece for the shower) and has used it as a decoration in her baby’s room. The baby’s room was already decorated with flowers so it went well with the decor. If you know what the baby room colors are, you can decorate it for that purpose . . . just a thought.
I just made one last week and actually put the diapers in a cake pan to shape it. So easy! Cute cake though!!
I’ve been making these for years and do you think I ever thought to use a paper towel in the middle? No! Thanks for sharing! You’ve saved me from buying 2 packages of diapers!
I love the way you rolled the diapers around the paper towels – so much easier that rolling and tying up each one individually. I think it makes a better gift for the mom-to-be, also. Less work for her to put the diapers away. Let’s face it, with all the planning and details to attend to when your about to give birth, all the gifts to unwrap, de-tag, and sort through, NOT having to untie and unroll every single diaper would probably be appreciated. Super cute!
In line with Lisa’s comment, I always feel like a need to leave a disclaimer when I see a diaper cake post… If you’re giving a diaper cake as a gift, ALWAYS have part of the gift be volunteering to take it apart! (Especially for the other kind where each individual diaper is rolled and rubber-banded) And save the box the diapers came out of so the parents-to-be have somewhere to store the disassembled diapers. I got two diaper cakes at my shower and it took four people to take them apart. Then we just had a giant sack of diapers that didn’t store flat anymore. Cuter than cute, nicer than nice but a bit of a pain… ^_^
So cute! I was sort of wondering what the heck this was. Figured you could eat it, but it really is quite darling. Will have to try this next time a friend gets knocked up!
I like this one! The ones with the individually rolled/banded diapers are pretty, but MAN are they a pain to take apart. I helped my best friend take 2 apart after her shower and that was sucha pain in the butt!
I made one of these for my friend’s baby shower, and I found a tutorial that recommended using a bottle of whiskey or vodka for the center! Since alcohol isn’t really something me or my friend are into (and because giving new parents hard liquor doesn’t seem like such a great idea anyway…), I used a bottle of Martinelli’s as the center! It makes the cake a bit more hefty, but the parents get a nice surprise when they disassemble the diaper cake!
If you’re making one of these, consider using a size up from Newborns (usually a 1). My baby was 9 pounds and never wore newborn diapers, so the lovely diaper cake I received went to waste!
LOVE IT! I’m actually hosting a baby shower soon and I am SO going to do this! Thank you Sara!
So creative, girl. You two always amaze me over here at OBB! I wish we could have all been together in person for Maria and Josh. 🙂
I have seen these beautiful “cakes” before, but have never understood how the hack to make one! Thanks for demystifying that for us. Sooooo happy you were able to join in on the celebration for Maria, Josh & baby pea 🙂
I read the first paragraph and thought to myself, “Oh good, I’m not the only guy that is baffled why someone would make a cake for a purpose other than eating.”
@ Sara’s Husband: I know where you’re coming from.
Ignore Kiki’s comment! I love all your posts! 🙂
I recieved a diaper cake at my last shower~ loved it. The best surprise though was inside when I was taking it apart I found a baby bottle full of M&M’s!
Knew you would love it so I had to share!
Been following you girls for a LONG time! Love all your recipes! NEVER a bad one! I recommend your recipes on fb so much… my friends are probably sick of hearing of it! lol!
Keep up the good work!
A million thank yous for posting this. SO many people have tried to explain to me how these are done and it’s the dumb long drawn out compliacted way. this is simple and with pictures. and of course no one i know right now is having a baby. seems our ward has tapped out after having a total of 12 babies born since last august.