Backlund Brief: Diaper Cake

Have you ever made a diaper cake??? Before last week I could answer "no" to this question. Probably the best part about making a diaper cake was the sweet sweet smell of newborn diapers-clean ones, that is. The scent brought back so many memories. Quite nostalgic!

Wanna know how to make one? (I'll assume you said you...because, well, why wouldn't you wan to know?) Great! Then I'll show you! So...after you read this you can make one for your next friend's baby shower!

First, you need to obtain a butt load...I mean, a bunch, of newborn or size 1 diapers. I think I used about 75 for my cake. Unless you are okay with colors not coordinating make sure you purchase plain white diapers. I bought Pampers and they worked great! You need to wrap each diaper around itself, making sure the picture is on the inside. You can use clear ponytail holders to wrap around the diapers to hold them in place. I wrapped all of the diapers and tossed them into a big basket. My kids even helped! Alia, who is 6, helped me actually wrap them!

After figuring out a base (a covered piece of cardboard, anything solid enough to hold the weight of the cake) place some type of cylindrical object (paper towel tube, sunscreen, baby bottle) in the middle. This will help the 3 layers hold together. Then, arrange the wrapped diapers around it like so. You probably want to have another set of hands available for this part. Once the diapers are arranged have the other set of hands hold the diapers in place while you take a piece of string and wrap it around all the diapers. Pull tight and tie in a double knot to hold it all in place. I used the ribbon I was going to decorate it with...but you could also just use any string and cover it later with whatever ribbon you are going to use.

Once the first layer is done, do the same thing for the second layer. This is what it will look like when it's finished.

A side view of layer 2.

Then do the same thing with layer 3!

Once the cake is made...then you get to decorate it! I know that most of the diaper cakes that I've seen have been adorned with pacifiers, toys and the like...but I wasn't feeling that with this cake. I wanted it to be simple and classic. And I loved the way the white diapers looked with the ribbon colors against them. So I left it. I went looking for a little brown monkey topper...but ended up leaving it empty. And, HA! It's my diaper cake so I can! :)