Diaper cake instructions

I modified the instructions I found online and have done it a little different each time. If you google "how to make a diaper cake" lot of different examples and ideas come up. I think they make great centerpieces at the baby shower. And I have the cake stand that we purchased for our wedding cake still and it's a great size to put the diaper cakes on. It helps elevate it a little so if you have a cake stand then you may want to use it. • 60 diapers (depends on how big you make it) I use the swaddlers brand and used size 1 for the girl's cake and size 2 for the boy's. I think I prefer working with size 2. Just as warning. It takes a little while to roll the diapers so you may want to do it while you're doing something else, like the mandatory annual FERPA on-line certification that UTD requires or driving to Houston at 10:00 at night after the Spurs/Mavs game, or whatever you have going on. • Ribbon, 1/2 or 1 inch wide, patterned to fit the baby shower theme. • Ribbon, 1/4 inch to tie rolled diapers with (I only did this for the girl's cake. I thought it would make the boy's cake too frilly.) • about 60 small rubber bands (depending on the size of the diapers and size of the cake) • 6 extra large rubber bands • One 8-oz baby bottle or larger bottle of baby lotion or baby wash • One baby bottle (I try to get whatever the mom registered for) • A cardboard or plastic cake base • Baby items - Pacifiers, bottles, lotion, bibs, socks, receiving blankets, miniature stuffed animals, baby towel, onesie, wash cloths, baby hygiene products, toys, etc. The number of diapers are all kind of guide and will change based on the size diaper you use and the size bottles you use, etc. Don't stick too close to them. Just do what seems best for your cake. I also like a fuller looking cake so I always try to stuff one more diaper in each ring after it seems full. For the first tier, you will need about 35 newborn or stage 1 diapers. Unfold 17 of them and, one at a time, roll them up tight, starting from where diaper folds over (bottom) and rolling up to the top. The tighter the better. Place a rubber band around the center after you roll each diaper up to hold it tight. These are the inner diapers for the cake. I rolled mine so that the diaper's design didn't show, but that's just my preference Take the cake base and place the 8-oz baby bottle or large bottle of baby lotion in the center. Then place about 5-6 diapers around the bottle and put a large rubberband around the entire ring of diapers. Next, form a 2nd ring with the remaining 11-12 diapers by placing them around the 1st ring of diapers. Complete it by placing a large rubberband around the 2nd ring. Do the third and final ring in the same way using about 18 - 20 diapers. Make sure that when you're through all the rubberbands are situated so that you can hide them with ribbon. To do that I try to keep my rubberbands close to the center. The second tier is similar, only instead of 3 rings, you will only make 2 rings of diapers. Just like the 1st tier, the inside ring will need about 5-6 diapers. Part of the 8-oz bottle will be sticking out of the 1st tier, so place your 5-6 diapers around it to form the 1st ring of the 2nd tier. The 2nd ring will need 11-12 diapers. It is probably easiest to assemble the final tier on a table and then place it on the rest of the cake after it is assembled. So, take a 4-oz bottle and place it on the table. Then take 5-6 diapers and roll them up like before. Then place them around the 4 -oz baby bottle and together with the rubberband. Take the top tier and place it on the top on the first two layers. Now you can decorate your cake. At the minimum put ribbons around the center of the cake layers to cover the rubberbands. I cut the ribbon the length I need and the hot glue it where the tails overlap to make it stay without need to glue or pin anything to the diapers. I also use the hot glue gun to make and attach the bows. If you want it to be really frilly then you can tie small ribbons around the individual diapers on the outside of each layer. I only did this for the girl's cake. Finally you can decorate the cake with any accessories you might want to add. Add little baby items like Pacifiers, bottles, lotion, bibs, receiving blankets, miniature stuffed animals, baby towel, onesie, wash cloths, baby hygiene products, toys, etc. Place them between the folds of the diaper, tuck the larger items into the outer layer of ribbon. You can remove a diaper and fill in with something like a baby wash clothes or rolled clothes if you want. It's just up to you how much you want to decorate them. I usually end up buying more diapers and baby bottles than I need for the cake and just give any leftovers to the mom-to-be. The boy's cake The girl's cake