Beautiful Diaper Cakes

How to Make a Diaper Cake, Step by Step

1. Decide how big you want your diaper cake to be and cut a circular base out of sturdy cardboard. Alternately, you can use a pretty glass cake plate or even a pizza pan.
2. To form the top of the diaper cake, roll up a diaper, starting at the 'open' top end. Wrap a rubber band around the rolled diaper to stop it from unrolling.
   
   This will form the center of the layer; an alternative is to use a baby bottle instead.
3. Place a gift certificate from your place of choice on the cardboard base, glass cake platter, or pizza pan.
4. To make the first (bottom) tier, place a baby bottle or bottle of baby lotion in the center of the cake platter (on top of the gift certificate) and add about 7 diapers around the bottle or lotion and secure with one big rubber band to hold it in place. Form a 2nd ring of rolled up diapers with the remaining 11-12 diapers by placing them around the 1st ring of diapers. Complete it by placing a large rubber band around the entire thing. For the final ring of the first tier of diapers, tightly roll up 18 to 20 diapers but secure each one with ribbon instead of runner bands. Then place them around the second ring to form a third ring. Take a large, 1/2 to 1 inch wide ribbon and tie it around the entire tier to hold them all together in a circle shape. Some people use a large rubber band first and then cover the rubber band with the ribbon. This is just a matter of personal preference.
5. To create the second tier, proceed as for the first tier. You won't have to add a bottle of lotion or baby bottle in the center of this tier wince the bottle from the first tier will be sticking up. Simply place the rolled up diapers around the bottle of the first tier. Secure the bottles with ribbons as before. Remove a few diapers and add some surprise gifts in their place, such as a rolled up onesie, receiving blanket, or baby bottle.
6. To form the top tier of the diaper cake, use a baby bottle, a rolled up baby blanket, or rolled up diaper. Wrap a rubber band around the rolled diaper or blanket to keep it from unrolling. Cover the rubber band with a ribbon.
7. 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.
8. Secure them together by carefully inserting 1 or 2 wooden dowels through the base layer and then carefully stacking the other two layers on top of it, being careful to get the dowels between the diapers and not through any of the diapers.
9. To finish off you can wrap the diaper cake in cellophane or netting. Tie at the top with a bow, or add a stuffed animal to the tie for a "topper" to the cake.