Make a DIY diaper cake (while your toddler naps!)

It's mother's day weekend!  I can't think of a better weekend for a baby shower.  

Attending a baby shower? Make a diaper cake in just a few steps.

Presenting...the DIY diaper cake.  It's practical, meaningful, and there's no baking required.  I'm going to tell you how to make one with items you may already have.   

The time commitment: 30 minutes to an hour.

I did this project during my son's morning nap. I had bags of unused newborn diapers and a concept in my head.  It was a race around the house to find crafty goodies to build the cake, but that's half the fun!  

You will you need:

• Newborn diapers 
• Pretty ribbon or scrapbook paper
• A gift which will be placed in the center of the cake. I went with a receiving blanket but you can use a big bottle of baby shampoo or a stuff animal to serve as the center of the cake.
• Rubber bands  
• Scissors
• Glue or tape
• Any other embellishments you may have.  Dig through your craft box! I used stickers, a marker, and construction paper, etc.

Step 1:   Create the center of the diaper cake.  Roll up the receiving blanket and place a rubber band around it (in my cake, the top of the rolled up blanket ended up looking like petals of a flower). This will become the center of the cake in which you layer your diapers around.   

Step 2:   Make the bottom layer of the diaper cake.  There are two ways of doing this. You can roll up and rubber band each individual diaper.  Use a large rubber band to wrap the entire bottom layer in place. Work your way around the center of the cake adding the rolled up diapers until you have a solid bottom layer. 

The other way you can create a bottom layer is by keeping the diapers flat (as is) and working your way around the cake center, creating overlapping layers as you go. As you do this, it may help to wrap a rubber band around a few diapers and then go back and layer more diapers under the rubber band in order to create a big base (try not to snap the rubber band!)  I used this technique in the cake I made.

Step 3:  Make the top layer of the diaper cake.   Once you are done creating the bottom layer, make a second layer above it in the same way (although not as big).  In the cake I made, I rolled my diapers and layered it around the center and secured it with big rubber band.

Step 4: Decorate your diaper cake!  This is the fun part.  I didn't have ribbon that I liked so I used scrapbook paper and wrapped it around each layer to hide the rubber bands.  I used stickers and cut-out hearts to embellish the cake.  I even included the baby's name "Grace" on the cake. I added a tiny tag on the top with a note "To Grace: You'll need these".   Finally, I made a DIY diaper cake tray (out of scrapbook paper and a piece of cardboard) to complete the look.

All done! 

Ready to start yours? On your marks, get set, make your DIY diaper cake!