Tales of Diapering Cake Baking

          I just released it has been almost another month since I have had a chance to write in the blog. I swear this year if flying by, and I don't know where it is going. Last time I blogged I just finished up catching things up to date, and I mentioned that I had made my first two diaper cakes but couldn't post pictures yet since I hadn't given them to their respective mommies. So this blog is dedicated to the art of baking a diaper cake. 
   My inspiration for doing a diaper cake actually came from one given to me by my best friend. It was an adorable gift, but more importantly, it was one of the most useful I got at my shower. Two of friends at my work were pregnant-one a first baby and another with a second. When I offered to help with the shower, I was trying to think of a decorative things I could give that would also be a useful gift for a first time mom. Light bulb went on, and I decided that the diaper cake would be a perfect gift. I thought that, if it were successful, then it would be a great gift as well for a second baby since diapers are always necessary.
    I am a pinaholic, and pinterest is a wealth of diaper cake knowledge. There is a thousand different ways to make them apparently. I ended up using this blog to make mine http://www.susiestampalot.com/2008/05/how-to-make-diaper-cake.html. I did a few things differently, but this was one of the better sites with step by step instructions. Here is the process I went with pictures.

1. You have to buy diapers. Most sites suggested newborns or size 1, and most said they used one size for the whole cake. Both cakes I did used two different sizes. Most babies grow out of newborn stuff really quickly, even faster for bigger babies. So I did two layers of a small size, and the bottom was a bigger size. I tried size 2, but newborns and size 1 work because they are really small and can be rolled very tightly. I used a bag of each size for 1 cake. I got Pamper Swaddlers both times because they were white and personal fondness for the brand. I am assuming any diaper should work the same. I would find out the mommy-to-be's pick for diapers and use that. Just know some diapers like the Pamper Cruisers have images printed on them.

2. You will also need two kinds of rubber bands, really small ones and normal office size. I preferred the clear small ones because they were harder to see later. These can be found in the hair aisle of the story. The ones I got were made by Goodies. I preferred white for the bigger ones since once again they blend in.

3. Other items needed are two bottles of powder, ribbon, double stick tape, pins, base, and decorative items. I did two different sizes of powder (15 oz and travel side) for my second cake. I also used a bulb syringe instead of a travel size powder. I found a big bulk stack of card stock mats from Hobby Lobby. You have to combine several together, but it was a super cheap buy. You will also need several receiving blankets. You will also need to get an item for the topper.

4. The hardest thing about the diaper cake is rolling the diapers, and that is mainly because it is takes time. I found that if you rolled from the top opening of the diaper made it easier to get a tighter roll. I would make sure to grab something it keep all the diapers corralled.

 

5.  After I rolled all the diapers, I put together several card stock pieces together to make a base for the cake. You can also use a regular cake base. Cover the card stock with one of the blankets. 

6. Place the larger bottle of powder in the middle of the base with double-stick tape. Wrap one of the larger rubber bands loosely around the bottle, and then slip rolled diapers in the rubber band. I used all of larger size of the diapers for the bottom cake. Below is what mine looked like after I finished with the bottom layer. Make it is as tight is possible.

 side view

top view

7. Rinse and repeat for the second layer accept with the top of the bottle of powder. Below is the pictures of the finished second layer with the bulb syringe.

8. If you are using the bulb syringe, take a loose diaper around the tip and then rubber band it. Wrap the bigger rubber around the middle diaper and build the last layer round it. 

9. Once all the layers are done, it is time for the fun part-decorating. You can use blankets on all three layers, but I only did the top and bottom layer. Use you have a really long blanket, you will most likely need two receiving blankets. I found it was easier to take the layers apart again, and roll the layers on their sides. I used pins to hold the blankets in place, and then I wrapped a ribbon around the center. Of course, the ribbon and blankets will depend on gender of the baby and/or the theme of the shower. The first one I did was a boy with a duckie themed shower, so the cake had blue blankets with duckie touches.

 Bottom cake with pinned blanket number 1.

 Middle layer with ribbon

All three layers with blankets and ribbons. The little mustache ribbon was my favorite.










10. You can really give the cake like before, but what fun is that? The first cake I made was for a first time mom so I put some cute things she would need like bibs, shampoo, pacifiers, and cute little shoes. I also made washcloth lollipops. I had to roll the washcloths vertically like a snake. I rolled on like a pinwheel, and then I attached the other with a pin and wrapped it around the first. I used a rubber band to fasten the ends. I stuck a baby spoon in the band and wrapped the whole thing with a plastic party bag.

 Snake roll

Pinwheel roll

 Attaching the two


I used a duckie for the cake topper since it fit the theme. Below are the pictures of the final outcome.

Back

Front

 

The second one I made was gender neutral because the baby was a surprise-she had a little girl. I used sleeping gowns to make the hearts on the sides. I did this by doing a snake roll, and then I rolled the top and bottom in to form the sides. I also used bibs as rosettes by snake rolling it flat and then wrapping them in an overlapping pinwheel.

Either way, the cakes turned out adorable, and both recipient was thrilled with them. The next attempt will be here very soon. Super excited about that one. Anywho, laundry is calling so it is time to wrap this thing up.