Make a 3-tier diaper cake yourself

A diaper cake is a great gift for new parents, because you really need a lot of diapers. I was very happy to receive such a diaper cake. You can buy them ready-made in drugstores, but sometimes you want to add specific care products or a certain toy, and that's not always easy with a pre-made diaper cake. However, anyone who enjoys crafting can easily make a diaper cake themselves. In this article, I would like to provide instructions on how I make my diaper cakes:

Shopping list for a 3-tier diaper cake

• 2 packs of diapers (always pay attention to the baby's weight and it's better to buy one size larger)
• 1-2 large cardboard boxes or cardboard plates of different sizes
• Scissors
• Adhesive tape
• plastic wrap
• 1 wide, beautiful ribbon (e.g., fabric)
• 2x thinner ribbon (for the diapers)
• 3 pieces of cake doilies
• possibly paints for painting the cardboard boxes/plates
• possibly a gift for the baby/parents

Instructions for the diaper cake

Cardboard tiers

First, I cut 3 circles of different sizes from the cardboard boxes. I chose diameters of 32 cm, 25 cm, and 20 cm respectively.

You can also make larger circles, as I had some diapers left over with these dimensions. Draw the circle on the cardboard with a pencil or a compass and cut it out round with scissors.

If you want to do it faster, just take 3 cardboard plates of different sizes. If you like, you can paint or cover the cardboard boxes to make them colorful. Next comes the most time-consuming work: 'rolling up the diapers'.

Diaper rolls

For the diaper cake, I chose disposable diapers with a nice pattern on the front. It looks very good when the rolls are standing in the cake.

For the diaper rolls, place the diaper upside down on the table, so the pattern is not visible and is facing the table. Then roll the diaper very tightly from bottom to top and tie it with a thin ribbon.

Extra tip:Keep the ribbon rather short so that the rolls stand well in the cake.

The 1st tier

I first laid out the clear plastic wrap so that I wouldn't have to lift the cake much after it was finished. Then, place the largest cardboard circle, put the cake doily on it, and place the diaper rolls vertically in a circle.

Depending on your preference, you can now hide a gift in the middle – but in the bottom tier, it should only be as high as the diaper rolls, otherwise the 2nd tier won't have any support. Place the diaper rolls so that the pattern faces forward and the ribbon faces inward.

When the entire cardboard circle is filled, wrap the wider ribbon around all the diaper rolls and tie them together.

The 2nd tier

For the 2nd tier, place the medium-sized cardboard box on top of the 1st tier, along with the cake doily.

Again, fill this tier with diaper rolls or place a gift in the middle. You have to fiddle a bit here, as the rolls like to tumble down. Check again that all diaper rolls have the pattern facing outward and the ribbons facing inward.

Finally, tie this tier together with the wider ribbon as well.

The 3rd tier

Now place the smallest cardboard box or plate and put the cake doily on it. I only bought large cake doilies and simply removed the outer part of the doily for the last plate.

Here, too, set up the diaper rolls and, if desired, hide a gift in the middle. In this tier, the gift can be taller, as it is the last tier.

I let half of a diaper roll stick out in the middle to make it look like a candle. Finally, tie this tier together with the remaining wide ribbon.

 

Finishing the diaper cake

Once everything is fixed with a ribbon, the diaper cake can now be wrapped in clear plastic wrap.

To do this, place the cake in the middle of the foil and tie the foil together above the cake with a ribbon. I fixed the ends at the bottom with tape so that everything stays in place.

Tie the ends at the top with a ribbon and curl them with scissors.

 

 

Variations

I had some diaper rolls left over from my diaper cake; now you can simply put them in a nice bag or a nice box, or, like me, craft a few more diaper cake variations. These variations are also great if you want to hide gifts in the diaper rolls that don't necessarily fit the dimensions of the diaper cake.

For example, I had a rectangular gift that I wrapped separately as a 'diaper house'.

Diaper cake

If you only want to give a small gift, you can also put together just one tier according to the previous instructions and place your gift in the middle.

To do this, cut the cardboard plate large enough to accommodate the gift in the middle and a round of diaper rolls. In this case, the gift can also stick out a little, so that the parents can immediately discover what else is hidden inside.

Tie the tier together again with a ribbon and wrap it with the foil. Fix the ends again with ribbon and tape.

Wrap with clear plastic wrap and you have an original little gift for the parents.

Extra tip:If you have several large gifts, you can simply craft several individual tiers. It also looks nice when several people can hand over the tiers.

Diaper house

Anyone who, like me, wants to hide a rectangular gift in the diapers can also craft a small house. Assemble the first tier according to the previous instructions, put the gift in the middle, and place a few more diaper rolls on top like a roof. Fix the whole thing with a ribbon (also around the 'roof').

Finally, wrap the foil around the diaper house again and fix it with ribbon and tape.

I hope these instructions helped to bring great joy to new parents. It certainly did for me. I look forward to constructive feedback, and perhaps there are even more original craft instructions for diaper cakes.

Photos by Sabine, meinhaushalt.at

Also read: Organizing a baby shower