Now for the icing on the cake.. This is where the bling is! Items could include: shampoo, lotion, blankets, onesies, bibs, spoons, sleepers, wipes, binky, clippers, bottles, rattles, washcloths, towels,etc.
The Base - Sturdy Foundation
The base needs to be sturdy. It can be made of cardboard or metal. Most people use a thick cardboard base. It must be strong enough to carry the weight of the cake. You can buy pre-made sizes from a part or craft store or cut cardboard to fit.
If you are cutting it yourself make sure that you do not use a box "fold" in the circle you cut. You can cut exact size of the finished layers or leave a little extra around it for decor.ating purposes. Get Creative! You can use double sided sticky tape or glue stick to secure a covering to it. The covering can be made of material or decorative paper. You can use lace, beads, tulle, roping, etc to cover the edging.
The bottom layer can either use a 12 inch or 10 inch base, depending on how much extra cardboard you want along the edge for decoration. The middle layer will fit a 10 inch base. The top layer can fit either a 6 or 8 inch base, depending on how much cardboard you want for decoration.
Assemble the Pieces
The first thing you would need to do is have a way to secure the diapers once they are rolled up. Use ribbon, clear rubber bands or tape- be careful with this so the diapers are still useable. Roll the diapers and put ribbon or clear rubber bands to hold them in place. This will take the most time. The rest of the assembly will go quickly.
Roll the diapers in a manner to have the outside edge decoration in or decoration out. Rolling the decoration side in will give you a white cake. If for the effect, you want is to use the design of the diaper as a design of the cake, then roll it design out. This has a pretty cool effect when it is done.
Pulling the Cake Together
The bottom of a three tier cake will need 2 layers of diapers around a center focal point.
A baby bottle works great for this. Tie a ribbon around each layer to make the next layer easier to construct. When you have the bottle and 2 surrounding layers together, tie it with ribbon to keep in one place.
Repeat this with the second and top layers. The top layer will only be 1 circle of diapers. You can also use newborn (or a size smaller to achieve another effect)
All 3 layers of the cake are finished. Now the funh really begins! Put your creative hat on! Before you begin though, one final question.
The Diaper, cover or not to cover ? That is the question! Rolled diapers will give a scalloped look on the outside edge. If you want it to be covered you have a few choices. You can overlap diapers around the edge of the cake, the rolled diapers will be covered and it will give it a smoother outside appearance. Or use onesies, blankets, towels, and washcloths to cover the rolled diapers as you decorate around it.
Decorating -The Finishing Touches
You are done with the layers, now is the time to add your creative flair. You can either individually tie or pin each item onto the cake or use ribbon to go around both the cake and decoration.
There you have it - a diaper cake worthy of giving to your mom-to-be!
