Going to a baby shower or first birthday and not sure what baby gift to get…may I suggest a Diaper Cake. Not only is it a great gift, but beautiful and economically helpful. Baby diapers are one of the biggest material costs that a parent will spend on their baby for the first three years. A mom can easily go through 4,000 diapers annually. That is why giving a diaper cake as a present to a new mom is such a wonderful and useful gift.

Not only is it fun to give the gift that you know will be used, but it is also fun to make. The creative possibilities are endless. You can make the diaper cake gender specific, themed, colorful, musical, playful, big or small. You can use blankets, bib's, clothes, plush toys, rattles, teethers, pacifiers, ribbon, flowers or anything else. Before you begin, you should ask yourself the following questions:

1. What size do you want the diaper cake to be? (1 Tier, 2 Tier, 3 or 4)

2. What theme do you want the diaper cake to be?

3. How much do you want to spend on making the diaper cake? (You should pay attention to this detail. It is easy to overspend on cute baby items)

Items that you will need:

-50-60 diapers (Huggies or Pampers, size 1 or 2 are both great choices)

-Clear rubber bands (will be used to secure each rolled diaper)

-Tape or glue gun

-Ribbon (1" to 1 1/2" to wrap around each tier)

-Base (you can use a cake board found at most craft stores or sturdy cardboard cut into a circle)

-2 paper towel cardboard rolls (1 to attach to the base to wrap diapers around and the other to be used to wrap diapers)

-Tissue Paper (to decorate and cover the base and cardboard tube)

-Baby Items (clothes, blanket, shoes, rattle, teether, pacifier, bibs etc…)

-Decorative Accents (ribbon, bows, flowers etc…)

Directions:

1. Center cardboard tube on base with glue or tape (allow to dry if glued).

2. Wrap base and tube with tissue paper to mask the cardboard.

3. Take your diapers, roll them and then secure each with a rubber band. You will then stack the rolled diaper in an upright position around the tube on the base. Continue to add more diapers until they extend out to your desired size (usually around 30 diapers are used).

4. You will then put a rubber band around the 30 diapers in the first tier to hold them in place and secure them to the cardboard tube.

5. Repeat that process for the second tier that will be stacked on top of the first tier, but use less diapers (usually around 20)

6. If decorating a third tier, repeat process and use 10 diapers that will be stacked on top of the second tier.

7. After tiers are built and rubber banded. Use the decorative ribbon to wrap around each tier, covering where the rubber band is that is holding all the diapers to the base and tube.

8. Now you can start adding decorations to the diaper cake. You can place the items anywhere that you would like. One suggestion would be to tie a ribbon around each item that you want to attach, that way you can super glue the ribbon on the item to the decorative ribbon wrapped around the diapers. This will prevent the items from falling off or ruined by the glue. You can also stuff items in the top hole of the cardboard tube attached to the base.

That is all there is to it! Once completed, you can wrap the diaper cake in tulle or a cellophane bag tied with a ribbon and tag. The finished product looks fantastic and is sure to put a smile on any mom or recipients face. If you feel that you do not have the creative talent to put together a diaper cake and would prefer to buy one instead. May I suggest www.mybabybuddy.com as a great site to purchase a diaper cake or baby gift.