Diaper cakes make beautiful centerpieces at a baby shower, and are also practical gifts for the parents to be. The days of round, white cakes consisting of just diapers and ointment are history. These days people are coming up with some really cool diaper cake ideas.
Today, diaper cakes are being made in all shapes and sizes, with everything from bottles, pacifiers, diapers, bibs, burp cloths and more!
What are Baby Diaper Cakes?
Diaper cakes are carefully stacked rolled or folded diapers placed in a way to make it look like a traditional tiered cake. Diaper cakes are favorite and popular baby shower gift idea because they also double as a wonderful decoration.
As you can see from our diaper cake inspiration ideas below, they can be quite elaborate and diaper cakes can be made to match just about any baby shower party theme.
What are the Best Diapers to Use for a Baby Diaper Cake
There are so many brands of diapers nowadays, it can be confusing which you should buy (especially if you’ve never had a child in diapers before!).
My first suggestion would be to use sizes 2-4 in any diaper cake you purchase or make. Newborns often have sensitive bottoms and new mothers are often picky or need to try out several different brands to meet their babies needs.
Babies quickly outgrow newborn sized diapers and once they do, they also will usually be able to wear a larger variety of brands and styles with less issues.
Your second consideration should be color. If you want your embellishments to really pop, go with plain white.
On the flip side, a lot of diaper brands have fun, colorful prints nowadays and some may even match your overall diaper cake theme. You may even want to browse these first to get ideas.
TIP: If you happen upon a great diaper sale but they have an off print or color that you don’t like – don’t worry! Purchase them anyway and you can use them in your interior rounds/layers that don’t even get seen from the outside.
How Many Diapers Do I Need to Make a Diaper Cake?
Quite simply, the bigger the diaper cake, the more diapers you’ll need to make it. But for reference, a good-sized 3 layer diaper cake will normally require about 50 diapers. (So yes, grab those you saw on sale!)
TIP: Larger sized diapers will make larger layers and thus larger cakes. So feel free to mix in a few in the 4-6 size range to accomplish those grand diaper cake goals without breaking the bank!
What Do I Need to Make a Baby Diaper Cake?
The best baby diaper cakes incorporate these three essentials:
Ribbon
Lots of ribbon. Go for different styles, sizes and colors. Layer thinner ribbons on top of wider strips to achieve some texture and an instant upgrade.
Cake Topper
Don’t leave this out because not only does it make the diaper cake appear more finished, but it’s useful for hiding the insides of the top layer so you don’t have any holes or gaps showing. An easy topper to go with would be a stuffed animal.
Decorations
These embellishments are what make your cake really pop. It’s all the decor that you add in theme that actually makes your diaper cake not look like just a stack of rolled diapers, but a thoughtful masterpiece.
This is where you can customize the look to the mamma and baby themselves so get creative! Don’t be afraid to mix in stuff for Mamma too – like a sleep mask, vitamins, a spa day gift certificate, etc.
Diaper Cake Decorating Ideas
Here are some of our favorite baby diaper cake decorating ideas for boys and girls. I’m amazed at how creative and elaborate some of the cakes have become, like the Princess diaper cake with candy!
Motorcycle diaper cakes work for boys or girls, and can be customized with stuffed animals and colored ribbons. You can see step by step instructions on how to make this adorable monkey diaper cake on a motorcycle at Sweet Aprils.
This adorable transportation inspired diaper cake covers the diapers with bibs, burp cloths, and other fabric to make it even more colorful and original. Of course, the more you add the more expensive the cake is, but you can always make it a group gift.
A great thing about this is that it doesn’t matter what color diapers you buy because they will be covered up so you can find the best deals only buying diapers on sale!
Source: Mackey Madness
I really like the way the square cakes look, and this fire truck themed diaper cake is adorable!
Source: Lolasitas on Etsy
Instead of making one giant cake, you can make multiple smaller ones like these cute Animal Safari Mini Diaper Cakes. Small or mini-diaper cakes have become very popular at baby showers used as decorations or centerpieces.
Source:Dianna’s
Woodland animal themes are very popular and this is one of the cutest diaper cakes with woodland animals, like the fox, moose and squirrel.
Source:Dianna’s
It’s a party favorite, its M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E! Any Disney fan will go gaga over this Mickey Mouse Diaper Cake in classic red and black.
Source: Betty Cakes Bakery
Owls are so in right now, and this baby owl diaper cake with bib, is cute as a hoot! I think instead of the flowers as eyes, I would use pacifiers!
Source: Domestic Diva Designz
The brown and orange theme is so cute, and this giraffe diaper cake would look great displayed in the nursery!
Which diaper cake design is your favorite?
If you liked these, be sure to check out our second round up of even moreDIY Baby Shower Giftideas!
