Diaper cakes are becoming ever more popular at baby showers. Show someone you care by making a diaper cake with a little Hawaiian flair. By adding some handmade burp clothes with Hawaiian print and a few a stuffed animals that represent the wildlife in Hawaii, you have got yourself a personalized gift that the mom to be is sure to love.

What you will need to build a diaper cake:

-60 or so diapers, cloth or disposable will do.

-Optionally, you may substitute 12 or more handmade burp cloths and/or swaddling blankets. Burp cloths can easily be made by sewing a strip of Hawaiian print material onto a cloth diaper (see illustration in slide show).

-Ribbon to match your theme (1/4” ribbon for each diaper on the ouside of the tiers and ¾-1” ribbon to wrap around each tier of cake

-A bag of rubber bands (at least 50)

-A large baby bottle, bottle of baby shampoo, lotion or powder. This will be used as the core for your first two layers of cake

-Small 4-5oz baby bottle

-Hawaiian themed decorations such as: flower leis, stuffed turtles, monk seals, mermaids, tropical fish (great patterns can be found in The Complete Hawaiian Reef Fish Coloring Book),pacifiers, and other baby goodies

-Cake plate or circular cardboard support

-Candy to fill the baby bottles. *Optional

The first thing you will need to do to make your diaper cake is to roll all of the diapers, burp cloths, and swaddling blankets and secure with a rubber band. Place the large bottle in the center of the cake plate or cardboard support and place a rubber band around the bottle. Begin the assembly of the cake by placing six rolled diapers into the rubber band; they should surround the bottle. To form the second ring around the base layer, place 10-12 more diapers into the rubber band circling the first ring.

Before you add the third ring of diapers around the base, tie a piece of the ¼” ribbon around each of the next 18-20 diapers. You will need about 12” of ribbon per diaper. Once the ribbon is tied, you can remove the rubber band. Now, place the diapers into the rubber band circling the first two rings. You have now formed the base layer. Use the ¾” ribbon to circle the entire base. You may tie it into a bow or secure with glue.

The second layer will be made in the exact same way. If you are using burp cloths or swaddling blankets, this is the best layer to place them into. Use a rubber band around the bottle and place six diapers inside the it to form the first ring and twelve diapers to form the second ring. The outer ring of diapers should always be tied with ¼” ribbon if desired. Follow up by securing the entire layer with ¾” ribbon.

The top layer is made the same way only you will use the small baby bottle (optionally filled with candy) and six diapers. Again, you may wish to tie ribbon around each diaper before stuffing into the rubber band. Secure the final layer with ¾” ribbon. Use a piece of double sided tape on the bottom of the small bottle to place the final layer on top of the cake. Your basic diaper cake is now complete.

For Hawaiian flair, add stuffed turtles, tropical fish, flower leis and other decorations until you have the desired effect. Now you have a great personalized baby shower gift that is sure to wow all of the guests.