WELCOME!

Hi! Thanks for stopping by Tic Tac Baby Cakes! Unfortunately, my diaper cakes are no longer for sale. But feel free to look around and become inspired to make your own. Thank you!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

HOW TO MAKE A DIAPER CAKE!

Okay so for about 2 years I made and sold diaper cakes. While they are fun to make and not very expensive, I decided to 'close up shop' so to speak. Mostly because I no longer have the room in this house to keep everything out and the overhead (when not having consistent orders) was really limiting the income that I was making. Most cakes I just broke even on because I'm too nice of  a person I didn't like charging too much for something that is so simple to make. So, better late than never, I'm sharing a "How to".

Step 1: Gather your materials. Basic items you will need are:

-diapers (I highly recommend Pampers Swaddler size 1 or 2...they are all white, they are soft and even if the newborn is 8+lbs at birth, they'll still fit!)

-rubber bands
-cardboard or cake board, tissue paper

-ribbon (fabric ribbon, not gift wrap ribbon)
-scissors, hot glue gun, tape/double stick tape
-any accessories that you want in the cake (in this instance a hooded towel, washcloths, a travel soap/lotion set, a small pkg of wipes)

Alright, let's get started. First things first, we need to cover the cake board/cardboard. Pretty self-explanatory, place the board on the paper. Fold or cut it around the board, taping the excess to the bottom. It'll start out like this:

Finished like this:
So, take your diaper and face it towards you with the size/design facing up.
Starting at the top, roll it toward you. Tight enough that it makes a roll but not so tight that it's super skinny.
Once it's all rolled up, wrap it with a rubber band. Again tight enough that the diaper doesn't unravel but not so tight that it leaves a huge indention.
Now repeat that step...a lot. For a 2 tier cake you'll need about 25 diapers, for a 3 tier you'll need about 50. Once you roll a bunch, it's time to assemble the tiers. You'll need 8 diapers to make the center/core of each tier and also for the top tier. Start with one diaper, surround it by 6-7 to form a circle.

Once you have your circle, wrap it with a rubber band. Again, not to tightly..use a bigger band if needed. It needs to look like this:

Now if you're making a 2 tier cake, add another circle of diaper around the outside of your core. If you're making a 3 tier cake (like I am) then you'll need to add 2 more circles of diapers around the core. Bascially if you're making a 3 tier, you need a center diaper with 3 rows around. If making a 2 tier, you need a center diaper then 2 rows around it, etc.

Here is my bottom tier, for a 3 tier cake. I labeled it to show what I mean. There is one diaper in the middle labeled "center". Then 3 circles of diapers surround it.

Repeat this step until you have all your tiers assembled. Next stack them together. If you are going to be using something big in your cake, you can omit diapers to fit it in to your desired tier. If it's a stuffed animal, it can go on top. In this instance I was using a hooded towel...definitely too big to go on top, so I subbed it in to the second tier. You can see where I removed some diapers from the second tier to make it fit, inside of my outer rubberband.

Now stack your top tier.
 Now if you have any washcloths, burp rags, onesies, etc that you are wanting to include, roll those up to approximate diaper size and substitute them in. 
Now it's time to decorate or add little things. I always include a travel set of soaps/lotions with each cake. Sometimes I attach them to the outer ribbon, sometimes inside of the ribbon...just depends on what looks best. On this cake, I opted to place them inside of the ribbon, against the diapers. It's helpful if you have a little double stick tape, to make sure they stay up and against the diapers but it's not required.

Now we have the cake constructed. Let's add the ribbon and pretty it up. I must say that for me, it's an absolute necessity to use fabric ribbon and not that plasticy gift-wrap ribbon. It's so much prettier, the mom-to-be can reuse it if she wants (bow holder anyone?) and it's usually cheaper. Hobby Lobby *always* has this on ''sale'' for 50% off, usually less than $2 a roll. I typically choose 2 ribbons, one wider than the other and stack them.

The trick to using ''real'' ribbon is you must heat-seal the ends so it doesn't unravel. It's really easy to do...once you've measure how much ribbon you need (add an inch for overlap), take a lighter and (without actually touching the flame!) get the ribbon close enough to the flame that the ends melt together. Please use common sense when using fire..don't do this while it's on the diaper cake, etc. Once it's heat-sealed, wrap it around your cake and hot glue the top ribbon to the bottom ribbon. Never put hot glue on the diapers, just the ribbon.
If using an accent ribbon, attach it in the same manner, on top of the wider ribbon. Repeat for all tiers. So now you have all 3 tiers prettied up, but we need to ''stick'' them together.

My method? Bamboo skewers. They're inexpensive, they aren't intrusive, they don't reduce the amount of diapers that you use, and it's simple. So, stack your cake up again...bottom 2 tiers only. Then slowly push 2 bamboo skewers down through the layers, between diapers, until you reach the cardboard.
It'll look kinda funny with the skewers sticking up; go ahead and break/cut those off so they are even with the top tier.Take a 3rd skewer and insert it in into the center of the cake but DON'T cut/break it. Use this as a stabilizer to attach the 3rd tier. Carefully slide the 3rd layer over the skewer (careful not to rip any diapers). Now your diaper cake won't be so wobbly!

(I circled where the hidden skewers are..)
 Tada! Your cake is now finished :)
 Now if you want to wrap it up in tulle, you can do that now. You'll need about a 1.25yd of tulle (again, it's like $1/yd at Hobby Lobby) and you just place the cake in the center of the tulle yardage. Pull the tulle up and rubberband it just about the top tier. Cut the excess off, attach a ribbon to cover the rubberband and you're ready for gift giving. (I made this cake just before taking it to the shower, so I did not wrap this cake in tulle.)

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

A huge "Thank You" and a Good Bye post

I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of the customers that I had over the 2 years that I was making diaper cakes. Both those customers whose cakes made the site and those that were not posted. I loved making each and every cake and hearing about how the mom-to-be sincerely enjoyed it.

However, the time has come where I am closing up shop, so to speak. With 3 kids and one on the way I no longer have the free time that I once did. Plus in this economy, orders were down and my overhead was getting higher and higher.

Hopefully in the next month I will get a tutorial posted showing you how to make your very own diaper cake :)

Thanks again, it was fun!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

"Wild Thing"

This is a custom 2 tier cake that was made for a mom to be who is expecting a little girl. Simple and chic with hot pink trim to give it a little edge!

Alternate View:

This 2 tier custom cake includes:
  • Approximately 28 Pampers Swaddlers size 1 diapers
  • 1Ty Plushie™ Giraffe
  • Travel sized Johnson & Johnson products (several hidden inside):
  • -Baby Powder
  • -Body wash
  • -'Head to Toe' wash
  • -Baby Shampoo
  • -Diaper cream
  •  2 colors of coordinating ribbon
  • Gift wrapped in tulle with matching ribbon

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Baby Blue

Here is a custom 3 tier cake that I made a few weeks ago for the new mommy of a baby boy named Landon. It is a simple, classic cake with colors of blue and green.
other side
This 3 Tier custom baby boy cake includes:
  • Approximately 55 Pampers Swaddlers Size 1 diapers
  • Safety 1st Nail Clippers
  • Safety 1st Hairbrush and Comb set
  • 6 painted wooden letters spelling "LANDON"
  • 1 Johnson & Johnson Travel set including:
  • -Baby Powder
  • -Baby Lotion
  • -Head to Toe Baby wash
  • -sample of 'Destin' Diaper cream
  • 2 colors coordinating ribbon
  • Gift wrapped in tulle with coordinating ribbon and ingredient card

Monday, September 28, 2009

Pink & Polka Dots

Here is a two tier custom cake that I made for a customer who wanted a 2 tier girl cake that would match a polka dot themed shower. It's simple and chic and definitely pink!

This cake includes:
  • Approximately 30 Pampers swaddlers size 1 diapers
  • 1 Infantino Rubber Duckie
  • Travel sized Johnson & Johnson products (several hidden inside):
  • -Baby Powder
  • -Body wash
  • -'Head to Toe' wash
  • -Baby Shampoo
  • -Diaper cream and "Soothing Naturals" lotion Samples
  • 3 colors of coordinating ribbon
  • Gift wrapped in tulle with matching ribbon

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Pretty Princess Baby Cake

This custom 3 tier diaper cake is the perfect theme for a new baby girl: Disney Princesses of course! What little girl doesn't want to be a princess at some point in her childhood? This custom cake is made with Pampers Swaddlers size 2 diapers (because the little one has already arrived) and accessorized with practical items that anyone with a baby would need. Lotion, baby powder and a nasal aspirator are necessities when you have a baby in the house. During the summer, baby powder can be especially useful to sprinkle on those cute chubby little baby rolls to help with sweating! This cake is finished off with Disney Princess scrapbooking embellishments and that classic Disney quote "Dreams do come true."
*please note that this pic was taken before i found the disney princess ribbon. the cake was completed with the princess ribbon around the middle tier, unfortunately i forgot to take an updated picture

This custom 3 tier Disney Princesses cake includes:
  • Approximately 55 Pampers Swaddlers Size 2 diapers
  • 6 Disney Princesses scrapbooking embellishments/stickers
  • 1 Disney Quote embellishment/sticker
  • Johnson & Johnson baby powder
  • Johnson & Johnson soft lotion
  • Johnson & Johnson safety swabs
  • Safety 1st Nasal Aspirator
  • 4 colors coordinating ribbon
  • Gift wrapped in tulle with coordinating ribbon and ingredient card

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Pop Monkey Baby Cake

This cake was SO much fun to make! The mom to be is registered for the "Pop Monkey" bedding (made by Kids Line) and it is the cutest little set, full of playful colors, dots and monkeys. Here is the bedding:
How adorable, right? Well using the bedding for inspiration, here is the diaper cake version of Pop Monkey:
Isn't that monkey just darling? He's just hanging around...ha ha! Sorry, I couldn't resist!
This custom 4 Tier Pop Monkey diaper cake includes:
  • Approximately 90 Pampers Swaddlers size 1-2 diapers
  • 1 NoJo Stuffed Monkey
  • 12 Fisher Price "Precious Planet" washclothes
  • Johnson and Johnson Cucumber & Melon baby wash
  • Johnson and Johnson Cucumber & Melon baby lotion
  • 3 Dr. Brown's bottles
  • 1 'Safety 1st' baby nail clippers
  • 1 'Safety 1st' medicine dropper
  • Travel sized Johnson & Johnson products:
  • -Baby Powder
  • -Body wash
  • -'Head to Toe' wash
  • -Baby Shampoo
  • -Diaper cream and "Soothing Naturals" lotion Samples
  • 4 colors coordinating ribbon
  • Gift wrapped in tulle with matching ribbon and tag