Katie's Nappy Cake

We had Katie's baby shower on Sunday, and as promised, I made a diaper cake.  It turned out really well, but the whole experience was fraught with frustration, starting from the Kmart where I bought my materials.

Me:  "Hmmm, I've got diapers, wipes, stuffed animals, and bottles.  What I really need is a pacifier." (to shop attendant) "Excuse me, where are your pacifiers?"

Shop attendant:  "Uh, I don't think we have any pacifiers."

Me:  "You must have pacifiers."

Shop attendant:  "Uh, I really don't think we have pacifiers."

Me:  "Seriously?  You have this huge baby section and you don't have pacifiers?"

Shop attendant:  "Oh, are they for babies?"

Me (adopting a explaining-something-simple-to-a-toddler kinda voice):  "Yes.  Pacifiers are for babies.  A  pa-ci-f-ier.  The thing you stick in their mouth when they're crying.  They suck on them...  You know....  A pacifier."

Shop attendant:  "Oh!  Do you mean a dummy?"

Sure enough, I did. 

But I can't help being a bit exasperated.  Dummy, Australia?  You're calling a good old-fashioned pacifier a dummy?  I like a lot of the names Australia has for baby stuff-- our stroller is a pram, which is not only shorter (why waste your time with that extra syllable) but also sounds rather chic.  Diapers become nappies.  Somehow 'dirty nappy' sounds a good bit cleaner than 'dirty diaper'.  But dummy is a word I don't particularly care for.  My children will be sucking on pacifiers, Thank You Very Much.

Anyway, cultural misunderstandings aside, I got all my materials and made my nappy cake!  Here's what I used (and what you will need, if ever you decide to make one too):

- 72 nappies/ diapers (use smaller sizes so Mom can use them when baby is born)
- 2 large bottles
- curling ribbon to hold things together
- decorative ribbon for finishing touches
- rubber bands
- a cake plate or cardboard
- decorations (I used bibs, a burb cloth, socks, baby face washers, baby powder, several kinds of travel sized wipes, lotion, pacifiers/ dummies and stuffed animals)

And here's how you do it:

1. Wrap each diaper tightly and secure with a rubber band  (this is the most time consuming part)

2. Using the bottle as a base, arrange the nappies around it in a circle so that you have your inner ring.  Secure with curling ribbon and carefully remove the rubber bands once secured (or leave them; it probably doesn't matter).  Repeat until you have at least 3 rings.  

I stole this picture from the internet.  

From http://www.plan-the-perfect-baby-shower.com/diaper-cake.html

3.  Once you have at least three rings, you've got your bottom tier made.  Repeat the process to make your second tier, just create one less ring.  By the time you get to your top layer, you should have a single ring of diapers around the bottle.  * You will probably have to use two bottles stacked on top of each other as your base.  Not a problem.

This one, too.

4. Now decorate!  Add little baby items like pacifiers, socks, booties, stuffed animals, washcloths etc.  You can tie them on with curling ribbon (that's what I did), tape them on, hide them in the folds of the nappies... whatever!

Here's how mine turned out:

 The front.  6 facewashers, 2 stuffed animals, 2 pairs socks,

1 bib, one burp cloth, one pacifier, one teether and a whole lot

of string and bows.

The back (aka, the side we don't like talking

about).  Not nearly as pretty to look at as the front... you

can see all the strings I used to hold everything together.

There's changing mats, baby powder, lotion, another pacifier, 2 
kindsof wipes and a whole lot more ribbon on this side.

Katie at her shower, with the cake.

My cake was made on Friday afternoon, and stayed together perfectly... until about 30 minutes before the shower, when the top layer fell off.  That's why its leaning in the photo with Katie! 

May Contain Spoilers

Part One : The Part that Katie Can Read I'm going to need to get some fairy wings!! Why? I will soon be joining the ranks of Flora, Fauna and Merriweather* and the Fairies from Cinderella and Shrek as a Godmother! My dear friend Katie is having a little baby girl any day now, and she has asked Rory and I to be Godparents... such a huge honor, and we're both very excited! The baby's name will be Annie, which I think is adorable. I can't wait to meet her!! I've become mobile phone obsessed... I always have it with me now, and it always has batteries (which generally doesn't happen) just in case we get a 'hurry to the hospital' call. Which I fully expect to come when I'm taking a shower and can't get to it on time. I'm taking extra-long showers, to try to tempt fate, but so far, no luck. I'm so impatient for Katie's baby to come that I can't imagine what it will be like when we have a baby someday. I don't think I'm cut out for the nine-months of waiting business... I'm more a right-now kinda gal. When we adopted Alfie, I had to wait until he was officially adoptable and on the RSPCA website before we could pick him up... I rang twice a day every day until they relented (they lasted 4 days). When we bought the house we saw it on a Thursday and bought it two days later, on Saturday morning. Split-second decisions and instant gratification are my thing, and so far its worked out pretty well. So I just don't know how I'm going to handle that waiting thing. Ah well, we shall cross that bridge when we get there.

My favorite fairy God-Mother.

* These are the names of the good Fairy Godmothers from Sleeping Beauty. Didn't know that? Neither did I... I had to look it up. Apparently I've got a lot to learn in the fairy Godmother department.

Part Two : The Part that Katie Cannot Read Until Next Week. Obviously, the most important part of being a Fairy Godmother is being able to craft, right?... Scrapbooks, gift baskets, handmade birthday cards-- these are the things Fairy Godmothers are made of. I made this for Katie last week. It was supposed to be a shower gift, but, as mentioned, I'm not so good at waiting, so she got it early. Its got all sorts of good baby grooming stuff, a baby-bathrobe with a duck on it, two embroidered face washers and a hooded towel. (I'm still not so sure why babies need hooded towels. All of my towels are and always have been hoodless and I've gotten on just fine, but this one I got Katie had an embroidered elephant on it and was a must-have on a 'best rated baby products' list I downloaded, so I bought it. Because that's what Fairy Godmothers do.) Her baby shower is on Sunday, and I've got another crafty item planned... I'm going to make a Baby Diaper Cake!! This is what I'm hoping it ends up looking like: But I shall let you know what it actually turns out like when I'm finished making it!! I'm also hosting a 'Meet the Baby' party for Katie after Baby Annie is born, so if anybody has any good Baby Shower/ Meet the Baby Party ideas, let me know!!