Diaper Train

Who doesn't love the traditional baby shower centerpiece, the diaper cake?  When a good friend of mine told me she was pregnant, I immediately started trying to come up with an idea for her diaper cake.  Aside from being adorable I think these are amazing gifts!  Especially when adorned with all the little things babies need, but can really dent the wallet as they add up.  I had never made a diaper cake before, but I knew I wanted it to be special. 
A few months prior I helped my sister make an adorable 3-wheeler cake for my niece, I have to admit though she did the work. 

After searching photos on the internet I finally settled on making my friend a diaper train.  I couldn't find any descriptions of how to make these, but there were lots of pictures and places to buy one already made.  One place that I'd like to give mention to that makes and sells adorable diaper cakes is http://www.babyfavorsandgifts.com/

However, I love making things, and feel that its so much more personal when you do it yourself.  So I set out to make my own.  Read on for the items used and included and basic instructions for making one yourself.

• 132 ct. Box Huggies sz 1 diapers
• 1 Plush baby blanket
• 3 Receiving blankets
• 3 baby washcloths
• wicker basket (from baby store)
• 1 cake board
• 11 large flowers
• Coordinating colors of thin and thick satin ribbon
• rubber bands
• doublesided tape
• stick pins
• toy links

In basket:

• Johnson's lavender body wash and lotion
• Baby thermometer
• Nasal Aspirator
• Grooming Kit (brush, comb nail clippers, etc)
• A&D ointment
• Knit baby booties
• Leftover washcloths, receiving blanket and 2 diapers.

Ok, so before anyone goes on to tell me how I didn't do this project on the cheap, let me explain.  Being a mother of twins, I bought the things for my friend that I preferred using.  My kids could only ever wear Huggies everything else gave them rashes. The Johnson's lavender baby wash really does work to help babies sleep, so it's worth a few extra pennies!  Anyway, I gave her premium diapers, blankets and body wash.  It was a rather expensive gift, and could be made for much less then I did.  But she has done so much for me and my twins, and this is her gift from me for 2 separate showers. 

First step in building this was to make the wheels.  There are 10 wheels altogether, 6 for the train, and 4 for the wagon.  Plus 2 more for the top of the train engine.  Each wheel contains 9 diapers.  I rolled the first diaper and secured with a rubber band.  I then used the remaining 8 diapers to wrap around the first staggering the ends all the way around, securing the whole thing with a rubber band.  Once all the wheels were finished I wrapped ribbon around 10 of them to hide the rubber bands.  Securing the ribbons with doublesided tape.  This is not necessary on the last 2 wheels.  After my wheels were finished I set 6 together and cut my cake board to fit on top of all 6 wheels, I did not leave much room for the board to overhang and hide the wheels.

I folded the nice plush blanket to lay perfectly across the cake board, with no visable folds.  I used doublesided tape to help it stick to the board and not move around easily.  My 2 remaining wheels I wrapped with a receiving blanket and placed on top of the board just an inch or 2 away from the front edge.  I then used 2 strips of wide ribbon wrapped over the wheels and around the cake board to secure everything in place.  Using more doublesided tape to secure the ribbon to the underside of the cakeboard.  Set aside.

For the back of the engine I used 22 diapers, stacked just like they are in the package.  I wrapped a rubber band around them to ensure they stay together, and then wrapped the whole thing up in another receiving blanket, using more doublesided tape to hold everything together.  I used a open washcloth to cover the back of my "box" to give it a more finished look.

I place the "box" on the cakeboard just behind the front of the engine.  I then used another receiving blanket and tape to secure it to the board, wrapping it and taping it just like the ribbons that held the front of the engine.

I added a folded washcloth to the front to look like the grill of a train, a rolled washcloth to the top for a whistle and then finished everything off by adorning with ribbons, bows and flowers.  The wagon was just placed on top of the wheels and the links were used as windows on the engine, and as connectors between the engine and the wagon. Start to finish it was done in about 2 hours.

Voila!