How to buy a diaper cake
I must admit I look around the internet very often at other diaper cakes and sometimes get pretty mad at what I find. I just want to write a quick guide on what to look for when deciding to purchase a diaper cake for a loved one's (or your own) upcoming baby shower.
First things first, look at the style of the diaper cake. There are pretty much 2 styles you can choose from - the candle roll type, where every individual diaper is rolled up and stood up in the tiers, or there is the spiral type, which can be made in a variety of ways. The best one by far is the spiral style cake. The reason for this is because, if you give a rolled type, the Mom is going to have to unroll every single diaper before she uses it. Most people secure them with rubber bands, some with ribbons, either way, it is a pain having to take every diaper apart (I got one of these types for my baby shower) before using it.
Then there is the spiral style. Different people make these different ways. Some people start in the middle, adding layers of diapers as they go around, until each tier is the desired size. There is nothing wrong with this, but the Mom will still have some work to do before she can use the diapers, as she will have to untie each layer and stack them up herself as she goes.
Then there is the boutique spiral style cake, this is the best kind. But beware, many people call their cakes boutique spiral style diaper cakes although they are not. This may be to mislead buyers, or it may be because they do not know the difference, that is not my call to make, I am just saying beware. The boutique spiral style cake is absolutely the easiest to use, the diapers will have been handled the least, and it is super easy to take apart when the time come. Here at Diaper Cakes by Wendy, I make my cakes so all you have to do is untie the whole tier and there you have a whole stack of diapers, ready to use, nice and neat.
The next thing you should be looking for is the brand of diapers used in the diaper cake. If you do not see a brand listed, this is usually a good indicator that they have used low quality, store brand diapers in the cake. If you are unsure, always ask first. I know very, very few new Moms who are willing to use cheap diapers on their newborn, so while your gift may be cute, it will be a waste of money because the Mom is unlikely to actually use the diapers. Huggies, Pampers, and Luvs are all good brands. You may want to ask the new Mom what she prefers, or if you want to surprise her, just make sure you get good diapers. I use Luvs for a couple of reasons. One is because I am a Mom and I have tried just about every diaper out there on my two children. I do not like Huggies because they leaked on both of my children, and the padding bunches up in them badly. I do like Pampers, but not the Swaddlers. They get really puffy and leave gel on baby's skin, which is hard to remove with a wipe. Pampers Cruisers are the exact same diaper as the Swaddlers, they are just made in larger sizes, while the Swaddlers are made in smaller sizes. Pampers Baby Dry are good diapers, they conform to baby's shape and they absorb well without leaving gel on baby or getting too puffy. They don't make a good diaper cake choice though as they have print all over them, making for a cluttered looking cake. Luvs is the EXACT same diaper as the Pampers Baby Dry, but they are white on the back, making for a perfect diaper cake diaper choice. If you do a little research, you will find that Luvs and Pampers are made by the same company, PG. They are the same diaper, sold under a different name and at a better price. This allows me to use excellent diapers while also keeping my prices affordable. I would NEVER use anything on my baby shower creations that I would not use on my own baby.
Next thing to look at is the diaper size. If you have children of your own or know anyone with children, you may already know many babies are born big. My son was born at 7 pounds 15 ounces, and my daughter was 8 pounds 9 ounces, so they were both pretty big! Newborn diapers are only for babies up to 10 pounds, so my son was able to wear them a couple of weeks, while my daughter could never wear them (although she wasn't 10 pounds, they didn't fit her). Many sellers use newborn diapers because they are smaller and more come in a pack, giving the illusion that you are getting a good deal because you are getting more diapers per cake. This is not the case, plus you never know if the baby will be small enough when born to even wear the diapers.
Then there are the sellers who use large diapers, say size 2 or 3. This is good because the cake will be able to stay together longer before the new Mom has to take it apart, but it can be bad too. The cake will just be sitting in the nursery taking up space and gathering dust until the baby grows into the diapers. Also, you will get fewer diapers per cake when these diapers are used.
All reasons listed above are why I use size 1 diapers. They fit babies from 8 to 14 pounds, so the Mom can keep it together for a while, or she can use them right away! A win-win either way!
Now, look at the amount of diapers used in the cake. Sometimes it is hard to judge by pictures how big a cake is. Many sellers use about 25-30 diapers in their 2 tiered cakes, and about 45-50 in their 3 tiered cakes. Not me!! My two tiered cakes contain over 50 diapers, and my three tiered cakes contain about 70!! That is a great deal! And on top of that, my cakes are priced lower than what theirs are, while still offering more diapers!
While I do not add baby supplies to my cakes, some people do, so be sure to look at that too. Sometimes these things that cost you more will go to waste. New Moms are very picky about what they use on their new baby. Many sellers use Dollar Store items to "fill" their cakes. Sad, but true. Not only that, but if pacifiers, bottles, etc.. are on the cake, make sure the Mom will use them before buying the cake. If the Mom plans on breastfeeding or not offering a pacifier, they could just go to waste. Also, with bottles, spoons, and pacifiers, make sure the sellers uses BPA free items for the new baby!
So there you have it, these are very important things to think about when trying to decide on a diaper cake! Please feel free to leave a comment here letting me know what you think! (you do not have to be a Blogger member to comment). Thanks! See links below for my website, where you will find beautiful boutique spiral style diaper cake, all with FREE shipping!
Links:
Sassy8722
Diaper Cakes by Wendy
My Helpful eHow Articles
I must admit I look around the internet very often at other diaper cakes and sometimes get pretty mad at what I find. I just want to write a quick guide on what to look for when deciding to purchase a diaper cake for a loved one's (or your own) upcoming baby shower.
First things first, look at the style of the diaper cake. There are pretty much 2 styles you can choose from - the candle roll type, where every individual diaper is rolled up and stood up in the tiers, or there is the spiral type, which can be made in a variety of ways. The best one by far is the spiral style cake. The reason for this is because, if you give a rolled type, the Mom is going to have to unroll every single diaper before she uses it. Most people secure them with rubber bands, some with ribbons, either way, it is a pain having to take every diaper apart (I got one of these types for my baby shower) before using it.
Then there is the spiral style. Different people make these different ways. Some people start in the middle, adding layers of diapers as they go around, until each tier is the desired size. There is nothing wrong with this, but the Mom will still have some work to do before she can use the diapers, as she will have to untie each layer and stack them up herself as she goes.
Then there is the boutique spiral style cake, this is the best kind. But beware, many people call their cakes boutique spiral style diaper cakes although they are not. This may be to mislead buyers, or it may be because they do not know the difference, that is not my call to make, I am just saying beware. The boutique spiral style cake is absolutely the easiest to use, the diapers will have been handled the least, and it is super easy to take apart when the time come. Here at Diaper Cakes by Wendy, I make my cakes so all you have to do is untie the whole tier and there you have a whole stack of diapers, ready to use, nice and neat.
The next thing you should be looking for is the brand of diapers used in the diaper cake. If you do not see a brand listed, this is usually a good indicator that they have used low quality, store brand diapers in the cake. If you are unsure, always ask first. I know very, very few new Moms who are willing to use cheap diapers on their newborn, so while your gift may be cute, it will be a waste of money because the Mom is unlikely to actually use the diapers. Huggies, Pampers, and Luvs are all good brands. You may want to ask the new Mom what she prefers, or if you want to surprise her, just make sure you get good diapers. I use Luvs for a couple of reasons. One is because I am a Mom and I have tried just about every diaper out there on my two children. I do not like Huggies because they leaked on both of my children, and the padding bunches up in them badly. I do like Pampers, but not the Swaddlers. They get really puffy and leave gel on baby's skin, which is hard to remove with a wipe. Pampers Cruisers are the exact same diaper as the Swaddlers, they are just made in larger sizes, while the Swaddlers are made in smaller sizes. Pampers Baby Dry are good diapers, they conform to baby's shape and they absorb well without leaving gel on baby or getting too puffy. They don't make a good diaper cake choice though as they have print all over them, making for a cluttered looking cake. Luvs is the EXACT same diaper as the Pampers Baby Dry, but they are white on the back, making for a perfect diaper cake diaper choice. If you do a little research, you will find that Luvs and Pampers are made by the same company, PG. They are the same diaper, sold under a different name and at a better price. This allows me to use excellent diapers while also keeping my prices affordable. I would NEVER use anything on my baby shower creations that I would not use on my own baby.
Next thing to look at is the diaper size. If you have children of your own or know anyone with children, you may already know many babies are born big. My son was born at 7 pounds 15 ounces, and my daughter was 8 pounds 9 ounces, so they were both pretty big! Newborn diapers are only for babies up to 10 pounds, so my son was able to wear them a couple of weeks, while my daughter could never wear them (although she wasn't 10 pounds, they didn't fit her). Many sellers use newborn diapers because they are smaller and more come in a pack, giving the illusion that you are getting a good deal because you are getting more diapers per cake. This is not the case, plus you never know if the baby will be small enough when born to even wear the diapers.
Then there are the sellers who use large diapers, say size 2 or 3. This is good because the cake will be able to stay together longer before the new Mom has to take it apart, but it can be bad too. The cake will just be sitting in the nursery taking up space and gathering dust until the baby grows into the diapers. Also, you will get fewer diapers per cake when these diapers are used.
All reasons listed above are why I use size 1 diapers. They fit babies from 8 to 14 pounds, so the Mom can keep it together for a while, or she can use them right away! A win-win either way!
Now, look at the amount of diapers used in the cake. Sometimes it is hard to judge by pictures how big a cake is. Many sellers use about 25-30 diapers in their 2 tiered cakes, and about 45-50 in their 3 tiered cakes. Not me!! My two tiered cakes contain over 50 diapers, and my three tiered cakes contain about 70!! That is a great deal! And on top of that, my cakes are priced lower than what theirs are, while still offering more diapers!
While I do not add baby supplies to my cakes, some people do, so be sure to look at that too. Sometimes these things that cost you more will go to waste. New Moms are very picky about what they use on their new baby. Many sellers use Dollar Store items to "fill" their cakes. Sad, but true. Not only that, but if pacifiers, bottles, etc.. are on the cake, make sure the Mom will use them before buying the cake. If the Mom plans on breastfeeding or not offering a pacifier, they could just go to waste. Also, with bottles, spoons, and pacifiers, make sure the sellers uses BPA free items for the new baby!
So there you have it, these are very important things to think about when trying to decide on a diaper cake! Please feel free to leave a comment here letting me know what you think! (you do not have to be a Blogger member to comment). Thanks! See links below for my website, where you will find beautiful boutique spiral style diaper cake, all with FREE shipping!
Links:
Sassy8722
Diaper Cakes by Wendy
My Helpful eHow Articles
Posts
3 comments:
Why thank you and I am glad you enjoy my blog! :)
Hi Wendy. I just came across your blog this morning and have read every word and just love it!!! My cousin is having a shower sunday and I wanted to make a few of the lollipops just to show her how much I care. My only problem is that I love yours and wanted to know if you would tell me how to put a pom pom on the outside? I was thinking about using glue but just don't know if that would work good. If you have any good suggestions for me I'd be more than happy to hear them. The next shower I go to I will be buying a diaper cake from you for sure they are so beautiful and well put together. I hope you nothing but the best. I wish you the best at the craft show as well. My name is Tisha and I will be reading every blog you post for now on.
Hi Tisha!! If you would like, feel free to email me at diapercakesbywendy@yahoo.com and I will be more than happy to tell you exactly how to make my washcloth lollipops! Thank you so much and I am so glad you enjoy my blog! :)
Wendy
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