Create a Cactus Diaper Cake With Baby Diapers - Desert Chica (2024)

Looking for a unique baby shower or diaper cake idea? My cactus diaper cake is perfect for cowboy, southwest, Arizona, cactus or even Toy Story themed baby showers.

Saguaro Cactus Baby Shower Cake

My diaper cake is specifically modeled after a saguaro cactus which are native only in the Sonoran desert of Southern Arizona and Mexico. Despite its endemic location, saguaro cacti often depicted as a symbol of the American West.

While this unique diaper cake may look complicated, it was my first attempt at making a diaper cake, so perfect for any newbie diaper cake makers.

Cactus Diaper Cake Supplies

Naturally you will need quite a few diapers to make this diaper cake. Use any brand of diapers that are on sale (or preferred by the new mom).

I’d also recommend avoid using newborn diapers because babies tend to grow out of that size fast. At least mine did – giant baby momma here!

You will also need rubber bands of various sizes. Most will be used to secure individual diaper rolls but bigger ones will be used to group diapers several diapers together.

Additional cactus diaper cake materials you need include poster board, green ribbon, green paper clips, and double sided tape. I added some paper flowers and a stuffed owl to decorate my saguaro cactus diaper cake.

Cactus Diaper Cake

Yield: 1 Cactus Diaper Cake

This fun cactus diaper cake makes a great centerpiece for desert, southwest, cowboy or Toy Story themed baby shower.

Materials

• 75 diapers
• 100 rubberbands
• 4 yards of 1 1/2 inch green ribbon
• Large Poster Board
• Green paper clips
• Double sided tape
• Decorative flowers
• Baby Owl stuffed animal

Instructions

1. Start by rolling each diaper and securing it with a rubber band.It’s best to start at the waistline of the diaper and roll towards the bottom. You can see in the picture below how much neater the diaper looks when rolled correctly compared with rolling the diaper the opposite way.
2. Using slightly larger rubber bands, create sets of three rolled diapers. This will allow you to easily stand up the diapers in a row and create the trunk of the cactus.Keep the rubber bands as close to the center of the diapers as possible. This makes it easier to cover with the ribbon later.
3. Make sure you start creating the cactus shape on top of the poster board so that you can move the diaper cake once it’s done.
4. Once you have most of the diapers secured in sets of three you can start setting up your cactus design. I used the sets of 3 to create the trunk and arms of our cactus design.
5. I ended up using a few rolled diaper pairs and single diapers to finish the design.
6. Once your are happy with your design, secure the shape by wrapping the green ribbon around the perimeter. We used green paper clips to attach the ribbon at various key points. This is especially important around the curves.
7. Slip the front of the paperclip into the ribbon and the back of the paperclip into the closest rubber band. It will take a little time to get the ribbon adjusted to your liking. This will help secure the shape of your cactus diaper cake.

Notes

It’s important that the rubber bands keep the diapers snug together but not too tight, you don’t want to damage the diapers.

See Also

25 Creative Diaper Cake Ideas for Your Next Baby Shower18 Adorable Diaper Cake Ideas to Make a Baby Shower Even More Special!

Did you make this project?

Take a picture and tag @karenheffren or #DesertChica!

Keep in mind that saguaro cacti come in many shapes and sizes, so no one design is right. I added a little leftover green ribbon to decorate my board but you could also cover it in a fun paper.

Decorate the Saguaro Cactus

Diaper cakes are always decorated with fun accessories, and mine is no different. There are several birds that will live in a saguaro cactus including cactus wrens and woodpeckers. I didn’t have any luck finding those birds as a cute baby toy but I did find a baby owl toy. Thankfully owls also live in saguaros.

To keep the diaper cake fun and whimsical we found decorative flowers in bright colors and attached them with doubled sided tape.

I am really happy with how the cactus diaper cake turned out. It’s truly a unique baby shower gift that’s also practical. It’s also gender neutral perfect for a boy baby or baby girl.

Cactus Themed Baby Shower Centerpiece

Need more decor ideas? Check out these DIY cactus ideas for your cactus themed baby shower?

More easy diaper cake ideas:

• Star Wars Diaper Cake
• Mickey Mouse Diaper Cake

This post was originally published August 25, 2014 .