Mom's Key Parenting Forum

One of the best gifts you can give an expecting mom is a gift basket containing some essential baby gear. If you'd like to create your own gift basket for a new baby, here are some do-it-yourself arrangements. 

Diaper Cake

What you'll need:

• 50 disposable diapers
• Large cake platter (about 16")
• Narrow Ribbon (this will secure the rolled-up diaper so you'll need about 1ft per diaper)
• Wide Ribbon (for finishing off the tiers)
• 1 glass baby bottle (tall)
• Various baby necessitates (example: 1 teething ring, 1 pacifier, 1 rattle, 1 comb)
• Tape

To start, roll up each diaper and secure with 1 foot of narrow ribbon. For the first tier, gather about 27 rolled diapers into a circular shape, then secure this large tier with a piece of wide ribbon. For the second tier, secure approximately 17 rolled diapers with a piece of wide ribbon. For the tip tier, circle five to six rolled diapers around the tall baby bottle. Then, secure the top tier with a piece of wide ribbon. Now you have three tiers.

Now it's time to stack the tiers. Use a bit of tape on the underside of the second and top tier so that it stays secure. The final step to finish off your cake is to scatter the baby necessities around the cake. Try placing two or three necessities on the first and second tier - don't add anything to the top tier since this may make the cake tipsy. To secure the add-on gifts, use a small piece of tape to attach them to the wide piece of ribbon.

Clothes Bouquet

What you'll need:

• 4-6 pieces of baby clothes (onesies, tops, sleepers and pants)
• 3 pairs of socks
• Elastic bands
• Artificial leaves [on stems] and one stem per piece of baby clothes and per sock
• Artificial roses and buds (optional)

The first step is to roll up each piece of baby clothes and each sock (not as a pair, but individually) around an artificial stem. The easiest way to do this is to fold each piece of clothing lengthwise, place the stem at one side and roll around the stem. Then, secure with an elastic band. The clothes will then look like fully-bloomed roses while each sock will look like a tiny bud. Now that you have your flowers done, add in the artificial leaves to your bouquet. Make sure you have more leaves than flowers to hide the elastic bands. The final step is to secure all the stems of your bouquet with a wide ribbon.

Tip: When purchasing your baby clothes and socks be color conscious. Think about how they will look in a bouquet as flowers.