Dish Towel Cake ~ A Bridal Shower Gift

A couple weekends ago was my sister-in-law’s bridal shower that was given by my mother-in-law.  The shower was french themed since the couple will be honeymooning in France.  I took lots of pictures of all the amazing details from the bridal shower, but I’ll share those with you in another post.

For now I wanted to share a fun little gift idea that I came up with.  I really wanted to make something for my sister-in-law, but with the craziness that comes with life with a newborn and two toddlers, I just decided that this was not the right time.  However, I still wanted to do something kind of crafty.  Have you seen those diaper cakes that some people make for baby showers?  Well, I thought I would try to make something similar, but use dish towels instead of diapers.

I purchased three packs of solid color dish towels as well as one with a print.  I rolled up each dish towel and put a elastic hair-tie to hold it in place.  I got a pie dish that I decide was going to be the base for my cake.  I put a small, round craft box (the cardboard kind) in the middle and put the dish towels on their sides surrounding the box.  Once I had put the dish towels all the way around, I took a grosgrain ribbon and tied it around all the towels.

For the second tier, I laid a dish towel that was folded on the top of the craft box lid to give me a little more height.  Then I placed more rolled up dish towels all together.  This time there was nothing in the middle.  Once I had them all on top, I tied the grosgrain ribbon around them to hold in place.  I used straight pins to secure the top tier to the bottom tier.

For added decoration, I folded a printed dish towel and wrapped in around the top tier and made a bow.

Once the cake was complete, I needed to add something to the top.  I had purchased a french rolling pin and I stuck that into the middle of the top tier.  Then I placed bamboo cooking utensils into the middle of the rolled up towels on the top.  I put an oven mitt over the top of the rolling pin and put the other oven mitt in front.  I had one extra dish towel, so I folded that and place it behind the rolling pin which actually added a little more support.  I tried to pick a print on the dish towel that looked sort of french country.

Since the shower was french themed, I thought I would try to make the gift entirely themed.  I bought four Le Creuset french ramekins and a baking dish as well as on of my favorite cookbooks, Barefoot Contessa Paris by Ina Garten.

I think my sister-in-law really liked the towel cake and now she and her hubby-to-be will never have to buy another dish towel again!

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22 Comments

  1. that’s such a great idea!

  2. What a wonderful gift idea! I LOVE Ina, she is the best chef ever!

  3. What a great idea! I love putting together “gift baskets” for showers…..this just takes it to a whole new level!

  4. I’ve seen diaper cakes, but never dishtowel cakes.. and that is brilliant! What fun gift to make.. give.. or receive!

  5. Fab idea, and I love Le Creuset stuff, I would have really appreciated this gift :o)

  6. So awesome! Way cooler than diaper cakes, which I’ve always found a bit weird. Your gift was super fun, I hope she really liked it!

  7. Wow. Awesome gift. I want to get married all over again and totally invite YOU to the shower. 🙂

  8. This is an awesome gift! Nicely Done!! I will have to copy it, thank you for the pictures!!

  9. Le Creuset for the win! I have a large casserole of theirs and it’s wonderful! It goes from stove top to oven and cleans up like a charm. plus it’s gorgeous. 🙂 Saving this idea for my daughter’s upcoming (Aug) wedding..

  10. What a great twist on old idea! I have a bridal shower coming up and might have to give this a try. 🙂

  11. I love this idea – you are so clever! I made a diaper cake for my sister-in-law’s baby shower, and it was so much easier to make than I thought it would be. I will have to try this for my engaged friends’ showers coming up! Thanks!

  12. what a cute idea! i’m stopping by from tatertots and jello. i’d love for you to check out the huge giveaway going on at my blog- http://thelovelypoppy.blogspot.com/2011/10/blog-follower-giveaway.html

  13. What a cute idea. I will have to remember this one!

  14. This is a beautiful idea, I am pinning it!

  15. What a wonderful idea! 🙂 Thanks for sharing Lindsay!

  16. cute housewarming or new neighbor gift! Shared on my FB page. facebook.com/homeconfetti

  17. Such a great gift idea! Thanks for sharing! I will be “pinning” it as well!

    Chrissy @
    http://www.everydaywiththejays.blogspot.com

  18. I LOVE this! I would love if you would share this at the Crazy Cute link party happening at Between U & Me right now! I’ve got a totally awesome giveaway this week, too!
    OOH! AND, I’m your newest follower! 😉
    http://www.betweenuandme.com

  19. What a great gift!

  20. This is ADORABLE. ANd you are invited to my bridal shower now, too. (Well, um, it was in 1999, but…)

  21. Why would a diaper cake be weird? We made one for my daughter-in-law back in September and those diapers were very practical!

  22. Great idea!! thanks for sharing.. I have a bridal shower coming up and might have to give this a try. 🙂