With Halloween just a few days away, it was a perfect excuse to practice making a stacked cake.  I made the top cake 6 inches and the bottom cake 10 inches. 

I used my new "the Mat" from Sweetwise.  I LOVE it.  If you haven't heard of it, it is essentially two silicone mats used to roll fondant.  You put the fondant on the bottom, then cover it with the top sheet and roll.  It keeps the fondant from drying out and it makes it much easier to roll. You can find out more here:  www.sweetwise.com

The cool thing about the mat is you can layer the fondant - so I rolled out the black fondant, pulled up the top layer of the mat, then added the spider webs.  I pulled the top sheet back down, and gently rolled over the top.  Now the spiderwebs were now part of the fondant!  So easy!

I used my Cricut Cake machine with the Create a Critter 2 cartridge for the "Boo".  One trick I found is to roll out the fondant onto the Cricut cake mat, then put it in the freezer for a few minutes.  It cuts really well frozen.  After cutting, remove the excess fondant and then put back in the freezer.  Once frozen, the fondant is hard and much easier to remove from the mat without distorting the image.

Inside the cake I used Halloween colors just to make the cake more festive!

Happy Halloween!!

Mets birthday Cake

Born and raised in NYC, my husband is a huge Mets fan.   So when the girls and I were trying to come up with an idea for a cake for his birthday, naturally, the Mets were at the top of the list. 

I haven't done many fondant cakes, so this cake was a huge challenge for me.  I found the Mets logo that I wanted for the cake, then decided the best way to recreate it on a cake would be to de-construct it layer by layer. 

I made several copies of the logo, then cut them out in different layers:  the orange circle, the white circle, the blue skyline, the white lettering, and the orange lettering. 

Then I cut traced the cutouts onto wax paper and cut out the wax paper.

I used Duff fondant that I purchased at Michaels.  They had both blue and orange, and being new to fondant, I didn't want to color my own.  I was afraid I wouldn't get the right coloring.  I rolled out the fondant on wax paper on top of a cookie sheet.  Then I greased the wax paper with Crisco, and traced along the cutout.  Once I had the cutout done, I put it into the freezer.  Fondant becomes hard when frozen, and makes it really easy to layer and place since it won't bend and stretch.

I made orange and blue stripes on the side of the cake to add a finishing touch.  I think the cake came out pretty good!!

Cake!

I have been taking a some Wilton Cake Decorating classes.  Yesterday I took a class on how to stack and construct tall cakes.  I love wedding cakes, so I was really excited to learn how to construct them so they won't slide and fall apart. 

We had to bring the cake layers to the class already covered in fondant and ready to stack.  I prepared all of the roses several days in advance, but of course I was in kind of a rush to get the cakes together that morning.  And it included a trip to Michael's to get more fondant!!  But I got the cakes covered beautifully, and then I attempted to do the quilting look.  I had never done it before, and with all the crafting I do, I should have known better that I should always practice on scrap first!!  But of course I didn't practice because I was running late and just needed to get it done!!  So I made all the markings where the quilting lines should start ( 1 1/4 inches around the cake).  Then I just went to work with the rotary tool matching the top and bottom lines.  My lines were so crooked - I couldn't seem to get a straight line!!  And to top it off, I missed a marker and really screwed it up.  My perfect fondant covering - wrecked!!

I was a little disappointed going to the class that the cakes were perfect as I had envisioned, but they weren't bad either.  Once we started stacking the cakes and then putting all the decorations on the cakes, the cake looked WAY better. 

Not perfect, but also not too shabby for my first time!!!

Wedding Card

Here's a card I made for a recent wedding.  Time got away from me and I had to get this card completed in a hurry.  The bride's colors were green and navy blue.  I matched the colors as close as possible to the invitation.  I used the Wild Card cartridge for the bride and groom and a StampinUp! stamp for the phrase.  The punch used is Martha Stewart that I picked up at Michaels (with a 50% off coupon of course!).  Overall I think the card turned out pretty good!