September: Painted Cakes

Well, I thought I was Miss Artiste, so I got all painterly on a couple of cakes this month.  Marshmallow fondant makes a really nice canvas, so that's what I used.  The first occasion was a 60th birthday party and the second was to celebrate the marriage of a good friend at work.

Honestly, I think my roses need work, but the colors on the 60th birthday cake were very nice. 

My pearls of fondant were a little gigantic, but I was running out of time and needed something big enough to cover a lot of ground fast.  I also wished I'd had time to pipe some greenery on top.  *sigh*  When the party guests cut into the cake, they were treated to three layers of a deep chocolate devil's food cake.

I was frankly shocked at how well my calligraphy turned out.  I thought I was going to faint I was so nervous before the first stroke.  So, I just did it.

I sort of liked this color combination, too.  And halfway through the painting, my technique actually improved.  I also felt bolder with my brush strokes.  It's amazing how just a little bit of confidence can improve your work.  The two types of piped flowers were new to me--sunflowers and mums.  Since I used an all butter frosting, the piping was tricky.  And I'll tell you right now, chrysanthemums are INSANELY hard to make out of frosting.  Don't do it unless you're just a nut job like me!  :-)