First of all, I purchased three hat boxes. I turned them upside down and glued them on top of each other with a glue gun to form the base of the cake. Now, years ago I took a Wilton Cake Decorating class and learned tips and tricks for icing a cake. I put these into play when making this faux cake as well. I used an actual cake icing spatula, but I used something called joint compound instead of icing.
As you can see, I had some other projects going on in the background! My ADD was in full swing! After that dried, I added some dimension. The joint compound is used in home construction for sheetrock patching...or something like that! When I look at it, I just see endless possibilities, not sheetrock! I like the lightweight joint compound. It runs around $7.00 for a box. It comes already mixed and ready to use. I buy it at Home Depot or Lowes. This is what you are looking for:
It let the "cake" dry overnight. I taped off the top to make raised stripes. I applied more joint compound and then removed the tape. That process formed the raised stripes. Then I took a stencil and did the same thing for the diamond shapes on the bottom. For the polka dots, I glued large acrylic jewels around the middle layer.
The trim around the edges is watered down joint compound, that I put into an icing bag from Wilton. I mixed in some water to make the joint compound about the consistency of icing, and just piped large dots around the edges to trim it out. All of this dried overnight, and then I painted it with a brush using my favorite paint ever! This was done with Modern Masters Pink. It took about three coats to get it just like I wanted it. I had planned on painting the diamonds, polka dots and stripes black, but the contrast was too harsh. This is the final result! It was a great decoration for the party, and I can take it with me to work, or restaurants when I want to celebrate some one's birthday! My big plan is to cut a hole in it long ways, and make a slot for cards so we can use it at my nieces wedding as a card box.
We had fun with this at the shower. My niece, Maycee, acted like she dropped something on it and some of the guests were horrified, thinking it was a real cake. My brother-in-law, Robert, was confused when he looked through the pictures. He wondered why we had two cakes.
Sharon wrote me and wondered if it would be possible to do cupcakes as well. She has a party decorating company called Chubby Cheeks, and she wants to use them for display. You could follow the same steps, but you would have to start with a small rounded box or maybe an upside down stryofoam cup. I tell you, the possibilities are endless. Let me know if you think of anything unique or exciting. I love to hear new ideas!
Have a blessed day!
Nee' Nee'
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