Today I thought I would share something a little different from I usually share.
Here is the birthday cake I made for my sister. She is an amazing seamstress. Where I can only sew a straight line, she has learned to do so much more. So, I used her passion for sewing as my inspiration.
My favorite part was making the decorations. I was able to make these two days ahead. This allowed the pieces to dry a little and since my sister was coming in from out-of-town for her birthday, I had less work to do with a house full of people and was able to spend more time with family. Also, this meant I had fewer people watching me – I tend to get a little nervous when there are too many eyes around.
The side of the cake has basic buttons on it. Using the large opening of a decorator’s tip I was able to cut out little circles. I used a tooth pick to create the holes in the buttons.
The tomato pin cushion is a large piece of red fondant molded into the shape of the tomato. I used a star cookie cutter to cut the top from a thin piece of green fondant. The “string” pieces are small amounts of green fondant I rolled into a snake. They start at the star and tuck underneath.
Next, I made the fabric pieces. After I rolled the fondant thin, I went over it with an embossing roller. This created a subtle, flower texture to the fabric. I then cut a square piece of fondant and folded it in fourths.
To make the spools of thread, I began with a piece of white fondant about the size and shape of a Tootsie Roll midget. I then made very thin snake-like pieces of the colored fondant and wrapped them around it. I then cut the piece down to size and added two small white circles at the top and bottom of each. I also added the candles before they set to make the job easier. Just for the record, no, my sister is not three, but who wants to have that many candles on their cake.
I gave each of the pieces a little shine using a mixture of lemon extract and white pearl dust.
The thimble was the hardest part for me. I played with this piece for quite a while before I was happy with the shape. In the end, I used an old thimble I inherited from my grandmother. After washing it thoroughly, I took a piece of white fondant dusted in powdered sugar and pressed it inside of it. The piece of fondant I used was larger than the thimble to allow me to easily remove it. I then cut off the extra fondant and had the basic shape. I then used the point of a toothpick to make the impressions on the top of it. To make the piece silver, I used a paint brush and a bottle of silver airbrush paint. I do not have an air brush but the colors work as paint on fondant. (Please note, I am referring to edible air brush colors used for cake decorating, not the kind they use to paint shirts and crafts).
When my sister arrived I baked my favorite White Sour Cream Cake and white decorators frosting. Then, I simply iced the cake smooth and piped a shell border on the bottom of the cake. All that was left to do was place the fondant pieces on the cake and pipe her name on the top.
