Things That Go! - May 2015

I made this transportation themed cake (and smash cake) for my nephew Callen for his 1st birthday.

More pictures and details to come... 😊

(I created my animated name at this site.)

The Black Pearl Pirate Ship Cake - July 2013

I made this pirate ship cake of The Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean for my daughter Cara for her 14th birthday.

For this cake I used two 9" x 13" cakes.  I stacked one on the other and carved the basic body of the ship.  I used pieces that I cut off to build up other parts of the ship.  I crumb coated the body of the ship and then iced it with chocolate icing.

I put all the railings, stairs, cannon doors, and the figurehead, which were all made from white fondant, on the cake next.  I used a paring knife to make the lines in the icing to look like the wooden planks of the ship.  The vertical masts are wooden dowels cut to size, and for the diagonal mast above the figure head I used a long white lollipop stick.

I airbrushed the cake and everything on it at this point with black food coloring.  Then I placed the cannons, cannon balls, and steering wheel on the cake.  These were made from black fondant.

I used some thin wire and fondant to attach some white lollipop sticks to the wooden masts.  I made the sails from black fondant that I rolled very thin.  I tore and stretched the fondant sails to make them look ragged and old.  I draped the fondant sails on the masts and pulled some pieces off them to put some finishing ragged touches on them.  I airbrushed (or painted, I can't remember) the exposed parts of the lollipop sticks that the sails were draped on.

The pirate flag was made from black fondant.  I painted the skull and swords on it with white food coloring; then I attached it to the mast.

Although I didn't get everything on the cake that I would've liked (ropes, windows, lamps, etc.) I was really happy with the way the cake turned out.  Cara loved it, yay!  :)

(I created my animated name at this site.)

'Gone Fishing'... in My Kayak - July 2008

I made this cake of my dad fishing in his kayak for his birthday.  My dad has always liked fishing, that's actually some of my favorite memories growing up, fishing with my dad.  So, a few months or so before I made this cake he was fishing and he saw someone with a kayak going out to fish.  They got to talking and before you knew it my dad bought a kayak to go out fishing in.  He really enjoyed it, so I decided that would make a nice cake for him.  [The story about the sign on the cake will come later in the post. :) ]

  



   

I baked two 8-inch rounds for this cake.  I wanted the cake to look like you were seeing a cross-section of the water and you could see under the water at the fish being caught.  So, I cut a little space out of the edge of the cake, big enough to have a fish in.  [If I were doing this cake over again, I would design things a little bit differently to show what I wanted, but it worked out well this way, and my dad got what I was trying to do right away. :) ]

I crumb coated the cake and let it set.  I iced the cake with green and blue buttercream.  I piped along the edge of the water and the bottom of the cake with green buttercream using a grass tip.

This is how the kayak looked by itself.

I made the kayak out of fondant.  I wanted to make it look like his so I asked my mom what kind he had so I could find some pictures online.  For some details on it I used fondant and  for some I painted with black food coloring.  

I made my dad figurine out of fondant.  I gave him a hat like the one he always wears when he goes fishing (it's one of those outback type hats).  Some details on him are done with fondant and others are painted with food coloring.  I decided to give him a nose this time :) (see the Building Your Birthday Cake post).

I painted toothpicks brown to use for fishing poles and put a bit of fondant at the end to secure the fishing line to the pole.  I made the fish, little bobber, rocks, dragonfly, frog, and sign all out of fondant and painted details with food coloring.  The cattails are made with toothpicks I painted with green food coloring and wrapped with a little bit of brown fondant at the top.

So, now for the story behind the sign.  My dad was telling me about a conversation he had recently had with his brother.  They live in different states and were talking about getting together.  His brother was saying that they should go do something really cool.  I think skydiving came up and things of that sort.  So, somehow kayaking comes up, which my dad was doing now and his brother had done down a river with rapids before.  I guess my dad mentioned that he had been out on open saltwater before, and his brother was surprised that he would go out like that instead of just going on rivers and things like that.  So, my dad starts telling him about this Extreme Kayak Shark Fishing he'd heard about, like they should go do that for their thing.  Okay so, evidentially people go out in a kayak and fish for sharks... in a kayak... for sharks... did I mention the kayak and the sharks!!!  CRAZY!  Then (if they manage to not be eaten) when they catch the shark they just tow it in behind them or put it up across their kayak, like on their legs, and paddle back in!!!  [You know to advertise to all the other sharks where lunch is.  :) ]  His brother was like, I don't know about that, you'd have to be nuts!  (And he's right.)  Now, my dad wouldn't really seriously do it, he was just trying to shock him, but after his story my mom and I let him know that we were not-for-that, just incase.  :)  So, when I made him the cake I thought it would be funny to add a different version of a 'NO FISHING' sign.  :)

My dad really liked the cake :) , and when the party was over he and my mom took home the fondant dad and kayak.  When I was over their house sometime after that I was looking at the figure on the counter, and much to my horror I realized that I had forgotten to put my dad's tattoos on!  UGH!  Now, no one had noticed and no one would have cared (especially now)... but... it bugged - ME.  So, after that on one of my trips over their house I finally remembered to bring my green food coloring so I could complete it.  :)  And here it is...

Ah, that's much better  :)