I need to make a bow like the one on this cake. How far in advance do I need to make it? What about the other decorations on this cake? I was just going to use fondant, but I have gumpaste if it would work better for the bow. What is the best way to adhere the decorations to fondant? I don't think that water really holds that well, any other suggestions?

Thanks!

I would try 50/50 fondant/gumpaste or fondant with tylose in it. And I'd make them several days in advance if you could. If it's humid then give it more time.

I would use this mix for all the decorations. Stars and bow. And around here i need to put some tylose in my fondant balls like the border or they sweat.

Give the bow several days to dry thoroughly. Thoroughly. And do make a backup.

a backup is always a good idea Leah. I usually keep some extra loops as well just in case one gets damaged.

I can tell you that all of the stars, balls and decor on that cake are straight up fondant and the bow was probably not made ahead of time (I interned at this shop and usually only stand-up and multi-loop bows were usually made ahead of time). Not to say you SHOULDN'T make them ahead of time (I usually do), but in a pinch/time crunch, you can definitely do it on the spot.

Here are a few more examples of similar bows that were made at the time they were put on the cake from the same shop:






(This last one is my handiwork lol... the last think I did on the last day of my internship)

If it helps any... here's an excellent tutorial on making bows. There's a video about 1/2 way down where she describes everything...

http://cakesandcupboards.blogspot.com/2008/08/fondant-bow-demo.html

Thanks PinkZiab- I kind of thought that the bow wasn't made ahead of time.

Thanks everyone else! I wanted to get some of this done ahead of time. This is the cake my cousin requested for her 16th birthday. I'm terrified that it's going to look like a giant blob of cake instead of something resembling the original. By no means can I recreate it exactly. I know she'll like whatever I do as long as the colors and style are similar, I just hope to get it done.

I haven't felt like baking or decorating at all lately and the thought of messing up the kitchen to make fondant is enough to make me say forget it altogether.

I'll post a picture when I get it done. Thanks again!