Ok, I'm doing a nativity cake set up for a Christmas party in December. To get the number of servings I will need I am doing a full sheet cake carved into a book shape that will be brown(to resemble leather), two twelve inch rounds, one for the wise men(which I would like to do in a deep cranberry color), and one for the shepherds(which I would like to do in a dark, hunter or emerald green) and an eight inch round for the angel (which I would like to do in a deep navy or sapphire blue). In the past I have always used americolors and wanted to know if anyone had any tips for getting these deep colors (think jewel tones) other than using chocolate icing. Any suggestions?

LOTs of color and don't forget that the colors will deepen after several hours, or overnight.