Ok CCer's, I think I made a pretty dumb (or clearly wasn't thinking) move!

I have a good gf who is a fashion stylist who is into anything bright colored and leopard. I thought to do a small 8inch round cake as a gift gesture for her "Girl's Rock" birthday dinner. I made my cake and buttercream icing (left over from last weeks cake, that needed to be used) and covered the cake. But then I went blank: HOW AM I GONNA PAINT LEOPARD SPOTS ON BUTTERCREAM... ?

I don't want to, now, make MMF, color it, roll it out, and then scrap off my perfectly smooth butter cream (since its a ton of it) to try to paint leopard spots. I've never really painted anything on BC before so I'm wondering if it can be done. Can I paint leopard spots on buttercream and still get a good looking cake? Is there a better way to do this...? Should I just suck it up and do it correctly? Please keep in mind, THIS IS A GIFT CAKE (like practice cake) that is NOT being paid for! THE LEAST EXPENSIVE IS BEST!

You could do the spots in fondant and just place them onto the BC. The cow print on my cowboy cake was done that way. I do zebra print w/fondant cut-outs on BC all the time.

Kristy

Could you not use Wilton spray color mist in black like an airbrush effect?

I've done this on buttercream by mixing luster/petal dust with any clear extract or alcohol and painting it on with a soft brush and gentle touch.

Could you pipe the spots then pipe the background color around them then smooth it out when it crusts? That's how I did the camo cake in my pics. That, to me, would be the easiest and cheapest solution. It's really a very easy technique! You could scrape enough BC off the cake to leave just a crumb coat, and then go from there. HTH!

SN: Found a tutorial. I did it almost exactly like this, but used Viva to smooth instead of the roller.
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=659223&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0

CCERS... Thanks so much for the help. Never considered the Wilton Spray or Lustre/Pedal Dust, but I thought about the fondant pieces. Me being as cheap as I can about this, I didnt want to do any really hard work for no money! My gift cakes are great for the recipent, but they are practice cakes for me! I want to be able to post the pics!

ERIN:
I think this is going to be my method tonight! I think it will turn out great! I never thought to do that... It seems so "duh- lightbulb moment" like.

I'll make sure to post pics so everyone can see! NO STRESS REQUIRED!