As just a hobbyist, this was a bad idea. Way too hard! I thought the carving was hard enough, until I had to cover it! It was all carved from pound cake, the entire base is carved from one block of cake, except for the cardboard the lion sits on for support with the triangles stuck on. The lion is all cake, carved from 3 round cakes and even had a ball in his mouth. Definitely a good learning experience.