Hey everyone!!!!
Well I did the trial run of the cake for my son's birthday. The middle cake was supposed to be a choc cake with genache and banana fillings. Well the recipie I used didn't make it out of the pan before falling apart. Lesson learned. It definately didn't look the way I wanted it to and the red was actually a hot pink so that I need to work on. I used yellow cakes for these and the bottom has a layer of strawberry and a layer of banana fillings and the top cake had a layer of rasberry and a layer of coconut rum. I iced it with rolled buttercream which I really liked and then just did a little on the sides to cover the board. I had wanted to make decorations for the sides out of the rolled buttercream but I ran out before Igot a chance. What do you think?
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i255/chauntellereardon/DSC01855.jpg
I think it's very nice for a first cake and it sounds delicious! 
For a trial run, you sure did a lot of work on the cakes! I have never covered a cake in fondant yet, so I don't know how hard it is, but yours needs to be smoother. I know they make a tool for smoothing it. I also think it needs something on the top tier ... maybe cutouts in fondant, polka dots or whatnot. It's a bit too plain.
I think your decorations are cute and it sounds delicious. When you make the real deal, you may want to try and smooth your fondant a little more. Do you have a fondant smoother? They really help to get a smooth surface. Otherwise, you did a very nice job of covering the cake and your borders and colors are very nice.
Cindy
Welcome to Cake Central!!!
To get a true red try Americolors super red. It is fantastic. I've never worked with rolled buttercream so I can't offer any insight as to getting that perfect smooth finish but I was reading an article the other day that said it does take some getting used to. If your cake is falling apart trying to get it out of the pan try putting a cooling rack on top of the pan then flipping it out. also let it cool at least 5-10 mins first,more for larger cakes. Good job and happy decorating! 
I am going to have Curious George figures on top. My son is turning 1!!! I have a fondant smoother and I tried it, at that point I was sooooo tired I couldn't think anymore. I think the problem is that I tried to do to much in one night. I baked the cakes, filled and decorated them and I didn't have a whole lot of time. Next time I know to take more time. But thanks for the compliments, and it tasted sooooo yummy. I like taste testing!!!
I never bake and decorate a cake on the same day. The cake is too soft. I flip out my cake onto a cooling rack and let it sit for about 1 hour. Then I freeze it to lock in the moisture. I let it thaw in the saran wrap I froze it in and decorate it while it is cold but not frozen. That's the best way to get it to set up well for the fondant covering. It will help you get a smoother finish. Just my 2cents....
Beautiful for a first cake. I never worked with rolled buttercream, but I read all over the forums of the Viva method of smoothing it out, seems to work very well!!
Post the finished cake, my kids love Curious George.
I don't bake and decorate on the same day either. After letting my cake cool completely on a rack I wrap in plastic wrap overnight then torte and fill. Make sure you use a stiff dam to keep the fillings in. I crumb coat and let the cakes sit at least an hour. That gives your cake with the filling time to settle and you can fix any leaks you might have. This will help prevent bulges. Especially since you'll have a lot of weight with the fillings and stacking.
Can't wait to George!
I always bake, frost, and decorate on the same day. But I only use buttercream. If I were using fondant, I'd probably get started a day earlier. If I have more than two cakes for the same day, I will usually make all my frosting the day before .... then I can get that greasy mess out of the way.
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