Need advice from you creative folk out there. I'm making a "mermaid" cake for a friend, and my idea is to use the wondermold and a doll pick with the cake carved out and decorated to look like the famous picture of the Little Mermaid where she is sitting on top of the rock with the sea crashing around her....doll body on top, tail and surrounding rock carved out of the wondermold (does this make sense?). I think I can do that part, but my vision includes the water around her as well.....how best to do that? Place the cake on a platter (what kind do you suggest), I think, and put SOMETHING around the "rock".....should I use blue buttercream? Fondant? Melted candy (how many bags of jolly ranchers to get that many blue ones, and would I EVER get it off my platter?)? Looking to you for suggestions, thanks in advance and hope this makes some sense!
I have made water twice recently. I used blue icing, then I topped that with blue tinted piping gel. I used two different colors of blue, but I think I prefer the blue in my beach cake.
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darkchocolate
I made a mermaid cake for my grand daughter, using blue berry jello for the water, the water looked great. Just let it start to set a little so that it still spreads, but not runny, use a stiff boarder first or you will loose your water over the edge. Keep in fridge
The picture of the mermaid cake is attached. I also used this metod in a duck pond and around a clipper ship
When i have done mermaid cakes I like to marble some blu / sea green fondant and use that as a base to create a great sea colour. Then use the clear piping gel and paint it over the top. i think they look pretty good when finished - there are a couple in my gallery to see.
Good luck
[quote="darkchocolate"]I have made water twice recently. I used blue icing, then I topped that with blue tinted . I used two different colors of blue, but I think I prefer the blue in my beach cake.
darkchocolate, both your cakes are wonderful - the water effects are amazing! But, for the little mermaid, I think I prefer the "deep sea" look - it's more in keeping with the story.
For those of you that use tinted piping gel-how does that taste?? I have a beach cake due this weekend for a 7 year old bday and I was worried that the piping gel might taste odd. any thoughts?
tara
Piping gel has a sweet taste to it. But you will not need a lot of color to make it blue, just a drop or two. Also smear some white buttercream underneath it if you are working on a dark cake, that way the "water" will show up better. Good luck! 
The jello idea is great, but just a suggestion, I'd "carve" out where you want the water to crate a bowl type effect, then I'd line the bowl with royal icing to keep the cake from absorbing it.
Persoanlly I think Piping gel looks like ...well...snot... The idea of eating a glob of it makes me cringe.
I use BC that I mix fully a light blue/green color, then add darker blue that isn't mixed fully to give it a multi colored effect
HTH 
I just used white and blue BC. I could've 'smeared' where the colors met to make them look more natural though 
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The jello idea is great, but just a suggestion, I'd "carve" out where you want the water to crate a bowl type effect, then I'd line the bowl with royal icing to keep the cake from absorbing it.
Persoanlly I think looks like ...well...snot... The idea of eating a glob of it makes me cringe.
I use BC that I mix fully a light blue/green color, then add darker blue that isn't mixed fully to give it a multi colored effect
HTH
Oh, dear 
I'm never going to be able to look at piping gel in the same way again!! LOL
Oh no I'm so sorry. 
I have just never been able to get past the whole look and texture of piping gel. If I needed to, in order to create a certain look, I would use it. Thankfully so far I have not needed to. I could never watch someone eat it, honestly it would freak me right out, but I also can't watch people eat oysters.
Corn Syrup will also give you a "water" effect. I know piping gel & corn syrup are similar but corn syrup seems to smell better.
If you can get your hands on some of the new glitter gel, it is even a cooler effect. The "water" sparkles!
Plus, the glitter gel is very color dense and dark blue, so you can spread it really thin. I love it! I used it in this photo
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=576123
(After finishing that cake I wish I would've spread the "water" out quite a bit more)
I have recently done a Noah's Ark cake and Beach scene cupcakes. For the water I used a snow white buttercream recipe and tinted it blue. For the water effect, I liberally iced the cake and used a spatula to pull the icing up to resemble waves. I have also read that you can put white icing on the spatula to make white caps!
Good luck!
I've done many water cakes in the past and I like to mix BC in a light blue then add darker blue coloring but not mix it all of the way to where it looks streaky. Then I spread that on but not smooth because water is not smooth then I mix piping gel with a little bit of blue and kinda "paint" that onto the highlights of the peaks on the waves. Have I lost you yet? Then if I still need more color I'll take a paintbrush and paint on the blue coloring straight out the the bottle into the deeper creavases to give it more of a 3 dimentional look. You can see my cakes at: myspace.com/chasityscakes I haven't had time to post them here yet but if you click on the pics link under the pict at the top left corner of the page there is a beaches themed photo album.
If you can get your hands on some of the new glitter gel, it is even a cooler effect. The "water" sparkles!
Plus, the glitter gel is very color dense and dark blue, so you can spread it really thin. I love it! I used it in this photo
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=576123
(After finishing that cake I wish I would've spread the "water" out quite a bit more)
I love that look! Is that the Squires Kitchen gel? I've been wanting to buy it, but couldn't find examples of it in use. It sounded really good in theory ...
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