I Did It! Now, I Need Help With The Rest!
Decorating By Momma2three Updated 25 Jul 2007 , 8:29pm by mommicakes
Hi! Newbie here, and I wanted to share with you all that a made my first "real" cake. By real, I mean that I baked it, torted it, and made my own buttercream icing! I am so proud of myself. I made the Darn Good Chocolate Cake that I found on this site. I then torted it (first time ever to tort a cake) and filled it with strawberry filling. I then made my own buttercream icing and crumb coated and frosted it. And, I even used the Viva Paper towel method to smooth it. It looked great and tasted great, too. No lumps, bumps, leaks or spills!!! Now, I know this isn't much compared to all of the great stuff most of you do, but you have to start somewhere, right? 
I made this as a practice for the cake I will be making and decorating for my twins' sixth birthday in two weeks. I am wanting to decorate it like the picture on the Wilton site of the cake on the "Silly Feet Cake and Treat Stand." (I will try to attach this picture.) Anyway, it has curly cues and dots on it. I have never worked with fondant (obviously, if I am so excited about a plain ol' cake!), and would love any advice that any of you may have for me. Thanks for reading this!
I always think of fondant as edible clay (play dough).....you can roll it out and cut out different shapes to decorate your cake, you can mold it into different shapes.....pretend you are a kid again and just hve fun!!
I love fondant. You will too if you tried it. Like southaustingirl says - its like being a child again - PLAY TIME!!! 
Just remember to keep the fondant you are not working with covered with plastic otherwise it will dry out before you get to it. Those twirls are made by cutting the rolled out fondant into strips and wrapping them around something like a pencil or a dowel. Leave to dry a day (or two if you have the time) and carefully remove afterwards. You may "grease" the dowel (with Crisco or corn flower) if you want to but I have not had problems with it stricking (as long as the dowel is clean). ENJOY! 
Thanks for the helpful advice! I loved playing with Play-doh, so I am excited about playing with fondant! How far in advance can I make the curly cues and what would be the best way to store them? Would a week be too long?
No, a week won't be too long. Make extra for breakage. I would store them away from the light because they will fade and you are using very bright and cheerful colors. Just keep them in a container that will keep any dust or dirt out. It doesn't have to have a tight seal or anything.
Are you using Wilton premade fondant or making your own?
darkchocolate
darkchocolate~
I bought a package of the precolored premade Wilton fondant, just because I have never done this before. I have read a lot of posts on CC saying that this stuff tastes bad! Do you think, that since these are really just accents, that I will be okay using this? I only bought one package (the size that you can get at Wal-Mart) will this be enough or should I get another one?
Thanks for all your help!
Just for accents the Wilton will be fine. Actually that is what I was hoping you were doing. I don't think you would want to color all that fondant.
I am not sure if one box will be enough, but I am inclined to say it will be. You are only doing the curly cues and I think you should have plenty.
darkchocolate
I love me some fondant and gum paste. . .All that good stuff! When i was learning and still am I would buy the Wilton's and play all day. It tastes pretty bad but it's cheaper than the GOOD TASING STUFF! Best of luck and BRAVO for your first cake!
Elle
I love me some fondant and gum paste. . .All that good stuff! When i was learning and still am I would buy the Wilton's and play all day. It tastes pretty bad but it's cheaper than the GOOD TASING STUFF! Best of luck and BRAVO for your first cake!
Elle
Put a little almond and orange flavoring in the Wilton. I lot that taste! Good luck to you.
I have only used fondant for accents and have used the premade Wilton. My kids actually like the taste of it, but like I said I have only used it for little bits here and there. Good luck. The cake is cute.
What a wonderful job you have done!!! You should be very proud. The colors are just great!!! I bet the receipent (SP) of this was one happy camper!!! Great job. I think we'll be seeing more good works from you around here.
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