I really wanted this cake to be cute (I am doing a cake for my soon-to-be 5 year old niece in a week and it just HAS to be cute) so I decided to try a tier cake...it was just disaster right from the start, I loaned out a pan I wanted to use so I ended up making a cake bigger than I needed too, my icing which normally I can smooth was just AWFUL and the MMF decorations I think are just too thick. Everytime I start to feel like I am really getting better, I get a slap in the face like this cake....I just look at it and I want to scream/cry/pitch it out the window..... I know this is all a part of the learning curve, but its frustrating not being able to execute what is in your head.
I couldnt attach it to this forum so I just uploaded it to my photos....
OK ... take a deep breath ... in, out. That cake is GREAT!!! 
I love the colors, I love the stripes, I love the ziggy zaggy stripes, I love the circles, I love the overlapping circles, I love the dots, I love the pink cake board, and I love the borders. It is really, really cute!!! Let me also remind you that I don't give compliments on cakes unless I honestly like them. I know it's easy to get down on yourself sometimes, and we all do it now and then. You know that we are all our own worst critic. I think you did a great job, and the next one will be even better!!!! Your 5-year old niece is going to absolutely love her cake. I say, don't change a thing when you do hers!!!! Keep your chin up! 
thanks for the pep talk...cakesbyjess.....Its just frustrating, this cake was supposed to be a confidence booster for next week, instead it has sent me over the edge.....my niece will love anything I do...I know that...but I dont want to be embarassed when we look through her scrapbook and see her 5th b-day cake!
I am sure it will all turn out, seems like after each disaster I have one I like better.
I know exactly how you are feeling right now. I had a very similar experience this weekend with my sister in law's wedding cakes. It seems the moment I think I have my buttercream or my cake recipes figured out, boom!!! Something happens and I'm back to beginner level! However, I love the bright colors and awesome cool designs of you circles and stripes! Keep up the great work, and I know your niece will be delighted!!! (Now and for years to come!)
I know that I am my own worst enemy and critic. I see all my flaws and others see what I have done well. They say one "ah shit" wipes out 100 "atta boys". My ideas are always better in my head also but I do know that I am better than I was when I started. I just don't move fast enough for me. Hang in there!!
I appreciate the nice comments from everyone, but I know its not my best work....my niece loved it (wants one "just like it" for her b-day)...but I am going to make a few changes, because I really was not proud of that cake. I want hers to be so much better...........but for my b-day i finally got a turntable, and I am heading to the home improvement store for the scraper (or whatever its called) and the foam paint roller Melvira was talking about in another thread....so Hopefully this will help my smoothing woes.
I appreciate the nice comments from everyone, but I know its not my best work....my niece loved it (wants one "just like it" for her b-day)...but I am going to make a few changes, because I really was not proud of that cake. I want hers to be so much better...........but for my b-day i finally got a turntable, and I am heading to the home improvement store for the scraper (or whatever its called) and the foam paint roller Melvira was talking about in another thread....so Hopefully this will help my smoothing woes.
Happy Birthday mkerton
I think the cake looks great.
I think that your MMF was terrific...as well as your color choice. The cake would be PERFECT if the buttercream were smoother, but I would bet that the photo shows that worse than it would look to the naked eye. Plus, only cake decorators would notice.....regular people consider it normal.
if your niece's cake turns out like this one, I would be SUPER happy!!!
We are our own worst critics. Shake it off. What matters is that you made a birthday very special for a little girl who will remember this cake for the rest of her life.
Theresa
Well, you might not think so...but that cake is awesome...something I want to aspire to. Here is my last bday cake, my first attempt at stacking. HORRIBLE, and the summer heat didn't help either. First cake that made me cry. Hope it makes you feel better. *hugs*
(file wouldn't attach, it's in my pics, the first one)
~Beth 
I think it turned out to be great. I know I am my own worse critic. It gets better
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