I don't have a whole lot of experience with decorating or baking but I feel like I've done a good job on what I have done. Well, I'm supposed to be making a cake for my brother in law's birthday party tomorrow night. He plays volleyball so I was thinking of doing a 1/2 sheet cake to look like a volleyball court with crushed vanilla wafers over the icing for sand and I had hoped I could find some kind of net at the cake store tomorrow. I was going to make the volleyball and a little Gordy (my BIL) volleyball player man out of fondant. Stupid me, I waited till the last minute and didn't start working on it until tonight. Nevermind the little fondant Gordy, I can't even make the volleyball! It's all crooked and lumpy. And the fondant Gordy was just a mess! It kept stretching all out and looked horrible. It looked more like Shrek than Gordy! I know I shouldn't have waited until the last minute to start working on something that I've never done before (fondant figures) but that's typical for me 
Oh, and to top it all off, I'm not even sure the cake itself will be any good. I used a pound cake recipe that I'd never used before and it's a little, shall we say, "brown" around the edges. I don't know what to do now. Do I risk the pound cake tasting burnt and funky and try to come up with a last minute lame decorating idea? I don't even have a ball pan to make the volleyball. I don't want to show up with no cake at all. Not only would I feel bad for my BIL and sister, since I promised a cake, I've never been a quitter either. But at the same time, I don't want to show up with a nasty burnt cake that looks like crap. Help, I don't know what to do! 
Oh, he's very into computers too if anyone has a quick and easy computer cake idea.
It's funny because I did an anniversary cake for a coworker last night that I was so proud of. Everyone said it looked very professional which made me feel really good. So, I know I have a little talent but tonight I'm feeling completely pathetic!
okay, take a deep breath. if you are realy worried and have time to make another cake give that a try. As for the decos...maybe ditch the volley ball idea and do a PC. If you have a 1/2 sheet then cut enough off the bottom to make the keyboard and the rest can be the monitor. Use your own keyboard as a guid and go from there. monitor could say happy b day! HTH and good luck! 
trim off all the "brown" like with a wedding cake. works best if done slightly frozen though.
do you have kids? if so, ain't there a ball in the toy box you can snag?
i've cut several in half when in a corner...or too lazy to go to the store to get one.
what about still using your fondant and rolling it out flat, then cut a good sized volleyball circle from it (maybe use a 6" round as a guide) -- then you can have a flat volleyball which means you won't have to worry about it drying or hardening. just lay it flat in the center of the cake. if you have a foodwriter pen, you could do the lines of the ball...or you could just do the indentations of the lines with a toothpick. I think it would be fine!
good luck with whatever solution you go with! i'm sure you'll make it work!
I know how you feel - I was stuck in the same problem last week with my brother's housewarming, it seems like nothing will go right!!! I had to learn that since this is not a paying job, you have to be flexible, and sometimes simple is better. Just relax and honestly evaluate what you can do in the time you have and then try your best!! Nobody ever notices the mistakes anyway, they're just amazed that their sister/friend/coworker is actually doing cake decorating!!!
I hope everything turns out well and I would love to see the picture when its finished.
Quick fix:
DH cake mix - remake the cake, this is the surefire way to it tasting good in a flash
Volleyball - white gumball
Forget the net - the ball rolled next to the water!
You have the sand idea down
Water - white bc smeared with piping gel with a touch of blue, don't smooth too much!
"Serving up Birthday Happiness for ________"
OMG, Y'all are amazing! Everyone has great ideas!
I think what I'll do is trim off the brown edges and freeze the rest of that cake for cake balls 
I actually have all day tomorrow to come up with something. I like the idea of the ball rolling next to the water (especially since that is what always happens when my sister and I try to play 
). So, I'll just run out in the AM and get a few more cake mixes and start over. Now that I've gotten over the fact that my original idea won't work out, I feel a little better. Thanks everyone for your support!!!
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