Good Morning.
I am so grateful for my coworkers. They let me practice my cakes and just think I am great.....
I wanted to try a small whimsy cake. I loved tutugirls http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1306132 and wanted to make something similar but smaller. I made the cake Wed. evening to allow time to crumb coat and stack. There is no filling just buttercream. On Thurs. evening I trimmed the cakes to be narrower at bottom and cut out where the 2nd layer should go in the bottom layer. The cake is horrid...that is another story. It is the construction and the effects I would like help with. I though I was following the diagrams on how to build a whimsy but I must have missed something. It bulged, it doesn't look too good. I would have like sharper edges, more of a whimsy look. this just looks funny. I know I need to practice on the flowers.
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and here is what it looked like after I finished.
Any help will be appreciated.
Katherine
I understand what you are going through and I hope you get some help here with your cake. Looks like the sides blew out a little. I am new to cakes so I don't really know what to do. I made a cake yesterday to serve to guests that did the same thing. It was just to soft and fell apart when I tried to serve it to my guests. Great way to introduce them to my cakes! I was a little embarrased. And they all know I want to start selling these cakes. It was a mess. I wont even post a picture of the thing. But it tasted good. I hope you get the answers you need.
Considering it's your first, I think it looks great too! 
Maybe you didn't roll out the fondant thin enough? I work mostly with buttercream, and know fondant is hard to get the hang of. Topsy turvy cakes take practice. When I did my first, I didn't have the cake on a big enough slope. (to actually look topsy turvy.
Looks good to me, mine would've probably looked so bad I would've thrown it away. I still would like to try it. As for the bulging the stiff dam really does work tried it and made my life easier. I still wonder how these pro's never use dams and get perfect cakes?
Out of curiousity, did you freeze before carving? That will help you get sharper edges. All in all, it's not one bit bad. It's a very good start. You've just a few little issues to figure out, like how to keep the sides from rounding out if you want the sharper edges, and yes, thinner fondant will also help with that. It will pull it down less. And the bulging, you need a super stiff dam and not too much filling, etc. Then let it settle before covering, all those little tricks will all come together to prevent the bulging. (But even so... sometimes it just happens. Even to the pros! I've seen it happen to them on AOC and they just sigh and fix it because they know it happens!)
Honestly, about the dam... I sometimes find that if I use a very thin layer of buttercream between layers it works better without a dam. The dam is mainly for holding in fillings, but if you're just doing a thin layer of BC, try it once. ON A TEST CAKE!! Not something for a customer! Hahaha! But seriously, you can torte if you want more filling... but nice, thin layer of BC, let cake settle, it works pretty well!
My fist whimsy was a disaster too, but look at it as a learning curve and you will improve. There is a tutorial on here...have you read that yet? To help with your bulging, make a stiffer dam, stack your cakes and let them settle. I actually use sugarshack's method..fill your cakes using a stiff dam and whatever you fill it with, stack, and place in bakery food safe bags (I found mine on ebay). Let them settle overnight, then go back and trim. I agree with Michele01, your fondant may be too thick and the weight is rounding the tops. I have never triend the embroidery, but I have read that you have to do it immediately, do not give it a chance to crust and use a damp paint brush. When you pipe it if I remember correctly, the piping has to be thin. I hope all of that makes. Remember you are your own worst critic and I do not think it is as bad as you think! HTH
Thank you everyone. I did not try freezing it. I like the idea of trying a thinner layer of BC and probably a different one. I will be you are correct about how the fondant pulled it down.
Thank you,
Katherine
kdscalling,
check this out, it comes from one of our own CC members and helped me improve some things that I didn't think looked so great on my first TT.
Also, I've heard a little hint that SugarShack's next 'how to' DVD will be on TT cakes! I can't wait!
my first topsy turvy is in my pictures. I ended up with bulging sides too. I didn't taper mine at the bottom because all I could picture was the whole thing crashing if I tried too many new things at once. I think you did a good job for your first attempt. I haven't made another one since my first. At least not a stacked cake. I made a single tier with the angled top and it turned out better, but it was all buttercream. I'm sure you'll improve with your next attempt.
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