Hi I am Charlotte, I am not the best cake maker in the world, but I am learning.
I am looking to make my sons 2nd birthday cake and I need some help if its possible.
Firstly, i want to make it a 2 tiered cake, also I was looking to use ready rolled icing, which I have never used and I wanted it to be coloured.

Where do I start?
Can I buy it coloured?
What type of dowel is best to use?

I would really appreciate any help given!

Thank you!

Welcome to CC Charlotte!

not knowing what stage of decorating/baking you're at, it'd be difficult to specify where you need to start.

Sure you can buy it colored...globalsugarart.com and others sell it in as small as 2lb sizes

I use bubble tea straws. A simple bag of wooden dowels(Wilton) would suffice though.

Hi Charlotte, Welcome to CC.

Yes you can buy coloured fondant--Satin Ice, Fondariffic and some other brands carry them.

I prefer to color them myself because I can't afford to buy coloured fondant. Sometimes it is best to use powdered food coloring to prevent an huge change on the fondant's texture--with lighter colors, the gel ones would work.

For dowels, I use bubble tea straws.

Here is a compilation of tutorials that may help: http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-654103.html

Cake central has some great tutorials on stacking cakes and using rolled fondant.Yes..you can buy fondant already colored.Most online cake decorating stores sell it in every color.Wooden dowels are best as they seem to hold the weight of a stacked cake better but other use bubble tea straws.

Bake the cakes and refridgerate.If you are using double layers..stack and cover with rolled fondant.You roll it out like playdoh but on a lrager scale to cover you largest size cake and sides.Again there are several tutorials on You tube etc..so check those out first!Dowel the bottom cake with several dowels depending on how big your base cake is.Once you cover the second layer with fondant you can place it ontop of the dowelled base cake.Decorate with finishing touches like border etc..HTH

Welcome Charlotte!

I don't want to offend you, but since I don't know just how new you are, I just wanted to add; don't forget to put a cake board under your top tier!

Thank you for the help and links.
Any good sites for the icing?

i was thinking of something like this...

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.pinkcakebox.com/images/cake338.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blog.pinkcakebox.com/polka-dot-birthday-cake-2007-07-22.htm&usg=__gm0Qsy0e6Xnny77VqbFcnutS6Pk=&h=460&w=400&sz=87&hl=en&start=4&um=1&tbnid=o1vIwu1IVjLR4M:&tbnh=128&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dchildrens%2Bbirthday%2Bcakes%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26rlz%3D1G1GGLQ_ENUK319%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

As far as my skills go.....well...

I can follow a recipe very well, but thats about it.....
I thank the books for my amazing cakes.

I've seen that cake before. It's very pretty and colorful and I would imagine your little one would love it. Plus, it's an easy design to make, so I think that is a very good place for you to start.

Welcome, and have fun with it.

Hi & welcome to CC!

Regarding dowels, I use Cake Jacks. I have used them for many, many years and it's all I use to support my tiered cakes. They're sturdy plastic and can be easily adjusted to the height that you would need. They are also reusable and last a long time. (I find I only need to replace what is not returned to me if I bring a cake somewhere.) I also like them because I personally dislike the task of cutting/smoothing other dowel edges. But that's just me.

You're going to meet some wonderfully helpful people here (as I see you have already been introduced to above). Practice searching forums and articles, etc. You'll find LOTS of useful information.

Best wishes with your son's birthday cake! Be sure to post a picture for us!

If you know a few of the basics, this cake shouldn't be too hard. However, as you seem very new to decorating, this might be a challenge for you. I would suggest watching as many tutorials as possible. Wilton fondant is not very good, but easy to find in most craft stores. I would take the suggestion from another poster and order Satin Ice or Fondarific. I beleive the Satin Ice site even has tutorial videos to help you. There are also a TON of videos on YouTube. This will be a tough one for a beginner, but there are so many resources out there to help you. Good luck!!

You can do it!
My first tiered cake was similar(ish) to that and was only my second fondant covered cake. I watched just about everything on Youtube I could find on covering with fondant esp these:

Sorry if these are duplicates of the ones posted above.

Just do your best and your son will love it. We're all learning here and would love to see a photo when you're done.

Happy Caking!

I'm a "fairly newbie" too! CC is just the best place to be! I'm sure your son will be thrilled and I hope he knows what a great mom he has. Can't wait to see a picture of it!

Hi and Welcome to CC, CharlieBrown0210.

Everything you need to know to make, decorate and assemble tiered/stacked/layer cakes:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-605188-.html

Above super thread has popular CC recipes for crusting American buttercreams, several types of fondant and doctored cake mix (WASC and other flavor variations).

There also baking help and a link to illustrations of common cake support sysems with complete directions and so much more.

HTH

Well, thanks for all the help!
when he goes for his nap ill take a proper look at the links.
here are some of the others i have made....