I got this on facebook today-

Goofy friend: can you make a cake for me for Saturday?10 hours ago ·

Me: why sure what you lookin at needin' girly?

9 hours ago ·

Goofy friend: nothing fancy. I'll talk to you about it tonight.
9 hours ago ··
Me: 10-4


so I went to my meeting and after it was over she showed me a picture of her families plaid.

She wants a sheet cake done in white, with a scarf draped over it/around it/on it, made with the plaid.

How am I going to do it? I reckon I have to do both sides right? LOL

I usually use MMF but bought some wilton today, I think it will stay pliable longer, I'm guessing I just paint the pattern on there and then drape it like a scarf. ?? This is the 'simple' cake??

also, I dont want to do a sheet cake.. I am just kinda not in a sheet cake mood. what would you recommend to use to drape it around/over/on? the only thing on it is going to be "familyname Reunion" (which sooo goes against my policy of NOT writing on cakes.. I hate writing on cakes.. I want it on a banner or sign... I can do that just fine, I just cant pipe worth diddily squat...

I have a friend like that
The lighting in this video isn't the greatest but she does a nice job of showing how to paint a plaid pattern:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CC4m5neNkE&feature=PlayList&p=80E36CAD0EFDB93E&playnext_from=PL&index=7

I'm afraid I don't have much else to add but hope the video helps!

what about scanning the plaid and having it printed onto frosting sheets then apply that to the fondant you're going to use to do the drape?

abeane Thanks- I might have to take the computer to town to get wifi, but thats one video I fiqure I will HAVE to see. LOL

alleykat, I had that thought cross mymind, but, am not sure how those work, I've never done one before.. I've never even seen one...

SO does anyone have a suggestion on how to execute it? should itbe round? a square? its to feed 100 people...

How would you do it?

What tartan is it? Some are easier than others. I did one with an airbrush.
If you put plastic wrap under the piece of fondant it will give you a little extra time to work with it. And have everything ready before you start.

Ohhh that looks amazing!! beautiful work!!

I am getting the scarf this afternoon- I'll know more then. Unfortunatly, I dont have an airbrush. its just me, the wilton colors and a big bottle of vodka. oh and a paintbrush.

Do you know the family name of the tartan they want? The pic is the Macleod tartan. Let me know when you get it and maybe I can walk you through it...

Instead of writing on the cake, maybe you could find the coat of arms or family crest or something. Don't those usually have the family name on them. Would be much nicer than just piped buttercream script.

Thanks Kaat the last name now is McAfee- I'll see if I can find out what it was before.

and your right kger, I was thinking about trying to do that. I am looking at doing 2 10 in cakes. laying them side by side, then in the middle of them, putting 2 ten inch cakes stacked. Just to get it some depth. She wants the cakes in white, and then the scarf. I hate for it to be too plain, and I hate to screw it up with my piping skills. LOL

okay, red background with dark blue bigger lines and small yellow lines...

How do I do it?? I dont think I can tint my fondant red and paint over it...

But painting that much red is going to be hard.. I only have wilton and vodka.. LOL (and I'm thinking by the end of this, I might run short of vodka....LOL)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Macfie

here it is..

the tartan i see is red and green, not blue. Better make really sure that you have the right one, best is to see an original, getting it wrong is a big deal, stripes placed wrong, colours off etc

Did your friend specify that particular tartan? Every clan (and its septs) has more than one type of tartan. Most clans could have a dress tartan, and a hunting tartan, among others.

Example:
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/tartan/MacFie/58427

You will rise to the challenge, I'm sure.

Even there on that page there is no blue, or am I colourblind?

I am sorry, its green! Dont know why I said blue. (my mistake)

Cindy, I havent decided yet LOL

dawncr, Thanks the one on that site is the one she gave me to copy- Not sure if its the hunter or dress - just what she has-

omg did you paint that plaid??? that is awesome!
On the printing any cake supply store can usually print the pattern for you..they can even scan the pattern for you,,
then they print it onto a white frosting sheet so you can apply that to the white fondant..don't know if it would work for you but it's a thought

Our walmart does it. I just dont know if it would look good or not.

She did an amazing job on that plaid. it looks SOOO real.


I am trying to decide if I should make a red fondant, and then try to paint it, or not. I just dont see yellow or green showing up on the red. But I dont know..

I wonder how cheesy it would look if I did the edible image??

Get some stencil plastic and cut the patterns on it. One per colour. If you don't have a airbrush, i know that you can get edible food colours in spray cans in the States. Spray one colour at a time, when on clour is dry, use the other Stencil to cover the sprayed parts and spray the second colour. I would take a paintbrush to just paint on the yellow strip, would have to be really concentrated colour and you can only do it, if the other colours are dry. Practice beforehand

OH MAN!! I didnt know there was edible spray paint!! that would be sooo helpful!! I"ll call hobby lobby tomorrow and see if they have it. If they do, I'll make a mad dash there (okay, mad dash might be pushing it, with 4 kids and it being an hour away! LOL ) Thanks for the ti!!

yeah, I'm thinking the yellow has to be last. and probebly not diluted much at all with vodka.

I'm fixing to practice in a few minutes. see which way is best as far as tinting it red, or painting on red.

Promise the kids an ice cream if they behave

be sure to post pics when you are done I can't wait to see how it comes out!

okay, I tried, you cant put yellow on top of red/green..

so if I go get the edible images tomorrow- are they hard to deal with? just put on top of fondant? are they kinda plyable? I have to put it on and then drape the fondant 'swag' over the cakes.

Should I not put it together until the cakes are assembled and all decorations put on?


Any tips? I fiqure I will be doing about a 3 ft swag of the stuff. cause like I said, the base will be 20X10, and then stacked in the middle where the two 10X10's meet will be a 2 tier 10 inch. (4inches high)

I got the crest, and will do it. and then stencil on 'Mcafee' on one side cake, and 'reunion' on the other side.

Thanks for being here for me on this one.. I am heartbroken that I cant do it.. I hate to admit defeat and that I have to let a computer do it for me. Its not like its a photograph or something- this is doable... Just not by me...

hey don't feel bad I couldn't do a plaid either... the sheets they print on is kind of pliable ...ask them to see one before they do anything...if it were me I would apply to the fondant then make my drape before the fondant dries...remember I'm new to this too so let me know how it works or if you think it will once you see the frosting sheets.
good luck

Thanks alleykat1,

I'm gonna see how well their printer prints it out. I pray it looks good. I see the pictures turn out well, but havent seen a pattern really to see how they turn out, if they are fuzzy or not. I pray walmart keeps theirs up and going and it is maintained well...

But I am still not happy about doing it- I feel like I am cheating...

Have you looked at this video by aine2? The first bit is on a tiara but the main part is on painting a plaid design on fondant.

Not that I have the least bit of experience but, if you make your base fondant fabric strip red, the green and yellow could be painted over the red. The yellow being your last coloured stripe applied. Aine2 states she uses powdered colour for her white stripes so I wonder if yellow powder plus green powder would work better than the regualar pastes?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NvY-AMpfDA&NR=1

See if you can find the spray in green and yellow. Tint your fondant red. Make a stencil of the lines going in one direction (the parts you cut out will be the green). It's easiest if you can work with the smallest pieces possible. Lay plastic under the fondant to help keep it pliable. Spray the lines of green (stencil) Turn the stencil 90 degrees and spray the lines again. This will give you the square patterns. Put 2 pieces of paper side by side where you want the yellow line, with a small seperation between them. Spray a heavier line of yellow. repeat where needed. Just be careful when moving the stencil not to smear the spray.

The pics are reversed but hopefully you get the idea....

I forgot to add that Stampin Up has or had a plaid stencil available. Not sure how much or if they still do, but do know a decorator on another site had purchased one and did some cool cakes with it.

unforuntaly, I dont have access to any of that stuff with out driving 2-3 hours to Houston. LOL I did get the copies, but they are not true to color- can you paint on them at all? change up the blue to green?

And as if this isnt stressful enough- Someone is begging me to make them a topsy turvy... I am SOO not wanting to do that. LOL

I am going to save this thread though- I WILL conquer plaid.. I just dont have enough time to do it this week. LOL Thanks y'all SOOO much!!