So I have two cakes to make this weekend! They're both due Saturday (6/9/2018) and I'm trying not to stress myself out too much, some advice would be helpful. I'll explain the cakes I have to make and then perhaps someone could give some advice to a newbie! Please and thank you. :3 

1st Cake: So this first cake is one that is making me nervous because it is my first attempt at a book cake! It is an open book made with a carved sheet cake, frosted with home made buttercream, and then covered in white fondant. After it settles I planned to use edible brown and black dust to give it some dimension and to make it look like a worn leather book and whatnot. Then I will sit a sleeping dragon on top!  

Side note: I was going to make the dragon's body out of rice krispies and then cover it in gumpaste and make the wings from gumpaste, should I wait to make this until Friday so they don't droop or would it be fine to do tonight? (6/7/2018) I know gumpaste dries as hard as rock, but I've never worked with rice krispies.

2nd Cake: The second cake will be a simple round 8'' inch red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. It will be layered pretty normally and covered in the frosting before I apply some gold leaf and then a simple floral arrangement. 

Side note: Should I add any extra support as I will be transporting this cake for drop off. Like should I add any pillers down the middle and sides? Just don't want it tilting! I plan to freeze it relatively well before transporting it though. 

for the first cake -- put a fondant trim around the bottom to look like the cover of the book -- I would carve only the edges to bevel them like an open book  -- then add some cake -- like the beveled edges to make the pages kind of hump up there toward the binding/toward the middle --

the dragon -- cover it with something other than gum paste if you want them to be able to eat the rice krispie treats -- this should already be made -- for a newbie you possibly have some issues coming up to finish this depending on what you have already completed --

gravity is a factor in everything you do -- making a rice krispie treat dragon early or late does not mean the wings won't droop -- just depending on how big you make it and how gravity defying and how carefully you construct it -- and how you make the gum paste and how long the wings have to dry -- a thousand variables

pillars down the middle and sides?? do you mean dowel? 

I always wonder if these posts are from real people or am I/are we being punked --

i'm glad to help you -- I just always wonder because by what you are saying you are ill equipped to make cakes like this -- no offense -- not trying to discourage you but...and you can do this but wow -- have you baked them yet?

I agree with K8memphis that (even thought it really doesn't help you now, but for future reference) the dragon needs to be done asap.  Sculpting a figure, especially if you aren't familiar with the material you are using, can take a lot longer than you think.  With rice krispie treats you need to make sure that you really compress them so that they keep their shape.

For the second cake I am assuming that you are just concerned about the layers slipping which is a genuine concern.  For that you could do a central dowel to keep the layers in place, but if you are planning on freezing the cake and transporting it frozen it should be okay.  You just want to make sure that you box it up well (meaning the base the cake is sitting on needs to be the same size as the bottom of the box so that it won't slide around inside of the box).  But I wouldn't be placing dowels against the sides of the cake because that could mess up your hard work.

zbowles sent  me a message:

So for some odd reason every time I write on the actual forum post or reply I don't see my reply, not sure if it's because I'm new or what -- but! I didn't want you to think I didn't appreciate your advice or was attempting to ignore it. So I'll start from your first post and work my way down. 

1. I know how to make the book cake, including the trim to make it appear to be an open book. I've never made the book before but this is not a cake being purchased, this is a gift for a close friend who happens to enjoy reading as much as I do so! I wanted to make it for her. I ask advice because I've never carved down a cake like this and just wanted any input some more experienced bakers could offer. I've seen a lot of people do it differently, like trimming it into the book shape, trimming cake and then shifting it around to other parts of the book, and some leaving it more level, I know how I intend to go about it but I wanted to know of any last minute things I might have not seen or read in the tutorials I watched. 
2. The book will be what the dragon sits on and I know how to dowel it so that it has the proper support and won't end up crushing the cake, so I'm not particularly worried about that, the wings will be very thin fondant so I was simply concerned it may start to tip down, but I intend to use flower wire and edible glue in order to fix them on, so I'm not worried about that either. But again, since the forum is full of bakers I was simply reaching out for experience. 
3. I do means dowels, yes, sometimes I say pillars because I think of them as support beams and that tends to pop into my head, but I'm familiar with the proper terminology. 
4. No, you and the other members here on CakeCentral aren't being punked. I am a young lady who recently just got into making and decorating cakes and I feel like I have a flair for it, but I'm still learning. I only started this year after all, and for someone who doesn't wish to discourage me, you sure managed to do just that. You also made me feel a little anxious about posting anything in the future, I am inexperienced and I don't mind if that shows in my questions...nor did I expected to be put down for it. But, I appreciate the advice you gave despite all of this. 
   

and she accepted my sincere apology for doubting her

so how is it going?

are your rice krispie treats (rkt) behaving? I don't know what kind you are using but if I need something really secure I grind the krispies in the food processor first -- some people use white chocolate in theirs -- I use double marshmallows and never had a problem -- 

also I sometimes use a pot of hot water under my pot of rkt to hold them while I create -- also I sometimes make the figure bigger than I need and using a micro plane I smooth it off -- don't put many/any  small markings in the rkt part -- you can get the subtle design markings after it is fondanted or if you use modeling chocolate which responds to heat -- you can remove any stray marks or big join lines easy peasy --

also -- like if you were doing a santa face for example -- and you want the big jolly cheeks/nose/eyebrows -- then add a nice blob of fondant for each feature onto the face before fondanting -- fondant over this and before it sets up -- smooth it all the way you want --

how are the wings doing? I would consider sticking a popsicle stick or something in there in order to attach it into the cake or to stick it into the dragon body --   

how big is this dragon?

don't forget marking the pages on the sides of the book -- I always did my book cakes with the fondant under for the book cover then all buttercream then the top page was fondant -- ribbled up and chibbled a bit on the corners flipping up a bit -- and I used a fork for the pages along the sides

I might have already said this -- but freezing a decorated cake has to be thawed int he fridge overnight or the condensation can be a waterfall -- so myself -- I just freeze my cakes uniced and stacked into layers -- wrapped up multiple times and then when I pull them out of the freezer -- I ice them and then store them in the fridge till delivery --

there's no wrong way really -- one baker's never ever do is the next baker's I swear by this --

best to you

how did it go? did you have enough time?