Can We Show Off Our Crafts?

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Dana Jean

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I have been asked to do a wedding cake. The theme of the wedding is Alice in Wonderland and the bride wants 2 regular 9x13 cakes, side by side done in a checkerboard pattern and then a heart cake centered in the middle on top. I have been looking at pictures on the internet and I think I will do a diamond-shaped checkerboard on the bottom but am kind of stuck about what to do with the heart. I don't want to just do a heart, I would like to make it look like a tart, to tie it in with the Alice theme. I was just thinking maybe I could use jelly to center another heart on the top heart cake.

I don't know the bride, she is a co-worker of my mother in law's. They have a very small budget which is why I was asked to do it. But it makes me mighty nervous to be responsible for someone's wedding cake. I've only ever done one, and it was the more traditional, round tiered kind.

I will run this idea by the bride but wanted to ask all you wonderful, creative people for your opinions before I did. Do you think that sounds like an ok idea or should I keep thinking and searching for inspiration? (Any suggestions are very much welcome! :))I could use a red frosting, I suppose but red frosting tends to stain the teeth which isn't really something you want, especially at a wedding.
Just get all the pictures you can, and bright colors and start brainstorming. You will find the perfect idea. Show pictures when you get it done!
 

Dana Jean

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I know, there are some very cool projects on there. I got into steampunk when Rush went with that theme back in 2010. I've done a few steampunk pieces since then, including the steampunk bee. Here's my steampunk picture frame for a fundraiser we did before the Vancouver Rush show last summer (for the Alberta flood victims):

SPframe_zpsd1b2cd44.jpg


PS. I'm also a Psych fan. Only 5 more episodes!? :distress:
This picture frame is so awesome.
 

cat in a bag

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Tine how about something like his for the heart shapes cake that looks like a tart.

baking_a_heart-shaped_genoise_cake_horiz.jpg

Yes! That's kind of what I was thinking. I just thought it had to be shiny. :biggrin-new: I love the layers of this picture but don't know if I would want to leave the sides unfinished on a wedding cake? Plus, I have to do this all within her budget, so will have to see if I can double layer it and have fruit in it as well for what she wants to spend.
 

Spideyman

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Yes! That's kind of what I was thinking. I just thought it had to be shiny. :biggrin-new: I love the layers of this picture but don't know if I would want to leave the sides unfinished on a wedding cake? Plus, I have to do this all within her budget, so will have to see if I can double layer it and have fruit in it as well for what she wants to spend.

you could use a heart shape pan, sliced in half, on top layer cut the smaller heart shape to fill/ you could use fresh fruit too. The sides can be frosted to give a finished look.
 

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I will be using a heart shaped pan, but my oven is not completely level, so I always end up trimming off the bottom anyway. So I would be very scared to try getting one cake cut in half. You can hide a lot of imperfections with frosting! ;)

It wouldn't have to be as many layers but this picture has some ideas for decorating you could do with frosting and not being level doesn't seem to be a problem for Alice in Wonderland cakes. :)

Cake%2Bfrom%2BAlice%2Bin%2BWonderland.jpg
 

cat in a bag

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It wouldn't have to be as many layers but this picture has some ideas for decorating you could do with frosting and not being level doesn't seem to be a problem for Alice in Wonderland cakes. :)

Cake%2Bfrom%2BAlice%2Bin%2BWonderland.jpg
I LOVE those topsy-turvey cakes! I thought at first that was what she wanted, and I was excited to try it. But the pans alone would be her entire budget. (I won't be making a penny doing this, but still want it to be a very nice cake!) The diamonds are what I will do on the bottom cake. She wants black, which is also hard on the teeth, and very hard to make! It always turns out a very dark gray for me, no matter how much coloring I use. It tends to bleed a lot too. My MIL was going to tell her about that and we'll see what she decides about the colors.

I also thought about using strawberries, cut in half to lay flat, for the heart on the tart cake. Have to wait to be told whether she will have a bride and groom on top or not, before I can really know if that will work. But, maybe it still could, depending on the size of the topper, because off-kilter would definitely work for Alice in Wonderland!
 

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I LOVE those topsy-turvey cakes! I thought at first that was what she wanted, and I was excited to try it. But the pans alone would be her entire budget. (I won't be making a penny doing this, but still want it to be a very nice cake!) The diamonds are what I will do on the bottom cake. She wants black, which is also hard on the teeth, and very hard to make! It always turns out a very dark gray for me, no matter how much coloring I use. It tends to bleed a lot too. My MIL was going to tell her about that and we'll see what she decides about the colors.

I also thought about using strawberries, cut in half to lay flat, for the heart on the tart cake. Have to wait to be told whether she will have a bride and groom on top or not, before I can really know if that will work. But, maybe it still could, depending on the size of the topper, because off-kilter would definitely work for Alice in Wonderland!

How hard would it be to use regular pans but cut the cake off at an angle? You might have to stack a couple layers to get the height but just cut the top layer off? My idea of cake decorating is opening a can of frosting and using a metal spatula to swirl it on so it's probably a lot harder than it looks. ;-D
 

Dana Jean

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I LOVE those topsy-turvey cakes! I thought at first that was what she wanted, and I was excited to try it. But the pans alone would be her entire budget. (I won't be making a penny doing this, but still want it to be a very nice cake!) The diamonds are what I will do on the bottom cake. She wants black, which is also hard on the teeth, and very hard to make! It always turns out a very dark gray for me, no matter how much coloring I use. It tends to bleed a lot too. My MIL was going to tell her about that and we'll see what she decides about the colors.

I also thought about using strawberries, cut in half to lay flat, for the heart on the tart cake. Have to wait to be told whether she will have a bride and groom on top or not, before I can really know if that will work. But, maybe it still could, depending on the size of the topper, because off-kilter would definitely work for Alice in Wonderland!
You wouldn't have to buy special pans for the topsy turvy, just slice the round cake off kilter.
 

cat in a bag

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How hard would it be to use regular pans but cut the cake off at an angle? You might have to stack a couple layers to get the height but just cut the top layer off? My idea of cake decorating is opening a can of frosting and using a metal spatula to swirl it on so it's probably a lot harder than it looks. ;-D
You wouldn't have to buy special pans for the topsy turvy, just slice the round cake off kilter.

I was just looking at the possibilities for using round pans and cutting them! One picture that I was looking at had the cakes before being frosted and I could see they had been cut. The site said it worked best with a poundcake, they are heavier and easier to work with, as far as cutting into shapes go. She wants white cake for the bottom and maybe red velvet, maybe white for the top. I could freeze them and maybe get away with it though. I try to freeze any cake that is going to be frosted smooth, it cuts down on the amount of crumbs you get.

Just talked with my mother in law about my different ideas for the heart cake and she is going to pass them on. I also suggested instead of 2 9x13 cakes for bottom, that I use my book cake pan instead. It's like an open book, which would also tie in. Sounds like she has a Mad Hatter and Alice topper to stand in for a bride and groom and then has other characters she wants spread around on the bottom layer. She is set on the red and black though, even after being warned about what that will do to people's teeth! :D So I said ok! As long as she knows and doesn't mind!
 

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I was just looking at the possibilities for using round pans and cutting them! One picture that I was looking at had the cakes before being frosted and I could see they had been cut. The site said it worked best with a poundcake, they are heavier and easier to work with, as far as cutting into shapes go. She wants white cake for the bottom and maybe red velvet, maybe white for the top. I could freeze them and maybe get away with it though. I try to freeze any cake that is going to be frosted smooth, it cuts down on the amount of crumbs you get.

Just talked with my mother in law about my different ideas for the heart cake and she is going to pass them on. I also suggested instead of 2 9x13 cakes for bottom, that I use my book cake pan instead. It's like an open book, which would also tie in. Sounds like she has a Mad Hatter and Alice topper to stand in for a bride and groom and then has other characters she wants spread around on the bottom layer. She is set on the red and black though, even after being warned about what that will do to people's teeth! :D So I said ok! As long as she knows and doesn't mind!


Maybe she could put a Crest White Strip in each of the gift bags. ;-D
 

cat in a bag

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Maybe she could put a Crest White Strip in each of the gift bags. ;-D
:biggrin-new: Her guests will need them! I told my mother in law I really didn't want to do a solid red heart so I hope she likes the "tart" idea. One red heart in the middle and maybe a red border. And I plan on frosting the bottom cake in white first, and then adding the black diamonds, so people can maybe just scrape off the black frosting. :)
 

Lepplady

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Here are some crazy Alice in Wonderland wedding cakes.
article-2045682-0E3EFE3F00000578-645_306x423.jpg

large.jpg


How about a mad Hatter cake for the groom's cake? Just the top part of this picture:
Alice-in-Wonderland-Mad-Hatter-Wedding-Cake.jpg


And there are usually cupcakes or cookies for guests, so how about cookie jelly hearts (the Queen's tarts) for those?
325x489xDIY-Alice-in-Wonderland-Tea-Party-Wedding-Ideas-16-2.jpg.pagespeed.ic.Ymm27A2zF2.jpg


I like the idea of the diamond shaped playing field with a tilted heart on top of it. You can either stack a few heart shaped layers and then cut the top off at an angle, or you can bake regular hearts and tilt the whole thing with one of these thingies.
upload_2014-2-13_15-50-18.jpeg
 

cat in a bag

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I won't be doing the Alice in Wonderland cake after all. I don't know exactly what happened, my MIL called to tell me we (I don't know where the "we" part came in, haha) weren't going to mess with it. She called from work so only had a minute and I haven't had a chance to find out exactly what went down but kind of sounded like the bride had a little bridezilla thing going on. Don't know if it was over my ideas or suggestions about not having red and black frosting or something else entirely. I would think anyone would have had the same suggestions about those colors but I would have done it how she wanted...it's her cake after all. Whatever happened, had to be pretty serious for my MIL to just wash her hands of it! And to wash my hands of it for me!
 

Dana Jean

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I won't be doing the Alice in Wonderland cake after all. I don't know exactly what happened, my MIL called to tell me we (I don't know where the "we" part came in, haha) weren't going to mess with it. She called from work so only had a minute and I haven't had a chance to find out exactly what went down but kind of sounded like the bride had a little bridezilla thing going on. Don't know if it was over my ideas or suggestions about not having red and black frosting or something else entirely. I would think anyone would have had the same suggestions about those colors but I would have done it how she wanted...it's her cake after all. Whatever happened, had to be pretty serious for my MIL to just wash her hands of it! And to wash my hands of it for me!
Sounds for the best. You don't need to spend all your time and creativity on some ungrateful diva.