A Mermaid Under The Sea!

What fun today's cake was!  From time to time I donate gift certificates to our consignment sale and MOMs group.  A friend of mine won the gift certificate and she used it for a mermaid/under the sea cake for her daughter's 2nd birthday.  Here's the result:  

seahorse and clownfish on one side

 friendly purple octopus on the other!

fondant mermaid cake topper

I've been wanting to try fondant cake toppers for a while, but I was WAY intimidated.  Leave it to me to take on something not so simple for my first go.  (Yep, this was my FIRST FONDANT FIGURE EVER!)  Though she's pretty rough around the edges and it took me 3 tries to get her face molded I think it turned out quite well!  *I used My Cupcake Addiction's tutorial for help.*  Here's how the process went:

First, I put a lollipop stick in some gumpaste and let it dry.  Then I made the tail and attached it to the stick.

 Next, I shaped the torso.

 Then after 3 tries and lots of drying I attached her head.

 Then came arms.

 Then shells and hair.

 Finally, I painted her face and attached a few more pieces of hair.

She was a labor of love and like I said, she's not perfect, but I'm proud of how she turned out.  A few things I learned: 

* My fondant was just a touch to thin.  How do I know this?  Because her torso started sagging causing her to look like an old wrinkled lady.  At one point I had to remove her hair and let her dry out some more.

* I need some GOOD detail brushes.  When it came time to add the details to the face, I realized my food grade brushes were all too wide.  The detail you see on her face was done completely with TOOTHPICKS!  That's why her mouth isn't as pretty as I had hoped.  

Since my fondant was a little soft, I actually used a little added support when I put her on the cake.  I stuck her down on the skewer that goes through the whole cake.  Hey, I didn't say it was pretty...but she was up there!

And the most important thing I learned?  I CAN DO FONDANT FIGURES!!!