YO! It's Time to Make a Cake!

Nevermind that watching Yo Gabba Gabba is like watching a 20 minute acid trip- Ella is obsessed with them. So naturally, this year's birthday party theme is "Yo Ella-Ella!", complete with balloons, plates, napkins and table-cloths in the various characters' colors. And because I always jump at the chance to do anything crafty, I decided that for as long as I'm physically able to, I want to make my kids' birthday cakes each year. This was Ella's ladybug cake last year:

It was so much fun to make, and relatively easy, all things considered. On the flip side, this year's cake is turning out to be quite the endeavor. Three tiers, iced with buttercream and fondant and Foofa's head sprouting out of the top. For those of you without kids under the age of ten (or alternately, those who have been living in a cave for the last 4 years) meet Foofa:

In case you're wondering, I have not been able to locate an onion/shallot shaped baking pan for Foofa's head. It would have been much easier to do a Plex head, or even a Brobee head, but Foofa is her favorite, so Foofa it is. After a little brainstorming, I think I have some ideas of how to make it work.

I sheepishly told Jake how much I had spent on all the various pans, cutters, fondant, icing and other doo-dads and I'm sure he wondered why I didn't just order a cake instead. (I'm beginning to wonder that myself). But every artist knows that creativity trumps practicality. It's not convenient. It's not cheap. Some might go as far as to say it's not even smart. After all, I'm afraid I will have a very disappointed little girl on my hands should this cake fall apart. But I've paid my due to Michael's and Baker's Kitchen and told myself I'm investing in memories (yes, I was grasping at straws after the total was rung up). But really, it's a small price to pay to see her face light up. I'm sure of this.

So long as Foofa's head is even remotely recognizable, this will not be a failure. The perfectionist in me may have to take a back seat if only for the the sake of having something that's at least edible, but I have high hopes that what I see in my head will be what I see on my kitchen counter come Friday afternoon. ;-)

So I now have in my possession:

1 roll of parchment paper
several plastic gloves
1 5 lb bucket of Fondant
1 3 lb bucket of buttercream icing (YUMS)
2 soft gel pastes in light pink and black

Square and Round cake pans:

Various fondant cutters, smoothers, and embellishments:

Fondant in various colors for accents:

And last but not least, these colorful puff balls. Confession: I'm not entirely sure what these will be used for. What can I say, it was an impulse buy. ;-)

Wish me luck! :-)