Cake decorating - I need help from know-it-alls with imagination!

[MoosMa]

I have a mental image of how I want DD's cake to look - a '2' shaped cake with a park scene on top. Brown butter cream on the sides to look like soil (sort of), green icing on top for grass, a little blue pond with yellow duck and.... swings and a seesaw.

I thought perhaps matchmakers for the supports for the swings but wonder if they'd be too chunky, and how can I make the chains for the swings and what can I use for the seesaw?

I'm going shopping on friday morning so need an ingredients list by then!

I believe you are now a cake 'know-it-all'! Thats absolutely beautiful. Well done you.

brilliant - well done! What sort is the green icing? Is it glace, and if so how did you stop it running down the sides of the cake?

Truly wonderful! Well done you, you are obviously a natural and I look forward to seeing more creations from your kitchen!

And here is the birthday girl blowing out the candles (well, trying).

Cool cake. I must see if I can find any pictures of the "60" golf course which was a collaborative effort between me, DM and SIL..

So we did warn you that this was a one way street, didn't we? I have orders for 2 of the most complicated cakes in my (many) cake books for upcoming DC birthdays - this year a '2' playground, next year a '3' - um - roller coaster?!

Who knows? But before then, we've got DH's birthday, Christmas, then DD2's birthday. I'm plotting already! Might have to get a book or 2 for some inspiration, can you recommend any good ones?

I think I sent you an ISBN number in the email to a good cake book. There are heaps out there and it all depends whether you want to learn sugarcraft from scratch, flowers, leaves etc or whether you want to concentrate on novelty cakes.
Some of the novelty cake books are very misleading though. I recommend the Mary Ford ones personally and the internet is a good source for ideas too.

Great cake, well done! One thing though and that is you 'bake' a cake not 'cook' a cake

Any of the Debbie Brown cake books - except when she says "easy" she means "hugely time consuming but not technically hard"

Don't forget Carol Deacon! She's got loads, if you fancy the fondant icing thing! I can't stand the taste of the stuff personally, but its fantastic for modelling!

Duh - it's not for eating, Mo! (no-one in our house eats icing, it goes out for the birds )