*Sigh* Glad It's Over

The title says it all. Last week. . . . . .well, let's just say I'm never doing that again. A body cannot be creative on just 4 & 5 hours of sleep a night several nights in a row - it simply isn't going to happen. And I'll say that I'm glad the replica cake was canceled. . . . . I just would not have had time for it this week. I am never triple-booking again.

Here's just an idea of how my week went.

Monday: Awake at 3:30 a.m., work from 5:15-2:00, school from 2:30-ish to 9:00

Tuesday: Off of work but homework GALORE (I had several research papers this week)  'til class from 5:00-6:15,  then supply shopping sine I was over on that side of town already, then home to do more homework.

Wednesday: Homework, chores, washing cars, cleaning the house, etc. And a school catering event from 4-9:15-ish, basically setting up food, serving food, then washing up afterwards.

Thursday: Up at 5, work from 7-3, classes from 5- 8(with homework in-between classes and work). Baking from 8:30 to past 11 p.m.

Friday. Get up at 5:30. Work from 7-4. Drove home and worked frantically on that X-box cake 'til after 2 in the morning.

Saturday. Get up at. . . . . . I don't remember when. I think it was 6 or 7. Finish said X-box cake, drop it off, work from 10-3, come home, begin working on piano cake. Finish said piano cake at 3 a.m. Fall into bed and then get up before 8 on Sunday so we can be ready to leave for church.

So yeah. . . . . . .just a little busy. But I was going out of my mind on Saturday night - and early Sunday morning - because everything went wrong with that piano cake.

Everything.

I'm not just saying that. I mean everything from the cake board being too thin from the rice krispies falling off the piano legs to the support structure being very tipsy to there not being enough cake or black fondant and the buttercream ran out and the gold paint wasn't working so I couldn't paint the inside of the cake. . . . . .yes. Everything.

I think it turned out awful. Horrible. I was so ashamed. I had planned to do an open baby grand (this thing was actually more than 20 inches long) with the wires and different parts inside, painted wood grain on different parts, and the Steinway logo above ivory keys.

Instead, at 3:00 a.m., this was what I had. 

 {By the way,  the white spots on the cake are just some photo effects I used on this picture - in reality, it was all black and shiny. It also reflected the camera flash. :0 }

I didn't have enough fondant to cover the lid piece, so I just had to make it look like the lid was already on the cake and just closed, and the rice krispies were what made up the legs of the piano, but they were awful - too moist to carve (I didn't make them right) so the piano legs looked like. . . . . . .well. . . . . like squishy black columns of rice krispies. And by then, I wasn't going to run to the grocery store for supplies to make more black fondant and rice krispies!!

And I won't complain to you anymore. Suffice it to say I was so glad it was not for a paying customer!!! It was for my brother's 22nd birthday - he's a music major in college. But my brother thought it was great, so I figured I'd go ahead a post a picture. And besides, I told y'all that I would. *sigh* But I shall not let this cake conquer me!! I am going to keep making pianos until I get it how I want it. And I shall never again experiment on a cake style with a 20"+ cake. It was a ridiculous amount of cake to have to deal with when you're not sure what you're doing!!


Allright, now let's get to the good stuff.

THE X-BOX CAKE

This is how it all started. 

 An 11x15 dark chocolate cake and a bowl of peanut butter buttercream - my own special recipe. It's to die for - basically tastes the inside of a Reeses cup. O.o Very dangerous if you like Reeses. Which I do. Very much.

I had to mix black fondant for some of the effects on this cake, like the vents on the side and the parts of the back. 

 For those of you who have never made marshmallow fondant (abbreviated mmf in future posts) it is SO much cheaper to make -and so much better tasting - than the store-bought stuff. :p Seriously, that stuff is plastic. THIS stuff, however, is marshmallows , water, and powdered sugar. Yumyumyumyum. And if you want black, you add melted chocolate. 

'Nuff said, I think. 

Here it is, carved and dirty-iced. This step is very important - you have to carefully carve all the angles, dips, and curves you need, and then ice it perfectly smooth - any lumps and bumps will show underneath the fondant. Basically, whatever is on the inside is also seen on the outside. Kind of like us, I suppose. :)

Now for the controller - I had to carve it out of Rice Krispie treats . . . . .

. . . . .ice it with buttercream so that the fondant would stick. . . . .

. . . . .then add carefully sculpted and painted gum paste buttons.

I was getting excited by this point. Everything was starting to come together.

And finally. . . . .it was finished. 

Yes - I did go a little crazy on the details. Like the CD drive, the USB ports, the glowing green button, the vents on the top. But it was so worth it.  I was very happy with this cake.

And when I put the controller on the top. . . . .I was even happier. It just added so much! Didn't make the top seem quite so plain.

And this cake was actually for a boy. . . . . .but his sister's nickname for him was 'Nancy.'

So, what do y'all think? I'm open to questions, comments, or snide remarks, and am always looking to improve if you guys have some tips and tricks to share. :)