Hi roxylee - its unlikely you will get a perfect match when you meet up so you should decide which is your best face and make that side your front. I would measure this side and find the middle then position your mat with the centre of the design (not necessarily the centre of the mat looking at the picture of the mat) at this point. Once you have made your first impression, I would work from right side of impression round towards back and from left side of impression round towards the back so your "join" is at the back of the cake. You might have to put in the lines of the last diamonds manually to get them to meet up. You can do this with the help of a straight edge.  If it was me I would practice on a strip of old fondant to get a feel for the pressure you will need and how to move the mat on to match up each time.

Hope it goes well.

AQuick question for those who use flower nails. Is this size ok for a 10 inch cake? I think I'm going to get the ateco heating cores but can't get them here and it won't arrive before I need it so this is option two :)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190782744933

Thanks

Thanks catsmum I think I will try on a scrap piece of fondant first but your advice sounds good will try it as you described and hopefully will go well I will post picture next week when I have done it.

Sainy I used a flower nail that size for a 10" pillow tin and it worked ok. Those ateco heating cores look good I've never heard of them before.

ARoxylee just can't show you too many errors! Will look at upside down method thanks x

ARofl Saga Paste!! Ooh that made me giggle!! I vote that's our new name for SP ;D

Jo I am sure it's not anywhere near as bad as you think, don't worry! We are our own worst critics, trust me! If nothing else though chalk this one to practise and experience though :) x Oh and my Choc cake always cracks on the top too, so that's totally normal :)

Tiddy, omg I neeeeed those squirrel toppers lol they are so cute! Consider me added to the shove queue! Looking at your work there and your history in the wedding business I think you are going to do brilliantly! And if you let that cake room go to waste, we will all be coming after you ;D x

Roxy, sorry I can't help with the impression mat as I've never used one! The times I've done quilting I've used a 45' triangle and marked by hand - that's how I did the top tier on my avatar. I'm sure those mats are much easier though I'll be interested to see how you get on, might be added to my list!

Speaking of, spent a ruddy fortune in APOC in Thame today - yikes! Got myself a floral tape splitter (thrilling, but soo time saving lol!) and a side scallop marking set, amongst other things. It adds up quickly doesn't it! :/

AOh Mel, wish I'd known you were in the vicinity. We could have met up for coffee. I bought one of those splitters but modified it to remove 2 of the blades.

AOoh I'll let you know next time! :) The splitters are so handy, it was driving me nuts cutting all the tape for my orchids so I finally decided the cost would be worth it long term lol!

AJo don't feel daft asking questions, trust me I must have asked a million on here already haha. My first ever stacked cake was a christening cake but I didn't have the sense to practise first. I ended up making it far too big too - a 12 inch base and a 9 inch top! It was huge. I don't know how I managed to pull it off because I'm sure I couldn't now, everything would end up going wrong if I tried to cover a 12inch now. Guess it was beginners luck. I'll have to find the pic.

My birdcage is now covered and half decorated I just need to finish it off. Covering such a tall cake was a bit of a nightmare I was so worried it was going to tear I think I rolled my fondant slightly too thick which made it harder. I got a bit of elephant akin that I managed to get rid of with trex and some creasing at the bottom that is covered with decoration so I don't think it will look too bad in the end.

Covering a cake seems to be my nemesis and it looks so easy! I have definitely got better at baking the cakes, stacking them, ganaching/buttercreaming them and I'm fine with the decorstions and models etc but covering the darn things just never ends up perfectly!

AChristening cake. I don't think you can tell how big it was in this pic haha.

[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3232903/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

ALovely Sugarluva! Well done.

ABlimey, can you lot talk! Lovely cake sugalova - are the blocks just fondant?

AAh Sugarluva that's lovely! Def can't show my silly pic now lol, but as I said it's not to be decorated and was purely an exercise. Think square cakes are harder than circles.

Funny enough the one I have to do on the day is very similar with blocks and booties only in pink!

I think my problem atm with covering cakes is I don't use enough crumb coat and don't let it harden enough then think I'm rolling fondant too thin!

can't wait to see birdcage !!

Sugarluva that cake is fab! I bet it got lots of oohs and aahs :)

Got a question about wedding cakes. Do I have to source the wedding stand myself or is this the bride's concern? 

AKathy, don't worry about it. I will keep that in mind when I decide to do that. :grin:

Roxylee, I have that mat and I think it will be easier to do on a square cake rather than a round one.

Siany, I have that one and a different one. One is enough but I use two for bigger size cakes. I will try post a link to the other one.

ASugarluva, that cake is so beautiful.:smile:

Jean, sometime, the venue provides the cake stand but if the bride like a stand that you have, you can hire and make sure you take a deposit in case if they damage it.

A

Yes they were just fondant. I considered a few different options but in the end went with what was easiest even thoigh it used so much fondant!

Just finished the birdcage I'll snap a few pics. I think it turned out Ok in the end. Maybe next time I would put more bars on the cage though. And I definitely need to work on my roses because half don't look like roses haha. Please don't judge the flowers!

AHere it is. Think I'm happy with it overall but definitely a few things I would do differently next time.

[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3232987/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3232988/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

AThat's really lovely sugaluva.

AThanks siany, feel free to openly critique it I would love to know what you all really think and what you would change/do differently.

AI agree with your own critic actually. I think a few more bars would look good.

Your roses are sweet. I think they suit the style of the cake. Your little birds are gorgeous :)

ASugarluva, thats,just fab, hope your pleased with yourself?

What you have to remember is, this is different to the norm, out of our comfort zone so to speak, you dont know how the fondant gonna be covering something that high, so its a learning curve, if I did another birdcage no doubt I would do things differently, but like you I was happy with my first attempt at this sort of cake. So well done to you I say.

Roxy, I have that mat but havn't used it yet. Did let my friend borrow it she's a complete novice, she said it was fab to use.

ATiddy forgot to comment on your toppers, so clever of you. They really are fab.

So Bashini, am I right in thinking you fill your cakes, then chill, then ganache the day after? And obviously chill before covering? Same day or do you do that next day?

ABirdcage is absolutely lovely !! Chasingmytail next day cover with sp even with buttercream, in the mean time over night in fridge yes? Also my top tier today if was a final I would of definately covered in sp again. Never knew buttercream had to be 1:3 !!

Sugarluva both of your cakes are lovely, your birds are so cute and your flowers are nice I like the way you have the stems going up the cage  

Thanks everyone for the replies about the mat.

Jo I use to roll my SP uneven all the time so would have thin spots. I  bought some fondant spacers and I use them all the time now so I get it the same thickness all over and the thickness I want.

ASugarluva, the birdcage is beautiful!! :-)

Barbara, I don't chill the cakes. Never.... Just wrap it in cling film and leave it over night and ganache and cover. :-)

Absolutely Jo Field - its all about leaving ganache or buttercream to set/good hard/crust. If you dont then it can mix with the SP and become a soft mess.  You can overnight in fridge but make sure you dont have it cold when you SP as you can get sweating especially in warmer weather you can trap moisture. In this country you can leave it out in cupboard overnight but again in hotter months (????) may not be acceptable. Buttercream in centres should be min 1:2 but for covering to make sure it sets and keeps the bulging  needs to be 1:3 which is incredibly sweet (reason for me concentrating on ganache) You see many piping a dam around the edges with 1:3 to stop the central filling spewing out the sides.

I would recommend a few books - I can pick up a few good ones in The Works for around £8 (RRP £25) I had a Mich Turner one which has some good techniques. Worth having a few hanging about just for the basics and having a nice few pics too. Perhaps we could start a thread on the best & worst books for instruction?

AThanks Bashini, I was always lead to believe that you make the cake one day, leave to settle, fill and ganache or buttercream crumb coat, then chill, then cover. So theres no need to chill at any time not even to get the ganache firm?