Help!! I'm new at cake decorating (just finished Course 1 of the Wilton class), and I need an idea for my boyfriend's birthday cake coming up next month. I have no idea what to do. Here's some info about him: he's turning 29, he's in the air force, and he's very big into "man" stuff. He also likes comics. I'll probably be making a chocolate cake. Thanks!!

Welcome to CC - did you know just posting your first forum causes immediate addiction? I'll have to bump - no ideas from me but bumping will keep this post current and more likely to be seen.

Thanks!

Bump for you again, believe me - sometimes it takes awhile before someone sees your post, but they will. One of the moderators usually comes along and gives you links for the acronyms and other helpful hints on this site. If you go under the forum tab and scroll down to general, you'll get a lot of good info.

I would play off of his love for comics. Gotta be a lot of ideas and colors to work with there! Is there a flying comic book hero he is reading? You could use that one to combine his occupation with comics. Start playing with fondant and gumpaste figures if you haven't already, it's fun and addicting. Like playing with play-do.

When I need inspiration I start looking in the galleries. Type in key words you are interested to search. Since you are new to this and if you don't want to start on fondant yet, you could do a frozen buttercream transfer of one of his comic heroes. Or even the Air Force logo. Whatever you can trace, you can do. Your Wilton 1 instructor should have taught you, but you can find the tutorial on the Wilton site if you can't find it in the forums here. Search FBCT here.

If you can and I know you are a beginner make a copy of the airforce emblem into a cake or you can carve a shirt cake ( not that hard) and make it look like the uniform jacket! But you haven't used fondant yet huh? Hmm.. well I am not too keen on comics. You can always make a sheet cake color the frosting airforce blue and with the emblem in the middle of the cake. Thats my two cents! : )

Man stuff? Like tools? Remote controls? Beer? Fishing? Guns ... I bet guns where he's in the military.

Of everything, he is probably most proud of being in the Air Force ... all the other stuff he will be "into" all his life; so I think I'd go on the Air Force theme. The new Air Force emblem is rather simple. Go with that. ...or, has he earned any ribbons or medals you could copy?