Under the Big Top, Part I

This is just part one of a cake project I'm working on right now... I have a long-time friend, Beth, whose daughter is about to turn three... She's asked me to do her cake, and I gladly accepted. Beth took her daughter, Ava, to the circus this summer and she absolutely LOVED it, so that's what the theme of her party is going to be.

I'm making cake AND cake balls for them.. Well, I should say cakes, plural. Beth had originally asked for just a regular sheet cake with a circus theme or circus-y colors, but I couldn't resist getting some additional inspiration from all the other awesome circus cakes out there that have already been made.

This is what I've come up with:


So let me explain it a little.. it's going to be an 8" double layer and two 6" single layers..
Starting with the main: the cake will be pink with teal and purple diamonds on it. There are stars on wires that will be sticking out of the cake. And I thought I'd put some sort of plaque on the side with HBD or Ava or something.

The bottom two: one will be teal with pink/purple circles, the other purple with pink/teal stars. Connected to top cake by strings with little flags on them. Each one will have a ball on it, with an animal balanced on the ball. I bought little wooden animal cut outs today, but I'm still battling with making little characters out of fondant/gumpaste. They look so cute that way! We'll see how much spare time I have. I at least have something already to fall back on. :-)

Here's a closer shot of the cakes:



I already made the big stand today... I went to a local thrift store and got a clear plate/platter for $1.98 and a pink/white patterned glass vase for $2.98... I used a really strong glue (E6000) to fasten the two together, and voila!! It's cute, it's sturdy, and it's perfect! I'm so excited to use it. And it was really so simple to do.



And for another more upward shot:



The two smaller cakes will be on smaller stands, which consist of a simple bowl and plate combo. No need to even glue anything there.. the bowl gives the plate enough stability on its own. I chose clear glass pieces for both the plates and bowls... This way, they would match the big plate on the big stand I have made, and I don't have to worry about finding some sort of color or print that I like. I bought a couple bags of skittles and plan on pouring those in the bowls before setting the plates on top. That way, it's all reusable, and it's bright and colorful, too!

I also started working on the circus tent to go on the top of the 8" double layer cake... I forgot to take pictures of my progress there, but it's turning out really cute so far. I bought a half a yard (and so far I have a TON extra) of a girly, striped fabric... Also found a scrap piece of a really thin pink tulle-y fabric.. used an oatmeal container (the heavy cardboard, cylinder type), made it a bit shorter, cut a piece out for the doorway, and hot glued the fabric around the cylinder. My next step is making the tent roof..