Need-tips-on-an-emergency-birthday-cake

Maybe these will at least get the creative juices flowing.

Refrigerate the flowers until right before the cake is put on display. And cut off all but about 3 inches of stem and just stick them into the cake. I recommend roses (some open, some still buds and some in between) if one of the colors is pink, and maybe some real silver ribbon (the kind for making elaborate gift bows that has wire in the sides so it will keep it's shape) in a cascade down from the top. Just put two together but perpendicular and punch a hole through where they meet and stick a straw in it to keep it in place as you stage the ribbons down the rest of the cake. Right before serving, stick the flowers through the hole and anywhere else you want them. it sounds kinda pretty without being tons of extra work.

My friend ans i do a cake decorating little business on the side. The flowers somthing easy to open up to cover space like roses work well plus they should hold up with out any trouble for a day or two. There are these things that you can buy at like Micheals or any cake decor store that you put the stems into, on or more flowers can go in each. Some can hold water others just keep the stems out of your cake, you know for cleanliness issues. Anyways do the flowers the night before and they will be fine. i dont recommend putting them in the fridge because if you set it to high the flowers will get over wet and wilt. i like the ribbon idea its beatiful and simple. Try going to a fabric store and looking for their special strands. you can find silver beads, little sliver designs with crystals in them to give it a little extra something and go with the colors. Put the ribbon on first then right on top line up whatever strand you found that you like the best top with flowers and there you have a beautiful, elegant yet very easy cake that will wow. you could also go into the wedding section at like a Micheals and look for the little pearls they have on wire and stuff and add that into the flowers just to give it a little more dazzle. Good luck i hope it comes out great.

I think real flowers are a great idea. I had my wedding cake decorated with real flowers and it was beautiful. One of my cookbooks suggests using honeysuckle, nasturtium, wild rose, sweet pea, freesia, marigold, baby's breath, pansies, geraniums to list a few. Just make sure they haven't been treated with pesticides or other chemicals. The book also suggests picking flowers early in the day, rinsing them briefly with cold water and shaking them dry, then keeping them in water in the refrigerator. Use as soon as possible to avoid wilting. It also suggests using them as buds, as open flowers with or without the stem and/or leaves, or sprinkling the loose petals.

I also gave my cake lady some mint I had grabbed from my yard and it looked beautiful - the green went well with the white frosting and dark red flowers.

Our wedding cake had a flower topper and they cut a hole in the top of the cake and inserted what looked like a large pill container filled with oasis for flower arranging. My sisters had individual flowers in viles(available at Micheals) stuck in and then piped over to cover them. I do not know how capable you are or if time allows but polka dots on cakes are really cute and popular. Good luck.

silver ribbon around the bottom of the cake, pink rose petals sprinkled on it.

Michaels sells colored fondant by Duff that is really hot pink. You can get a 40% off coupon from the flyer out of the Sunday paper so it doesn't cost so much. Knead it, and roll it out to about 1/8" and cut with a cookie cutter of your choice. Simple flowers would work well. Cut a second circle for the flower centers and paint with silver luster dust (also sold in the cake dept) and put borders around the bottoms of the layers with fun ribbon or roll fondant balls (think big pearls) and place around the cake. To make a paint from the luster dust, just put a couple drops of vodka or rum (clear alcohol) and add some dust. It won't take much. The alcohol evaporates quickly and you will have a nice silver paint for the fondant.. You can stick the fondant flowers directly on the buttercream icing without having to cover the whole cake in fondant. This makes a pretty presentation and is simple and easy to do.

i like your thoughts on what to do...Dallas Affairs does beautiful cakes with real flowers and what they do is 3-4 fresh flowers with their stems in those little plastic water holders; they bunch them together (mind you, ive only seen their 1-tier cakes), then bundle a few nice ribbons together to do a bow of sorts, and bind them together with floral pic (i'm not sure if that is the correct term but i think one of those small green sticks with a wire on the end that you wrap the wire around the ribbon to make and bind the bow, then stick the stick part into the cake where the flowers are), then they do the "happy bday" writing piped onto the cake. i have an image of a cake they did for my boss' birthday but unfortunately cannot attach it to this post...
You could also consider dusting with edible opulescent glitter, etc. peonies are expensive per stem, but very beautiful and look beautiful on a cake. :-)

first of all I am cracking up about your spacebar lol you conquered well ;) I absolutely love stargazer lilies. Google image them... they are white and pink. Only thing I would suggest is to cut off the tips of the centers because they can pollinate your cake lol Top tier you could do a gather of flowers(whichever you use) and sporadically throughout around the bottoms place a flower or two. Get either wire or use toothpicks to use as stakes for the flowers to keep them in place. Just make sure you have enough stem to place a wire or toothpick(cut in half or thirds) into. I like the pink ribbon idea around the bottoms of each tier. Get silver edible beads/pearls for cake decorating and place them around semi sporadically almost uniformed around the sides. It would be a clean, simple yet elegant cake. Have fun and don't stress about it too much... whatever you do, it will be great! Best of Luck!

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Real flowers look very nice on a cake! You can put anything on it but when you purchase them make sure you tell them its going on a cake and needs to have not been sprayed! Put the flowers on when you set the cake up and they should be just fine for the few hrs they are gonna be on the cake. When you put them on just cut the stem, make sure there are no leaves or loose pieces or thorns, and then stick em in! Good luck!

1) The flowers MUST be organically grown. NO PESTICIDES of any kind may be used on them or they will transfer to the cake.

2)Check and DOUBLE Check to make sure the flowers are NOT TOXIC.

3) Place a piece of parchment paper between the flowers and the cake to avoid bleeding of pigment from the flowers to the cake.

4) Use flower "cups" to sit the flowers in. You can find them at most stores that carry cake decorating supplies.

Frankly, if you are not experienced in making flowers, I would NOT use real flowers unless it is WELL PLANNED OUT in advance. Instead go with some already made flowers. You can buy beautiful gum paste or royal icing flowers at Hobby Lobby now.

D.
Baker/Candy Maker

In addition to below here are a couple more quickie decorating tricks:

- Candy "pearls", I always forget the french name (or jordan almonds) to circle the base of each cake give each a finished look

- Pixie Dust (the edible kind, available at any cake store) done on top of the buttercream or fondant add depth, and a dewy glow to the cake

- If you do buttercream... make sure to do the big swirls... since getting buttercream "flat" is a looooooong, irritating, and difficult process that gets "ruined" in the blink of the eye in transport.

- Bubbletea straws for support/structure are my choice over doweling each and every single time.

another quick idea...
"Another quick idea is to purchase a stencil in a special shape. You can easily decorate the top of your cake with regular icing—
then place the stencil onto the top of the cake and sprinkle on your favorite topping. Carefully remove the stencil and you have a
special design everyone will love" http://www.theplaceforcakes.com/Ideas.html