Darren Allford - Make Your Own Cake Toppers

Make Your Own

Cake

TOPPERS

For my lovely Mum and Dad

Cake

Toppers

Darren

Allford

First published in Great Britain in 2022 by

Pen & Sword WHITE OWL

An imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Yorkshire Philadelphia

Copyright Darren Allford 2022

ISBN 9781526774545

ePUB 9781526774552

The right of Darren Allford to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

Design: Paul Wilkinson

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WELCOME! The fact that you have opened this book can mean only one thing. You need to create, right? Whether this is because you need that extra-special cake topper for that extra-special cake or because you have a sudden urge, a need to go off on a creative whim you need to create and youve come to the right place. Taking time out of our busy lives to make brilliant things, rather than just buying them, should be encouraged. Youll find that making magic happen with your hands is a simple pleasure that should be indulged. Whatever brought you here, your adventure is about to begin and I sincerely hope that it is one that youll find incredibly rewarding.

If you were to do a quick online search you would find a heap of experts claiming that by simply tapping in to your own creative energy, youll find evidence that suggests youre improving your overall health. Sound far-fetched? Try it. If you properly apply yourself to something and give it your full attention and concentration, you cant also spend that time worrying about the everyday stresses that we usually allow to buzz in the back of our minds. Now, if the thing were properly applying ourselves to is also something that we enjoy doing? We might as well be meditating.

Everyone has some creativity in them thats bubbling to get out. All that stands between that creativity being released and the finished creation is knowledge. Armed with the knowledge and using the right tools and a whole heap of imagination, anybody can become a maker. The best way to approach making is never to see it as a chore. It should never be something that makes you release a heavy sigh or something that makes you roll your eyes. The secret is to see it as playing. Watch a child play for inspiration and youll see how much energy children joyfully put into creating wondrous things, gleefully exhausting themselves purely out of an untarnished passion to indulge their own imagination. The moral of this story is dont grow up, it is a trap and the plan in this book is to reconnect with that inner child, high-five it, roll up your sleeves and have some fun. You are absolutely up for the challenge and youll be amazed at what can be created in the process.

So, cake toppers! A simple cake can be completely transformed into a show stopper if it is decorated with a bit of love. Not everybody is a home baker, but nearly all of us will have a celebration every now and then that requires a cake. A cake that in a crowded room would make one person squeal thats for me! Once you know how, youll see that you yes you! will be able to transform an inexpensive shop-bought sponge into something thats really extra special. If youre a home baker too then you definitely need to add this string to your bow so that you can transform your own freshly baked treats into the showstoppers they were destined to be.

In recent years and along with the rise of social media, cake trends have become increasingly popular and simple cake decorating has evolved into elaborate must-haves, especially with creative home bakers and crafters willing to go that extra mile. Wonderful as all these trends are and they really are a cake that has a bit of height to it, that has been placed on a covered board, that has been properly iced, tied with a ribbon and topped off with one of the little creations in this book is going to have just as much impact and will indeed cause a high-pitched squeal from the cake recipient.

The range of different toppers you can create is limitless; if you can think of it, you can almost always find a way to make it. In this book, were going to learn how to make twelve different toppers that will teach you a whole range of skills and techniques. I firmly believe that making these cute little creations will arm you with the knowledge to head out on your own creative adventures and make things that you see in your imagination as well as in fabulous books like this!

Whilst creating the toppers in this book remember not to be confined to using exactly the colours and features that are suggested. If by coincidence the designs match your requirements exactly then by all means follow them to a T and youll produce perfect replicas, but feel free to adapt the creations to make them unique to you and your needs. Always go with the gender of the cake recipient and their skin tone, hairstyle and colour, and fashion choices and personality. Always allow yourself to go off on a tangent and make your creations unique to you and the person youre making them for. Our mantra from this point on is there are no mistakes, just choices we havent thought about yet.!

Chapter 1 will give you all the information you need prior to starting out on your first topper. This chapter is where youll learn about the differences between creating with fondant and creating with clay, the tools that will help make your creative life a little easier and lots of other tips to get you ready and raring to go. Please give this chapter a read first, this is the non-practical knowledge bit and will ease any creative insecurities you may have. After the first chapter, feel free to read the rest of the chapters in your own order. Some makes will initially appear more advanced or daunting than others, but it really is just about time. Some will take longer to create, but they are ALL within your reach. Remember that youre playing so enjoy allowing yourself that extra hour or so of playtime if you can spare it.