DIY Network

Bloom No green thumb? No problem, with these clever garden-related crafts. From "Creative Juice" episode DCRJ-103L

(Continued from page 4)

Cathie Filian and Steve Piacenza design a floral birthday cake that looks good enough to eat.

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Topiary Birthday Cake

Topiary Birthday Cake

Materials:

6 dozen assorted carnations
2 pieces floral foam (5"x3"x10")
toothpicks
knife
8" circle cake pan
taper candle
cake stand or decorative plate

1. Working with one piece of floral foam, pierce one side of it with six toothpicks (figure A) and line up the second piece of foam. Push the two pieces together to form one 10"x10" piece (figure B).

Figure A

Figure B

2. Place the circle cake pan on top of the combined floral foam and trace around it with a toothpick, making a circular indentation (figure C). Using a knife, cut the floral foam into the circle shape (figure D). This will be the base of the cake. Place the base of the cake in the cake pan and water until the foam is saturated (figure E). Remove foam from cake pan. Turn cake pan over and use a work base.

Figure C

Figure D

Figure E

3. Trim the carnations as you work, leaving approximately 3" of stem (figure F). Carnations are ideal for this project because they are long lasting and inexpensive, they provide a lot of coverage and they are easy to find.

4. Fill the top and sides (figure G) of the cake base with the carnations by firmly pressing each stem into the foam and arranging so that no foam is visible (figure H). You can add details to the cake by trimming the edges with one color and highlighting areas with different sizes. Have fun designing your own cake.

Figure F

Figure G

Figure H

Figure I

5. You can build a cake topper by cutting a few carnations 5" long and placing them in the center on top of the cake.

6. Poke a taper candle into the top of the cake to finish the effect. Display on a cake stand (figure I). The flowers should last for about a week if the foam is kept moist.

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RESOURCES :

Aleen's Original Tacky Glue (Duncan Enterprises)
Website: www.duncancrafts.com

DecoArt Patio Paint
DecoArt Inc.
Website: www.decoart.com/cgi-bin/Products.cgi?Patio_Paint