My cake for the July 2009 Cake Challenge

I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long! :-) But it's finally here!!!
What do you mean who is here??? The pictures of my cake that I made for the July 2009 cake challenge, of course! :-)
As you all already know, the theme was " Ikebana"- Japanese flower arrangement art.


My idea was to make this cake for a very special lady that have been the most wonderful teacher my son can ever get- his speech therapist!



So, I started with the idea of having a cake with dragon painted pot ( something I wanted to try in a long time, and the challenge is all about trying new things), some Moth Orchids ( a variety that I just love!!!) and some red wood "branches".
I have painted the dragon with light gray color, then I've used darker color and some red and gold paint.
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I had had my troubles with the orchids, it was my first time making flowers like this and second time making wired flowers at all.


Now I can understand and appreciate better the work of the masters in sugar flowers making. It takes time, patience and a lot of practice! I am nowhere near where I want to be as a skill level, but I'll keep trying. That's how you get better, isn't it?
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I loved the idea of the branches being natural "wood" at first, then " shiny" dark red!
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I have had my doubts about the color of the background, black is very bold. But I couldn't imagine this cake being any other kind of color. It just didn't seem right, no matter what kind of color I tried.
This is the first set up the day before I gave the cake as a gift:




The cake inside was with fresh strawberries and walnut chocolate ganache, although I didn't try it, because it was a gift, the people who did, said it was delicious.


If you want to see more pictures, try here: