NEW! sweet sweater 'sandy' cake

a question i am often asked is 'where do you get your ideas from?'
i'm honestly inspired by everything! 
from the color combinations i see in nature to memories of my childhood
to objects i see that make me ask "can i make that out of a sweater?!"
i am never without ideas to investigate (which is why deb doesn't sleep....)

one of my long-time online friends from the 'way back' blogging days (early 90's)
is the most incredible cake decorator and baker i have ever seen.
Sasha (@saucybakes on IG) has a wild imagination and wicked talent,
and her creations never fail to make me
 A. hungry and B. intrigued about replicating them in my own style.

back in 2022 i was inspired by Sasha to create a cake
using sweaters, as my own 'birthday cake',
which then led to creating a faux holiday cake and a faux frosty wintery cake.

a recent post on her IG account showed a 'Little Mermaid' themed cake
with shells and sprinkle 'sand'...
so i started thinking about making a summery 'sand cake'
with a sweater and seashells and a few other elements. 

continue reading to see how i interpreted a beachy theme faux cake!

Q
making the 'cake' itself is easy - cover a container with a sweater.
i selected a smooth knit (no texture) sweater top in a light sandy brown tone
and a cylinder-shaped cookie container that fits the currently popular 'tall' cake trend:

once i had cut a piece of the sweater and covered the upside-down container,
i discovered that the container's lid would not fit back on. pfffft.
i could have pulled the sweater off and flipped the container over,
but instead i created a new 'lid' from posterboard and covered that with sweater fabric.
(looking at the photos above shows you how i did that,
i don't think you need a step-by-step ;) )

once the 'lid' was in place and adhered with sticky tape,
i started adding details:

all of the binding/edging on the sweater i was using was cut off,
and used to trim the exposed edge of the lid and the bottom edge of the container.
I applied this with hot glue - and less is more in this case, to prevent drips.

then i grabbed a few shell necklaces (from Hilo Hatties in Kauai'i)
and wrapped them around the top and bottom of the cylinder 
to emulate frosting edging.

the 'cake' form was placed on a large white platter, with real sand in the center.

the shells and another element i was going to use as decoration would need support,
 so i placed a few pieces of real solid coral on the top and base of the cake.

next, i experimented with a new process:

using my hot glue gun, i traced out freeform tree-like shapes on a silicone baking sheet - 
i put the yellow paper under them for the photo so you could see the shapes.
when the glue dried, i was able to peel the shapes off of the silicone easily.
after painting with matte white paint, i had pieces of fake fan coral!
i purposefully gave them all 'stems'
so that i could insert them into the holes in the solid coral, making them stand up.

then i added in a variety of shells from my collection,
choosing different sizes and shapes in a white and soft sandy brown palette.
(admittedly, i tried to add my yellow painted shells. they didn't look right.
so i just stuck with the neutral palette on this one.)
a few of the largest shells are adhered with a drop of hot glue,
but most of them are just sitting in position.

after i had placed all of the shells on the top and the bottom side of the 'cake',
i decided it needed a bit more bling - and swagged another shell necklace from the top.
it reminds me of the icing frou frou that Saucy includes on her Lambeth cakes:

it's like Ariel's birthday cake rising out of the sea!

this cake is on display in our kitchen for the summer, 
which is a perfect way to sweeten up our decor with no temptation or calories!
i can see smaller versions of this idea working perfectly in a tiered tray display, too.

...and when summer is over, i can remove the shells and coral,
put the sand back in a bag, and store only the covered container - 
for another project another season.

psst: i've linked up to all of my other 'faux' sweater cakes below!

don't miss a post! click the 'follow' link in my sidebar >>>
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be inspired by Sasha's gorgeous baking account on Instagram

related content:

sweet sweater gingerbread cake

sweet sweater birthday cake

sweet sweater sno-cakes

shared online:

creatively beth | team creative crafts linky party #150

funky junk interiors | new upcycled ideas #682 

thank you for featuring my project, Miss Donna! 

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