This was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Create this easy faux birthday cake for your next celebration and save some money to put into other areas of your party. 
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.Leila turned 8 this past May and was baptized in the LDS church. She wanted to have a mermaid theme party and I had a cake/cookie lady all set aside to make amazing decorative food for us. Unfortunately, about a week before the party I found out she was expecting and was super sick. I had empathy for her because I had been in that same sick position almost three years ago. I called around to try and find someone who could do similar work and they were charging a lot more than she was and so I just decided I'd make a faux birthday cake and then we could just make some guava cakes to serve. 
Supplies
- 2 10″ round styrofoam cakes
- Floracraft Smooth Finish
- Silver or Gold Gilding Sheets
- Spatula
- Paint in the desired color
- Glue
You're going to start by glueing the foam cake rounds together. Let it sit for a few hours to make sure they're stuck together before you put your Smooth Finish on it. Smooth Finish is just like spackle, it spreads on easily and once it's hardened, you can sand it to get your desired look.
Use your spatula to spread it on and cover the entire cake. I was able to get a “crumb coat” on the first layers and then I waited for it to dry and sanded it roughly. Next, I added some paint swooshes. I didn't mix the colors with the Smooth Finish, I just added them directly to the first layer of the Smooth Finish.
After the paint had dried, I added another thicker coat of the Smooth Finish and allowed it to dry. I wanted it to look like the “buttercream” was spread on rather than smoothed out. I also wanted the colors to show through but I didn't like the starkness it was before I added the second coat.
Use some glue and a paintbrush to have the gilding sheet stick to certain parts of the cake. I made it very random and I love how it turned out. I saved myself about $150 by going this route. Having four kids is expensive and so anytime I can save money, it makes my husband a happy man. 
I don't usually do this elaborate of backdrop but this was a fun change of pace. Making this faux birthday cake is something that I will definitely do in the future. I'm so glad it was easier than I thought it would be or else I wouldn't do this again. 😉
- Free Coffee SVG Files – Boom! Roasted - October 5, 2021
- Free Beer SVG Files – “It's What's For Dinner” - September 7, 2021
- DIY Back to School Banner with Cricut - August 13, 2021
Hey, Let's Chat!