Today is really special - it's Sherri's birthday!
I was trying to think of what she might like (got Robin's input, too), and I was thinking, well - you know, everybody likes to have a birthday cake that's just a little different. I decided to try to do something really special and make a birthday cake out of felt to commemorate Sherri's special day!
Materials:
1 yard pink felt (there will be some left over)
3 sheets 8-1/2"x11" white felt
2/ea embroidery floss in white, pink, and hot pink
embroidery needles
rotary cutter and self-healing mat
scissors
ruler or clear measurement guide
cottony stuffing
To make this particular birthday cake, there are six main pieces to cut out. Two are the top and bottom round pieces, one is the long side that wraps around the cake, giving it height; one is the part that has the name hand-stitched; and the other is a decorative circle to set-off the embroidered name piece. The last is the felt that's used to make the decorative 'icing'.
Directions:
I cut out all my shapes first - I took a supper plate and cut out two circles from pink felt to make the top and bottom round of the cake. Then I cut out the side of the cake (this wound up being about 1/3 the height of what you see here), and took a bread plate (to use to cut around as the 2nd biggest circle) and a cereal bowl (to use to cut around as the smallest circle - the one that's embroidered on).
I cut out 2"-wide strips from white felt to cut the icing circles out of. The icing circles turn out to look like the icing that's piped along the edge of a cake - this is sooo easy too... Just take two circles that you've cut out - these are a little bigger than a quarter - fold the two circles together like a taco, then sew the folded edge together:
Works perfectly! I made plenty of these to go around the edge of the top of the cake:
Then, I just sewed all the icing to the edge of the top of the cake:
Next, I took the smallest circle (the one that I cut out using a cereal bowl as the guide) and hand-stitched Sherri's name. After that was done (it's not ultra-perfect, but not bad!), I stitched that circle to the 2nd largest circle. After that, I used white embroidery floss to stitch to the top of the cake. See how it's all just a little off-center? It makes it look just a little more interesting than if it were all just piled perfectly in the middle:
Next, I sewed the long piece that serves to give the cake height. What I do is just cut this length longer than I know it needs to be, then I cut it down to make it right once it's all sewed together at the top....it's so much easier than stressing over exact measurements. Here it is, sewed it to the top of the cake, and sewed the seam also. Getting close - I sewed 3/4 of the bottom circle on - that's to leave room for me to put the stuffing in:
Here it is, all done! My needlework can use some help (the icing circles - where they meet up with the cake top - is pretty rough but it's not...distracting) but overall, I'm really happy with it - and most importantly, I hope it makes Sherri happy on her birthday!
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