I just saved Erik $2900!!!!!

Well, maybe $2850... You see, there's this cake topper that I absolutely fell in love with. Seriously. To the point where I have obsessed about it. Everyone who knows me personally knows about my cake topper issue. The one I wanted was just under $3000. Yes THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS... but it was a piece of art... a sculpture replicating us down to the bulletproof vest under the suit, the crystals on my dress, and the flowers in my bouquet. Jay and Natalie thought they may be able to find a talented (but starving) college student to do it for maybe $500.... The ironic part of that entire debacle is that this particular cake topper would be too heavy for the cake... and would need to be set beside it.

But then I found this cake....
And being the insanely out of control control-freak that I so knowingly am, I figured that would be perfect... AND I CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THE SHELLS BY MYSELF. What's that you say?? No, I don't need another DIY project to handle before the wedding. Yes, I know that I have to painstakingly cut hundreds of pieces of woven rattan paper for my wedding ensemble. And you're right, I have to finish my menus, place cards, centerpieces, etc. But how can I just show this cake to my baker and assume it'll be what I want? Nope... I CAN'T!! So I will order a plain cake and bring the shells with me. The shells I decorate. The ones I love.

And so began the quest for edible shells. No, I didn't really want decaying starfish on my cake. That may make it taste a bit "off". :) So I experimented with chocolate and made some white chocolate shells, and found some larger shells made out of fondant. LOVE THEM! Britt and I spent an hour tonight making them "pretty".... The picture below shows the "before" (plain white fondant) and the "after". Please be kind and keep in mind this was my very first attempt at dusting fondant. I'm quite pleased with the product - and will work on my technique.

What do you think???

For a whopping $150, I'll have the molds, fondant, shimmer dust, etc. I'll have to experiment with some shades of blues/browns/grays and play around some more. But you get the idea, right?