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Make-a-Cake Series: Gumpaste Crown

July 21, 2010 - By Ashley Johnston 23 Comments

Did you see the winner of the Go! Cutter giveaway? Scroll down or click here. Congrats to the winner!

Also, make sure and check out my sponsor Bejeweled Beads here, for a great selection of beaded watches, headbands, bracelets and more. They’re all gorgeous and will really brighten up any outfit.
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A few posts back I promised I would show you how to make the crown I put on THIS cake.

I have two little girls and I am sure this crown will come in handy over the next few years!
Yay for the princess stage!

Here is the crown I made:

I have a little surprise for you all at the end of the post, so stay tuned.

Supplies:

1. Small fondant rolling pin.

2. Fondant cutter or pizza cutter

3. Crown pattern (below) printed and cut out

4. Smallest circle cutter from the wilton set–you can buy it at Micheal’s or Joann’s

5. White gumpaste

6. Plastic cup–mine was 9.5 inches around at the bottom.

**This crown will fit on top of a 5-6 inch cake. If you need a larger one, adjust accordingly. **

Pattern:
It’s not a perfectly symmetrical drawing and it’s done in crayon…….but you get the idea right?

click to enlarge

Dust your work area with corn starch and roll your gumpaste out about 1/8 inch thick.
Dust the top of your gumpaste with cornstarch so your pattern will not stick.

Lay your pattern on top and cut out the crown with your roller.

**Cutting out a paper pattern and laying over gumpaste or fondant is how I make most of my shapes that are not the basics (circle, square, flower). This is a great skill to learn. It saves me from having to buy a cookie cutter every time I need a shape. I also do this with logos, then I use an exacto knife to cut out the logo. **

Using the small circle cutter, cut out 3/4 of a circle, on each side of the point, to create the distinct point at the top.

Apply a thin layer of shortening to the bottom of you cup and wrap your crown around the bottom of the cup.

Seal the ends together with a little bit of water to make a seam.

Remove the crown from the cup after 1 hour. Let the crown dry on a cornstarch dusted baking sheet for 48-72 hours.

Decorate the crown with whatever “princess worthy” decorations you have.

Instructions on how to make the edible gem can be found in this post.
The beads on top were sprinkles I bought at Michael’s, attached with a thin line of buttercream.

And then place the crown on your princess cake, like I did here.

Happy Decorating!

What about the surprise I promised?

Ok, I have a confession to share with you.

I started cake decorating 18 months ago for fun. I didn’t know I would fall in love with this art.

But………I was not very experienced when I started!

This was my first cake!

The flowers were awfull, the buttercream is just falling off
You can laugh or wince…I know it’s bad. Ha ha!

Here is my second cake……..a little better, right?

This one I gave to Ashley and she was so sweet to tell me it was amazing!
A truly good friend!

Here is my first fondant cake.

It was ok. It was a start….but look at the purple ‘P’! It makes me laugh!
I remember I was so frustrated that I could not get it to look right.
Again my loving friends gave me support and praise! (Thanks Melissa!)

But we all have to start somewhere right?

I have wanted to show you all where I began.
You don’t get to see my failures, but trust me, they happen!
Hopefully it will inspire you to start.

Author Bio

Article Info

Ashley Johnston

Administrator at Make It & Love It

Ashley Johnston is a professional DIY costume maker, sewist, crafter, and owner of Make It & Love It. She is a mom of 5 and a wife to a very patient (with the craft clutter) husband. In case you’re wondering, she always chooses crafting/sewing/designing over mopping/dusting/wiping base boards……but bathrooms/laundry/full bellies are always attended to. Whew!

Title:

Make-a-Cake Series: Gumpaste Crown

Authors:

Ashley Johnston

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DIY Sewing

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Last Updated:

June 2, 2011