When my niece turned 3, she in good taste, requested a Little Mermaid party theme. Every year I have made the sweets for her birthday, but this was one was dear to me, as The Little Mermaid has always been a favorite of mine. I chose to keep the palette soft and sophisticated. I decorated the cake with ombre ruffles in turquoise which is reminiscent of ocean waves. I modeled the mermaid (Ariel) out of fondant and gumpaste and hand painted the facial details using a mixture of vodka and food coloring. I used a fluted circle cookie cutter to make the fondant oyster shell she is sitting inside, cutting notches out of the top part with a xacto knife to look more shell-like. When it was fully dried I painted it with gold luster dust. The cupcakes were all topped with fondant coral pieces I made from using a Martha Stewart silicone mold I found in Michaels. The starfish cookie favors were all decorated with a layer of colored fondant and royal icing dots for the details. I was really happy with the outcome of everything. This theme it is so versatile, it would be so pretty for a beach inspired wedding, maybe omitting the mermaid as the topper and instead designing a large edible coral figure with some shells.
: photos by ollie + bird