30th birthday kitsch cake

I made this for my brothers girlfriend for her 30th birthday, It made her smile! This has to be my biggest challenge yet in the cake department. I really enjoyed making it, and was well pleased with the result, especially the  sugar roses!

Here's how I did it:

I made 2 square sponges, one smaller than the other, to make a tier and sandwiched them together with buttercream and jam, then covered them with more buttercream for the fondant icing to stick to.

Top tip- Spread some buttercream on the foil cake base, so the cake doesn't slide around.

I covered the  base cake first with white icing, then inserted 5 straws into the cake to act as a strengthener for the top cake to sit on. I then rolled out the black icing really thinly and cut out random strips with a pizza cutter for the zebra stripes, I  brushed the icing with a little water with a pastry brush so the strips adhere well.

I got the cake looking nice and smooth with a cake smoother, forgot to photograph it, it worked
 wonders!

I covered the top tier with pink fondant icing, then placed black ribbon round the edges to give a neat finish.

I made all the sugar roses by copying from a You Tube tutorial. They are very easy, but look  very complicated. ;)  I made these a few days in advance so they hardened up before decorating the cake.
I cut out the hearts and starts with little metal cutters, the leaves were cut by eye, and I used a sharp knife to draw the veins. I brushed with water again for the leaves and shapes to stick to, I used cocktail sticks to secure the roses into the cake.

 The heart and star shapes were made a week in advance so they were completely dry and hard.
I inserted 22 gauge craft wire into the shapes , which had first been twisted around a pencil to coil it. Insert a straw into the top cake then stick all the wire through that so it doesn't make contact with the sponge.

Finished with a light sprinkling of glitter.

It will be my 40th birthday this year think I will be making my own cake!