Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.

Submitter's Comments: (High Res Image)
I was fortunate to have a sphere cake pan and 8 inch square for the beach ball and castle. After having some trouble getting the half sphere cakes out of the pan, I switched to using the cake pan as a mold for rice crispy treats to work as the bottom half of the beach ball. They also worked better to support the weight of the top half of the cake.

Instead of using wooden dowels for support, I used old fashioned candy sticks (like candy canes without the bend at the top).

I used a biscuit cutter to cut the pillars for the castle. I used the same biscuit cutter to cut out the corners of the base, so the pillars would fit inside.

For the beach ball, I first covered the entire cake in white fondant and smoothed out the creases. I cut strips of colored fondant and placed them all around, making adjustments with an x-acto knife as I went around. I used a small biscuit cutter to cut out a perfect circle at the point where each strip comes together, and used the same cutter to put a yellow piece of fondant in the hole.

The castle is three layers of cake, each covered separately in tan fondant. I used an airbrush to add some dimension. I used the same airbrush color to paint on the windows and door.

For the sand pail, I used two failed attempts at the beach ball and carved them into the shape of a bucket, frosted it and covered it in orange fondant.

The arrows in the beach ball are made out of gum paste, so is the pole for the flag.

The guards are piped with royal icing, using the print as the template. The guards are secured to the cake using the same royal icing.

The sand is made out of crushed graham crackers mixed with course sugar, to make it sparkle like real sand.

It took about two days from start to finish. My sister helped a lot with troubleshooting and making the arrows for the beach ball.