Hobbit hole birthday cake

Today Rachel and I had one goal - to create her Hobbit Hole Brithday Cake. We were rather pleased with the results. :-)
The rest of the post is for anyone who would like to give it a try themselves and would like some tips.

We made two round cakes. I cut the top one in half and then used that extra to add little triangles to the bottom cake - helping to form a more flowing hill.
Rachel then covered the base with butter icing.

Put some icing on the tray too so that the fondant can stick on there as well.

We then rolled out some green coloured fondant and used this tool to create a bit of a grass effect (rather than it just being totally smooth).

Then use that to cover the bottom cake.

Then add the top cake, cover in butter icing,

and then the fondant.

Then start adding your extras. We added a little chimney, the door and windows, the path, steps and even a little bench. Rachel was basing this on Bilbo's home, so the steps and bench were all copied from "his".

For a nice touch - Rachel wrote "Happy Birthday" in elven writing. We used a licorice pen - so it's edible.

And then around the back she wrote in moon runes. :-)

Then add frames around the windows and door - this does a lot to "finish" it. As well as flowers and pot plants and little tufts of grass.
Rachel was so pleased.








And I put this photo in too, just so that you can clearly see the elf ears Rachel is wearing for the photo. :-)

Battle of Saratoga

September 18 1777 - Battle of Freeman's Farm - Slowly we moved forward in the dusk. I might have been tempted to admire the beautiful farmland if we hadn't been heading into battle. As we moved on I tried to decipher my feelings. I was excited, I'd trained hard to get to this, an American sniper, but I was also scared. This was my first real battle. I knew I was good enough, ever since I was young I'd had a very good aim, but how would I handle a real battle.

There was no more time for wondering, it was time to attack. I saw our General, Daniel Morgan, give the signal. All 500 of us knelt and readied our guns, waiting. There it was, the signal to fire. The night erupted in the thunder of guns. I saw many British solders fall, around me I saw my companions fall. Blood everywhere. The sound of not only gun fire, but also the agonizing screams of wounded and dyeing men. I tried to block it out, the sound, the smell, the realization that I was ending others lives.

Suddenly I heard Morgan shout for us to retreat. We all turned and made our way to Bemis Heights. We had suffered 320 casualties, the British had suffered 600.

October 7 1777 - Bemis Heights - After our retreat at Freeman's Farm we had come to Bemis Heights. Here more men joined us until we had an army of 20,000. I was wondering if the British where going to attack again, and is so when, when a solder came running over telling us all to prepare to fight, the British where attacking. I jumped up, grabbed my gun, and raced out. This time I found that it wasn't as hard to kill.

It didn't take long to set the British to flight. I and most of the army followed General Gates to purse them. After several days we caught up to them, and surrounded them. The British surrendered on October 17 1777.