Red Sox Birthday Cake

Apparently Paul is the consummate Red Sox fan. His sister Nora told me as little kids, the highlight of their summer would be to go to Fenway Park to watch a game with their dad. Since then, Paul just loves the game and the team and thought a Red Sox cake would be perfect for his big 50th birthday celebration. Originally she had asked me if I could do a red Red Sox jersey with a "50" on it; but after some discussion, she gave me free reign to do whatever I wanted as long as it conveyed a Red Sox theme. :)
Here are a few things that I learned while making this cake:

1. Delivering the cake to the customer is my favorite part. Nora's family had their entire house decorated in a baseball theme. Everyone was wearing the most delightful homemade costumes; even the dog had on a Boston Red Sox shirt! But the best part for me was watching the reaction on everyone's face as I came through the door. I actually got a bit teary eyed! It just felt really special to be a part of such a big celebration, to know my little cake will live on in pictures and memories long after it's been consumed. 2. White chocolate candy-melts can be melted and used as a paint-like medium. On the pennants and jersey, after struggling to cut out the little letters of fondant to no avail, I decided it would be easier to just paint the lettering directly onto the surface. I had anticipated this and had bought triple-zero sized paint brushes just in case. I had to add a little shortening to the chocolate, but the candy-melts worked out okay. I wished they would have set up a bit more smooth, but considering the alternative, it worked great. Next time I think I'll try white food coloring gel instead.3. Making royal blue fondant takes a lot of work. It took me about an hour to get a pound of fondant to go from white to dark blue. I eventually used black fondant to make a dark gray and then added the royal blue food coloring gel to that to get a very dark blue color. Does anyone know of a better way?
4. I truly enjoy doing detail work. I spent hours working on the various symbols, banners, and logos for this cake. I would sit at my kitchen table late at night, listening to Radio Paradise (best radio station EVER), with a palette of fondant, an Exact-o knife and cutting mat, a few print-outs of the images I want to make, and just go to town. I get lost in the details of most things in life so this really isn't a surprise. But when it comes to cakes like this, it's the details that really make it special and unique.
5. Always plan for two hours more time than I think I'll need. Even though I got up early and worked late on the cake the night before, I was still rushing to finish on time. So much so that one of the pennants I made ended up just sitting at the top, leaning against the flag poles. I had planned to add more details to the cake but just ran out of time. Everything always takes more time than I think it will.
6. I still have so much to learn! Covering a cake in fondant is not my forte. I need to take a class desperately. I know what you're thinking: the cake looks fine. But believe me when I say that I need lessons. It's so incredibly frustrating because I've read and watched (on the net and TV) people covering cakes with fondant and I think I'm doing everything they are. I'm not defeated though; I'll get there, eventually.

All in all, aside from the mistakes (I can't help but see them all), it was another successful delivery. And it was a vast improvement from my very first fondant covered cake, which just happened to be Red Sox themed too. :)