Elmo Birthday

Three cheers for Elmo!  I made my first ever Elmo cake this week, and it was kinda fun! I googled around for a nice image of Elmo, printed and traced him onto fondant. Then I cut out his eyes, nose and mouth, assembled him and drew in some detail with a Wilton food marker.  He sure was a happy looking fellow.  It was almost like he was cheering me on as I made the rest of the cake!  I also love the name plate.  I was going for the Sesame Street sign look, and I think it nailed it on the first try.  That sure was a relief.  The rest of the cake just sort of came together..
Did I ever mention that I LOVE making fondant bows??  They always look so cheerful!!  
I don't really have any particular wisdom to share about this cake- except that it took a solid two days for Elmo to harden enough to be handled. I also made the name plate, "1" and the bow loops the day before.  Never wait until the same day to make bow loops.  They need at least 24 hours to set, and it usually takes about 16 loops to get a nice full bow. Cut a few skinny strips and wrap them around a pencil and you have little "curled" ribbons, too!