ZARA SHOPPING BAG CAKE

It has been a known fact that women love to shop and it was no surprise that I was asked to do a shopping bag cake.  After all, there have been books written about shopaholics, so why wouldn't anyone ask for a shopping bag cake to add to their addictions??  

Making a shopping bag sounds easy and as always I assumed it would be.  BUT, I never expected to get a major wrist and arm workout just trying to turn my white fondant to a navy blue.  No matter how much food colouring I put, the fondant just wouldn't turn any darker than a royal blue so I had to improvise.  I decided to paint the fondant after I laid it over the cake.  

At first, the fondant painted smoothly, but I noticed that the paint started to have a bubbling effect.  The reason for this is that water and oil just don't mix.  Fondant is oil-based while my food colouring is water.  So, my shopping bag has a leather look to it:)  See for yourself....