Pirate Mermaid Party - Treasure Chest Cake

 I made this cake for my niece's 1st birthday party. It was a Pirate Mermaid theme. I stacked 4 cakes to make the chest. And stacked 2 cakes and carved them to make the rounded lid. The lid is sitting on a cake board and is propped up by wooden dowels and the treasure. Not very stable actually--- but I really wasn't sure how to do it, so I winged it.
I used an edible aerosol gold for all the gold accessories, purchased on Amazon. I also used metallic airbrush paint to make some of the jewels. I just dabbed it on with a paint brush and they came out really nice. The sand is crushed graham crackers. The rocks are chocolate rocks. The rest of the booty is premade candies. I liked putting the cake on a cutting board. I thought the wood added a nice element.

Speaking of wood: the create the paneling, I rolled and cut white fondant. I put the pieces on the cake. After they were in place, I etched the details into the fondant. Finally I took some brown food coloring, watered it down, and brushed it on, allowing the water to fill in the details, making them stand out. Next time I will try to figure out how to make it look darker, but for now, I am really happy with the results.