Louis Vuitton Bag Cake

This bag proved to be both rewarding and unnerving, all at the same time. Probably similar to labor...the pains are atrocious, almost unbearable. But to see a new life blossoming from some such a challenging experience is pain-stakingly worth it. Well, that's how I felt about the Monogram Louis Vuitton bag cake. I wanted to give up and keep going at so many twists and turns throughout that roller coaster ride.

It all begins with a pattern...much like sewing a real handbag. You have to break the bag down into parts. Yeah, I have seen a few tutorials that apply a big enough piece of fondant to cover the whole cake, add a handle, a buckle, and maybe a quilting stitch...but that's too simple. I love handbags. And if I want a cake to have the same impression that a "haute" bag has on me, it has to be one that would make a person take a second, third, and obsessed look! So I went to the Louis Vuitton website, and found the traditional Monogram Louis. Once I was final on inspired bag I stared at it for a while. That may seem strange, but I zoomed in on every part of that handbag to find the technique and which part overlapped and where was it stitched and where did they place the LV logo. I think my brief stint at fashion design, actually helped me understand the patternmaking for a handbag, thus, I begin to draw a pattern:

I cursed! Something I haven't done in a while. (Cue my self-improvement) After crumb-coating and applying a generous amount of icing, she (the cake) began to do a serious gangsta-lean. And after two failed attempts to keep her from passing out on the cake board, she finally adhered to the desired pose. I applied the fondant in panels. There was no formal measuring, I just took card stock applied it to the cake and guestimated the measuring and cut. Then came the tedious adventure, painting the LV pattern...I get tension in my head just thinking about it. Thank God for my iPhone's iPod playlist, because without it, it probably would have felt much longer than it took. You don't know how happy I was when I made that last four-leaf flower!

This was nonetheless a cake that I just couldn't take my eyes off of when it was complete. My first official LV bag cake! The perfectionist in me won't let me rest entirely with assuredness that this is the best, there is room for improvement. However, this cake made me realize, that I'm worth more than a couple of $20 bills. If people don't want to pay for it...fine by me. But the brainstorming, the back pain, the intricate details, the long hours, all made me up the anty on my true value in this profession of cake design. I felt like Michaelangelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. While I'm sure he marveled at his work of art, it was quite refreshing for him to finally get PAID for it!