NSW shield inspired birthday cake

So last Friday I made a big cake for my cousin-in-law's surprise 30th birthday party.  He is a big league fan!  NSW State of Origin Blues to be exact.  I wanted to replicate the shield but also personalize it for the occasion. Just as well the invitation was also the shield and it was already personalized, so all I had to do was work off it.  Well, little did I know how much work was involved.  From colouring the fondant to four different shades of blue (and mixing colours to achieve the right ones) to filling, frosting and carving this mammoth of a cake!  Since I don't own any fancy helpers, like cricut, I had to HANDCUT each detail with my xacto knife, and mostly by eye.  This was a huge challenge, especially around 3am in the morning!  My neck and back and hands were aching!  But I kept going.  I did not want to give up now after losing sleep.  Long story short, I worked on the cake til the next day and arrived at the party sleepless but with a pretty good looking cake.  I was very proud of it and so was my hubby.  He reckons it's one of the best cakes I've made to date.  That's gotta be worth the sleepless night, huh?  :-P  I could not wait to sleep...but first I wanted to celebrate the birthday and enjoy the party.  Here are pics of the cake - ENJOY!

More pics after the jump...

Oh, and my cousin and her birthday hubby LOVED the cake!  YESSS!!  SUCCESS!!