LOST Birthday Cake

Wow, what a hectic weekend! I'm getting a late start today because, after bidding our guests adieu, Dan and I had to deal with some car maintainence stuff this morning. I finally got some time to upload photos and write, but my computer is being PAINFULLY slow - and it's huffing and puffing and making all sorts of strange noises. I fear the end is near for this reliable old hunk of metal. I'm just hoping it can hold out long enough for me to save the money for a new one.
Anyway, yesterday was Dan's twenty-ninth birthday, and per his request, I made a cake based on Lost, our favorite TV show. If you don't know the show this cake must look very strange. I drew on the extensive mythology of the show and made a collage design using some of the most iconic images - the smoke monster, the polar bear, and the lock-down hieroglyphs. There's also the beach, of course, with "Happy Birthday Dan!" written as a message in the sand, and the numbers (4-8-15-16-23-42) hiding in the waves. The whole thing is framed by jungle foliage. I made the leaves in advance with royal icing, but otherwise, everything you see is buttercream. Since this weekend was just packed for us, I did something very out of character and used a cake mix; and to stick with the theme, I made it banana-flavored by adding a box of banana pudding to a plain white cake mix. I sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon-sugar on the beach to give it a more sand-like texture.