Adorable Miniature Unicorn Clay Cake

With everyone stuck inside due to the novel COVID-19, finding something entertaining to keep us sane is quite a challenge. However, on Instructables, there is an endless amount of crafts that can keep you out of boredom...including this one!

This pocket-sized project is easy and safe for people of all ages to make and is so much fun to do! From decorating its elegant exterior, to cutting open this (inedible :P) cake and finding a colourful surprise inside, there's nothing better to do during these quarantine days. So stay safe and let's get crafting!

To create this colourful and cute miniature Unicorn Clay Cake, you will need the following supplies:

• Clay
• Plastic wrap
• Small circular container - the container I used was about the size of a 5¢ Canadian coin
• Clay tool - must have a flat side and a thin point
• Toothpick
• Gold Paint
• Paintbrush
• Art Utility Knife
• Black Permanent Marker
• Clear glaze - clear nail polish or clear liquid glue works as well

Optional:

• Liquid glue

Before you begin, cover your surface with plastic wrap (this protects your surface, and prevents the clay from sticking...a.k.a. creating A STICKY MESS!)

• Choose the colours for your cake layers (avoid using white for now) and make a small ball for each colour.
• Flatten each ball to the thickness of a coin.
• Cut out a circle using the small container for each colour. Put aside.

In my cake, I made the layers rainbow, meaning there are 6 layers of cake. So I will need 5 layers of 'cream'

• Make a ball of white clay and follow the same procedure used for the cake layers (when flattening, make sure that it is thinner than your cake layers so that it resembles the proportions of a cake)
• Stack the layers, making sure that there is one cream layer between every cake layer. The bottom and top do not require a cream layer

PRO TIP: If your cake is not the shape you like, play around with it! Roll it so it is taller, or press down on it gently so that it is wider...just make sure to be careful so you don't smudge any colours together.

For the 'fondant':

• Flatten a large white ball of clay to about the same thickness as the cream layers made in the last step.
• Place on top of your cake, making sure the bottom (smoother side) of the fondant is the exterior layer.
• Gently attach to the cake by pressing down with your finger carefully.
• Cut off the excess.

IF THE FONDANT ISN'T STICKING TO THE CAKE...lightly cover the cake with liquid glue before applying the fondant. This trick works for sticking any clay parts that you are having trouble with.

For the rim:

• Roll a small ball of white clay into a long and thin snake.
• Wrap it around the bottom of the cake
• Cut off the excess.

Before making the ears, prepare the toothpick, which will act as a connector for the cake and the ears. To do this, cut off the tips of the toothpick, so that you have two pieces that measure less than 1 cm each. Stick these both on the top of the cake, parallel to each other near the front side (shown in picture three above).

For the Ears:

• Make two equal balls of white clay.
• Pinch the tops with your fingers so they look like water droplets.
• Press down on the side opposite of that with the tip so that it is flat.
• Bring the two opposite sides of the flattened part together (it should look slightly like a taco :P).
• Cut off the excess at the very point where the clay meets together.
• Stick the ears into the toothpicks that are attached to the cake.

• Roll two balls of white clay into small snakes.
• Roll more on one end of the snake so that it is thinner on one end and thicker on the other.
• Twist the two snakes together.
• Cut off excess from the thicker end of the horn until you get your desired length

To attach to the cake...

• Poke a hole with your clay tool (or pointed object) between the ears, but closer to the front of the cake.
• Place the unicorn horn in the hole, pressing down very carefully so not to squish it.

FYI: This horn will be painted gold later on!

• Roll three colours of clay into snakes -- follow the same thick-to-thin gradient technique used for the unicorn horn in the last step.
• Braid the three colours together. If you don't know how to braid, follow this tutorial on braiding in Step 7 (Braiding the Tail) of my Fluffy Pom-Pom Bookmark Instructable.
• Place the finished braid on the cake, the thicker part at the top between the ears and the thinner part at the bottom following the curve of the cake.

COLOUR TIP: I wanted pastel colours of purple, blue, and pink for my braid so I mixed the original colours with some white. If you want a specific colour or shade, don't be afraid to be adventurous and blend colours together!!

For final details made of clay, you can make anything -- like small flowers or a little crown. I decided on a simple look of small sparkles that are made by rolling small balls of white clay and placing them randomly throughout the braid.

Now, using the gold paint and paintbrush, paint the horn and the sparkles gold.

WARNING: My clay is an air-dry clay, so it was fine for me to paint the details before drying. But if you are using a clay that requires baking, make sure to cut your cake before baking, and paint and draw any details after baking.

For this step, it is important to use the art utility knife and not the clay tool to cut the slice of cake. This is because the clay tool will make the colours smudge together, and the layers won't look clear.

Decorate your slice of cake by making many small balls of coloured clay and rolling them out into snakes. Following the same procedure as used for the unicorn horn, twist all the snakes together.

Then curl the swirl into a ball (resembling whipped cream) and place on top of the slice of cake.

If you would like, place a small ball of white clay on top of the whipped cream and paint it gold.

This step depends on the type of clay that you are using for your unicorn cake. My clay was an air-dry clay, so I let it sit in a non-humid, room temperature area for more than 24 hours.

WARNING: If you are using a clay that requires baking, make sure to cut your cake before baking, and paint and draw any details after baking, like I said in Step 7 (Sparkles and Paint)

The last detail that is needed before glazing is adding the eyelashes. First, sketch them out on the front of the cake with a pencil (that way, if you make any mistakes you can erase and do it again!) When you are ready, go over it with a black permanent marker.

For the glazing, simply go over your entire cake (even the slice and inside part of the cake that you cut out) with the glaze and a brush. If you don't have a glaze, clear nail polish or clear liquid glue works just as well!

You are now done making your Miniature Unicorn Cake made out of clay. Now with your improved modeling skills, you can make more cake designs and show them off to your friends, or keep them for yourself!

Enjoy...but don't eat them, as tempting as it is! ;)