60th Birthday Diva Cake

I'm not a big bow person, but love this less cutesy version.  But my favorite part of this cake was the broaches made with silver dragees.  I don't know that my half-focused pictures reveal their bling very well, but they were very fun to make and something I will definitely do variations on in the future. 

I like the simple elegance of the cake on its own, but the birthday girl was definitely more of a bling queen than I am, so this tiara was made to top the cake.  It is piped in royal icing around a vase, then stands alone after hardening overnight. I'd like to try another tiara sometime because I'm wishing I had used a more delicate touch in the piping.  I think I was overparanoid about making it strong enough to avoid breakage. 

But this was the final & complete product...