Head and Face

• 1). Roll a 2-cm ball of icing with a few drops of pale yellow or brown gel coloring to create the skin tone. Shape the ball into an oval. Wrap the remaining fondant with plastic wrap to keep moist.
  
  
• 2). Moisten the end of a skewer and insert it into the bottom of the oval. Insert the skewer firmly into a cake board. Let the fondant dry a little, so the head doesn't swivel on the stick.
  
  
• 3). Indent the eye area just above the halfway point of the face with a frilling tool. Fill a small glass with water and use a small paintbrush to moisten the parts of the face to prepare for facial features like eyes, mouth, chin, forehead and nose.
  
  
• 4). Roll small balls of icing. Place two on the cheeks and smooth. Place one over the nose area and smooth into a nose shape. Place one over the mouth and gently pinch forward. Place one small ball on the chin and pull forward slightly. Add a small band to the forehead and smooth.
  
  
• 5). Knead flesh gel coloring into another ball of fondant. Roll the fondant into a sheet, 2 mm thick. Drape over the face gently, smoothing carefully over the face to show the facial features. Indent the eye area and under the nose. Push up slightly to show the nose shape. Press around the mouth area. Smooth the excess fondant toward the back of the head, and trim with the scissors. Smooth with your fingers.
  
  
• 6). Cut out the shape of the eyes with a sharp knife. Remove only the outer skin and smooth. Do not place the eyes too close to the nose, as this makes the fairy appear angry. Roll two tiny balls of icing. Dab a small amount of water into the sockets with the paintbrush and press each into the eyes sockets. Smooth to completely fill the voids.
  
  
• 7). Indent the lines around the nose and nostrils with the frilling tool. Roll the fondant gently upward with the frilling tool to create the upper lip. Make the lower lip by indent slightly above the chin and pulling upward. This also helps form the chin.
  
  
• 8). Add a small amount of rubbing alcohol to a small bowl and add blue, green or brown gel coloring to create the desired eye color. Paint a circle in the center of the eyes to form the iris. Add a little extra gel coloring to the alcohol mixture to darken. Line the outside of the iris to create depth.
  
  
• 9). Mix a small amount of black gel coloring in a bowl with rubbing alcohol. Paint the pupil of the eyes. Outline around the iris and the eye edges. Mix white gel coloring with rubbing alcohol in another bowl, and paint a dot to the upper-right side of the eye to add a highlight.
  
  
• 10
  
  Mix red and pink luster dust together in a small bowl. Dust onto cheeks with a dry paintbrush. Mix rose gel coloring with rubbing alcohol in another small bowl and paint the lips. Mix desired hair gel coloring in another small bowl with the rubbing alcohol and draw the eyebrows. Add a dab of pink to the lips. Allow the head to dry.
  
  

Body and Dress

• 1). Tint fondant with gel coloring to match desired skin tone. Roll the fondant with your hands into a long, cylindrical shape. Cut lengthwise, about halfway up to create the legs. Shape the legs. This lengthens and makes the legs narrower. Shape the ends into pointed feet.
  
  
• 2). On the back side, cut a slight crease on the back of the legs with the knife to bend the knees. Turn the fondant over and slightly cut across to define the waist. Bend the figure at the waist to make the body sit on a raised foam board covered with plastic wrap. Form a bottom on the fairy body to make it easier to sit and dress.
  
  
• 3). Tint another ball of fondant with the birthday girl's favorite color. Roll the fondant into a sheet 2 mm thick. Cut out pieces for the skirt with the large flower petal cutter. The number of petals varies, based on preferred skirt layers and body size.
  
  
• 4). Lie one petal with the tip facing the legs. Lie another petal on top, slightly overlapping. Continue this until you reach the other side. Add another layer on top of this for a fuller skirt, if desired. Begin by placing the first petal between two of the lower petals to create depth.
  
  
• 5). Roll more of the colored fondant into a long rectangle, 2 mm thick. Wrap it around the trunk of the fairy and over the top of the skirt to hide any irregularities. Manipulate the ends of the skirt and top of the dress to create desired effect.
  
  
• 6). Roll out a small ball of fondant from the dress excess. Form shoes by pressing into the center with the frilling tool. Fit the tiny shoes over the feet. Manipulate the legs into desired position, crossed at the ankles or beside the figure.
  
  
• 7). Roll out remaining flesh tone fondant into two small tubes for the arms. Attach to the body under the dress. Score the inside of the arms with a knife to create creases for the elbows. Round the hands and press to flatten. Cut four small slices into each hand to create fingers. Fold the arms onto the lap.
  
  

Hair and Wings

• 1). Insert the head gently into the body. Leave a little bit of the skewer out of the body for a neck. Wrap the neck with remaining flesh tone fondant.
  
  
• 2). Tint fondant with light brown gel coloring. Roll out into a sheet 2 mm thick. Cut the sheet into a 5 1/2-by-1 1/2-inch rectangle.
  
  
• 3). Dab water onto the back of the head and the short ends of the rectangle with a paintbrush. Bring the shorter ends of the rectangle together and place on top of the head. The bottom should form a loop.
  
  
• 4). Trim away the excess with scissors and smooth the hair into the desired shape. Make creases in the hair with the frilling tool. Snip the bottom edge of the hair with scissors and bring a few strands of hair to the front for added depth.
  
  
• 5). Mix gel colors with rubbing alcohol in a small bowl to match desired hair color. Paint the hair. Remove wings from purchased butterfly with a knife or scissors and insert into the back of the fairy.