The intricate scrolls on this cake by Wendy Kromer recall those used in calligraphic ornaments. Adapted from clip-art books, they, along with the monograms on the middle tier, were traced in royal icing and attached with more icing.

Are you looking for inspiration for your cake decoration? Why not take your cue from a gorgeous piece of fabric, like the damask cake featured here?

These shimmering platinum-blue ribbon bands and this triple-loop bow were pulled and formed from sugar. The rectangular, fondant-covered cake is displayed on a hotel-silver tray with a traditional ribbon-and-cross border.

Here, sweeping lettering adorns icing on a geometric cake by Wendy Kromer; placed end to end, the arcs and swirls seem more like a graceful pattern than initials.

Flecks of vanilla bean in buttercream icing give this cake the appearance of one of the most enchanting harbingers of spring: a delicate robin's egg.

Finely formed ruffles and bows, sleek silk binding, and impeccable pleats -- these are the special touches that set apart an elegant custom-made dress or suit. The same details, formed from sugar paste, make a wedding cake to remember.

A simple square cake is a literal translation of a wonderful old letter found in a vintage-paper and print shop. The royal-icing monogram is surrounded by a rolled-fondant flower garland on a blue background.

Fondant that has been tinted ice blue blankets this cake, like snow in the shadows cast by a winter sun. Real pinecones flocked with royal icing and glistening with sanding sugar are accented with finely wrought chocolate pine needles; they add a natural-looking texture to the cake's modern lines.

The icing-like trim on jasperware, developed in England in 1775, translates well to a wedding cake -- piped here in royal icing. This cake and base were covered with fondant; gum-paste leaves adorn the base and top.

For a wedding by the beach, a coral motif is always in fashion. New York baker Gail Watson piped coral branches in royal icing on fondant-covered tiers. Cotton fabric pinned around the cake board echoes coral's other famous hue. Sand-color fondant blankets the board.

On each tier of this modern creation by Wendy Kromer, a different wave design (three in all, impressed with double-thick rubber stamps) graces the fondant panels.

The swags, which start and finish with a bow, ripple and flow like fabric; delicate dots of buttercream icing imitate dotted swiss.

In lieu of a more classic wedding cake, white cupcakes -- topped with swirls of sugary buttercream icing -- gain a sense of stature when placed on a tiered stand. Frilly lace-doily trim decorates edges.

This cake has square layers, pale-blue icing, and sugar calla lilies.