Carol's Cake

One of my managers at work, Carol, is unexpectedly being transfered to another store. I've absolutely loved having her as a manager so I wanted to make her a going away cake. I had recently purchased a small set of pans for a tiered cake at an estate sale ($5--yes!!), so I thought, why not give it a shot. So this is my first attempt at a tiered cake. :)

Btw, the cake  itself is a checkerboard cake with a chocolate almond filling.