Hi everyone..I just have to say..being fairly new to cake decorating I am in total AWE of the cakes I see on C.C daily. There are too many talented people on here to mention them all. I hope I can decorate as well as all
of you one day.
My one problem is...I have no artistic ability what so ever! So any tips you can pass along would be great!
Thanks

Everyone is artistic. Some people have not found thier unique outlet yet of course some people never will. But you gotta keep looking. Wanting it is like they say half the battle. I always say, You can do what you want to do. You can have what you want to have. The point of course is you gotta want it!

I have two ideas for you.

1.) Read Margaret Braun's book. She tells you where to get inspiration--which maybe you already knew that but anyway I still could not recommend her book more highly. You are not gonna learn technique from her necessarily.

2.) Also there is a wonderful wonderful book called, "An Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. It is brilliant.

The rest is up to you.

I would say do Julia's first. I think you will be really surprised and I think you will really like it. I mean just go dig around her web site, google it. There's a whole world of stuff out there, support groups and classes surrounding this author and her book.

Take Care.

The best advice is practice and open yourself up to new ideas and give them a try!! The best way to learn a mistake is making one!! You will find after a while your style and comfort level will increase as you get better!!

Ebear, I felt the same way u did at one point. I've been decorating since July of last year and I thought I'd never be able to do the things that I saw on tv.....That was until I joined the CC family. Before all I did was the little characters and then when I came here I got alot of tips and I asked questions and since then I've tried alot of the things I saw here (purse cakes, helmet cake etc...) I always thought that you have to know how to draw in order to decorate nice cakes so I was too scared to go into decorating. My business has been booming ever since I joined CC a few months ago.

If u read alot of the articles here and forums trust me you would learn a whole lot and you would want to challenge yourself. You can do it!!! Before I try a cake, I pray and ask God to guide my hands. I know it sounds crazy but the bible says "I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me". Sorry I'm a bit of a talker/typer : )

Hey, Kivia .. I do the same thing -- some cakes take a lot more prayer than others!!

Hi ebear, as someone who thought she had no artistic ability whatsoever, I can testify that if I can decorate a cake anybody can. I can't even draw a stick person straight. I did have an interest in cake decorating and bought EVERY book I could find and visited a LOT of cake decorating websites. I

t took me several more years to pluck up the courage to make my first cake and I was soo scared! I was very surprised at the reaction I got from family and friends and that spurred me on. You're already half way there and all you need to do is practice, practice, practice and find your medium. You will surprise yourself at how well some cakes turn out and be bitterly disappointed in others but remember that we are our own worst critics. So pick up that piping bag and let rip!! Happy caking.

hi ebear,

ive started cake decor. as a hobby just a few months ago.i did take the first three wilton classes (which were really good to get started)but learned so much more since joining this web site. i agree with the others about practice,practice,practice! find some books,videos, ask questions here on cc and you'll be surprised what you can do.im still surprising myself with every cake that i do. its just so exciting to try something new!
hope you have as much fun as i am!

Hi everyone..thanks for the nice words of encouragement. I guess I shouldnt underestimate myself. I DO have some artistic ability (I made my own wedding center pieces ..topiary trees) But when it comes to drawing..Forget it! I'd LOVE to learn how to make the fondant toppers..ie. people, animals etc. I don't think Michaels or Goldas have courses in something like that. I have gotten LOTS of great tips from C.C. One of these days I'll get around to posting some of my cakes on here..