higher in your head than in reality? I'm frustrated today. I have all these lofty ideas of cakes I want to make and they seem simple, until I actually get down to making them. In my mind I refer to myself as a cake decorator and want to sell my creations. Then, on days like today, I look at the less than 10 cakes I've made since I started decorating and think: "Who the heck do I think I am?" I know I need to give myself more time to learn and I know I am better now than I was when I started in April, but it's frustrating sometimes. But then again, I've never been known for my patience .
Do any of you see yourself among the best until you actually have to make a cake ?

"If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're right."
----Mary Kay Ash

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right."
----Henry Ford (1863 - 1947), (attributed)



The point, here, is do you think you do "great" cakes? That's half the battle. If you start a cake with the attitude of "this isn't going to turn out right" .... then it won't.

So go thru life with a Can-Do and a Thumbs Up attitude!! It's much more fun!

I thought I was REALLY doing well until I found CC. So much talent that I aspire to have. Heck, my customers don't know about CC, so they still think I'm the best ever! SHHHHHH...don't tell them!

That's funny that you say that about thinking you were good until you found CC. The ladies at Bunco last night raved about the cake I made and all I could think was: "The CC ladies would have my hide because *gasp* you could see my cake through the frosting!" I felt like I would be tarred and feathered if you all knew about my abomination and I seriously debated about putting the picture in my photos but I did anyway because I've uploaded all my pictures so far and I liked the design of the cake, even if the execution was somewhat lacking. The thing is, I learn so much with each cake. I just sometimes get overwhelmed with how much I have yet to learn. Maybe the several late nights in a row I've had the last few days are playing into this. I'm sure I'll feel better about everything after a good night's sleep.
Thanks for the quotes, Indydebi. Very inspiring.

This is too funny cuz I always have these fabulous cakes in my head, but then they don't quite turn out like my head originated. Something happens from my head to my piping bag!

I can't tell you how many times I've done a cake for a customer and been sooooo glad they didn't know about CC! Lets keep it our little secret, ok?

I am a very new decorator (started business this year) and when I found CC I was exhilerated and crushed at the same time! I still look at all my creations with the thought of "is it CC worthy"? Luckily I have some really encouraging friends who keep me going!

It's funny you say that. I never really thought about it, but yes I have to agree. The ladies at the kid's elementary school and my neighbors refer to me as "the cake lady", but I think...HOBBY. Just depends on how you look at it. I too have the lofty ideas. That's a great thing. Without ideas and inspiration, we'd have nothing to strive for, right? With each cake, comes experience. Those woman would not give you compliments unless they meant it.

Ha Ha that's funny that is the story of my life!!!! I dream about designs while i sit in bed, then when i actually do it..it looks totally different from what I had envisioned. Thats why i have such great admiration for all the talent here!

lol, oh what a timely thread! I just finished a wedding cake today that almost made me decide to quite doing cakes! And I'm only a hobby decorator, not professional. I went to bed last night thinking it was a hideous monstrosity, had bad dreams about it all night long (when I was actually able to sleep that is!) Then when I got up, while I still wasn't too pleased it didn't look nearly as bad as I'd remembered.

Got the flowers on it at the reception and it got all kinds of rave reviews and ooh and ahhs. Now I look at it in my pics and still think "man that could have turned out better" but as far as they're concerned it was gorgeous!

I'm not telling my friends about cc either.

I'm totally with you on this one. I always wonder if I should post photos too. I've even deleted posted photos that get no hits. You keep posting, girl, you are doing great!

I am my own worst critic. I know I'm not great, but sometimes I see other people's work and it makes me feel a little better.
But I totally understand. I always have these great ideas and then they never seem to work out.
But if I need to make myself feel better, I look back at the past cakes I've done and I can see the progression. So I figure if I keep working on it, they will keep getting better.

Yes I feel the exact same way. My family and friends say I should open a small business with I get back to the states. I feel that my cakes and rather plain when compared to others here on CC. Im no where near ready to open a business. I have come a really long way in the two years since I have been doing cakes. Well take a look at my cakes and please be honest do you think I have what it takes to open a small business. I heard if you love something let it go, if it come back then its meant to be. Last year I had my mind set, that I wasn't going to sell cakes anymore. Well guess what Im back selling cakes and my business is doing wonderful. it like I never stop baking cakes..

On another note. Im feeling sad. I have baked 3 yes 3 9x3 and each one did not come out the pan they all tore. well thats about it... Once again please let me know.

Well I am much better on the baking end of things. My first love is baking but last year I fell head over hells for cupcakes. I have gotten pretty good at decorating those and somewhere in all that I decided maybe I should start in on cakes.

We already sell brownies, cookies, cupcakes, banana bread so it seems like the next step up.

BOY WHAT A STEP!! LOL

I think up simple stuff in my head and can't seem to even manage that. HAHAHAHA

Thank goodness my hubby is better at decorating than me.

Case in point, a few months ago, I wanted to create a chocolate 2 layer round cake with cherry's on top. Easy, peasy right?

This is how my round cake , the first layer wound up.


I wasn't happy. The frosting wasn't doing what I wanted it to do. Heck I didn't even know what I wanted it to do but I knew that wasn't what I wanted. lol

My hubby comes home from work.

Voila!!



Yeah, that is exactly what I wanted. When I tried to smooth the frosting out I couldn't get it to go. Don't laugh!

I let him finish decorating.



Tada! Not bad. Much better than what it would of looked like if I had finished.

Ditto - Ditto - Ditto on everything said. Sometimes I just have to quit looking at all these "perrrfect" cakes so that I won't compare. Gives me an inferiority complex. I try to remember too that my customers don't know about my "secrete cake life on CC." At times I have this wierd cramp from my piping bag to my brain too. OK, let's all stick together in our secrete cake world and fight these enemies of the mind. Shine up the mixers--break those eggs--stir up the imaginations and blend them with positive thoughts of how wonderful our cakes really are! Frost on sister Cakers--Frost on!

I think I'm a cake genius

Same here gals sometimes I'm so disappointed in my amateur work that I wish I can go to pastry school but it's so expensive! that I only keep it in the back of my mind thinking "some day"......
What's funny (I don't know if you go through the same) is that before CC my creative side use to work very well and now (I'm assamed to admit) that instead of thinking of a new cake to make I only go through the galleries and copy your fabuluos designs and right there is when I realize I suck!!! because they don't come out as beautiful as yours.
But just as trent said my friends and family think I'm da bomb!!! and that (CC) is my little dirty secret.

I'll let you know on Sunday, after I've got my mother's cake ready!

Trent, I think your cakes are wonderful!! You should be very proud of your talent. To everyone else, I agree with what everyone stated that they feel. My head has so many great cake ideas, yet they get lost between head and hands. I learn so much from this site, and yes, lets keep it our little secret. My family and friends think I can work magic, If they only saw all the cakes on here they'd know what an amateur I really am. But at least I know that they think my cakes taste good, and thats important too.

ditto, ditto, ditto,
funny thing is that I was thinking that and then I saw it in an earlier post, LOL!
I am currently working on a wedding cake for a fair entry (I'm having a mental break right now) and I thought ok, I'm getting better I know I can make this great smooth fondant thing. yeah, not so much.
I get really annoyed at the imperfections in the execution and feel inferior on here all of the time.
I am often amazed that my hubby doesn't just slap me in the back of the head and say get over it, your cakes are great - that's the look that I get and he gets tired of saying, 'yes, honey, it's really pretty' and I'm always like 'but, but, but...'

however, I will say it's amazing how much better I feel as those inperfections get covered up by strategically places flowers and, of course, cleaver camera angles.

I practice makes perfect...so we keep practicing!
Edna

YES!!! I always have these fabulous designs in my head â and sometimes even on paper or in Photoshop! â and then when it comes to making them, thereâs just not enough hours in the night to finish⦠For me it all comes down to TIME!!! I am a maniac when it comes to fresh cake, and that requires two sleepless nights before any event and in the end itâs 4am, my 2-1/2 year old has woken up five times asking for water-potty-superman-more water-hugs-one more song-potty again-did I mention superman?... - and only mommy has to assist, not daddy!... So yeah, 4 am, and my fabulous creation is still in my head, while Iâm staring through a haze at the unfinished, messy blob on my turntable, and the aftereffects of the tornado that seems to have passed through the kitchen in last several hours⦠I promise myself over and over that Iâll start the week before and prep everything, and it just never happens⦠I bow to the professional cake decorators here, how do you do it day in and day out and end up with such fabulous creations EVERY time?!?!

[quote="shisharka"]â and then when it comes to making them, thereâs just not enough hours in the night to finish⦠For me it all comes down to TIME!!! I am a maniac when it comes to fresh cake, and that requires two sleepless nights before any event, and the aftereffects of the tornado that seems to have passed through the kitchen in last several hours⦠I promise myself over and over that Iâll start the week before and prep everything, and it just never happensâ¦
Shisharka, are we long lost twins??? or someone told you my cake problems?, LOL, girl, you are telling the story of my life!!!! hahahaha

This post is so me! I call it my delusions of cake grandeur, lol. Everyone raves about my cakes and I always feel like an imposter. Finding CC really has driven home the point that I have a long journey ahead of me. But, how wonderful is that, to know that you have so much room to grow and learn. Think about something you are the master at and how easy it is to do and how you can do it with your eyes closed-- yeah, uh how much fun is that?

Loving this place and the inspiration it provides and aspiring to make the perfect cakes--keeps me going!

Smiles,

Val

I've been decorating a long time, but only really got back into it about a year ago and I feel that way every time a start a cake....and finish a cake. I take a cake somewhere and they rave and tell me I need to start a business and then I'm really glad that they don't know about CC and what a really good cake looks like.

Hubby has gone with me to a couple of cake shows, including OSSAS and he knows how good people are and what I would like to be. So, when someone said I needed to open a business and I said I needed more practice, hubby agreed with me because he knows.

On a positive note, I actually feel comfortable covering a (round) cake with fondant now. I realized I don't have square pans so it's time for me to invest in good square pans and take the next step.

Yes, I feel the same way too. The designs in my head never really become a reality...they're close, but not quite there. My coworkers joke about me leaving teaching and doing cakes full time and they always ooh and ahh over my cakes, but I just think to myself that they don't know anything. LOL! I'm no where close to be able (or wanting) to do cakes full time!

But, like you said, it all takes practice and as long as you're seeing progress and you enjoy it, then it's all worth it in the end.

I have only been decorating cakes for 19 months and I have never gone into a cake with "I can't do it" attitude. To me making a cake is a challenge. I'm the type of person who always thinks she is right! So I have to live up to that standard. I can't let people know that I'm hardly ever right. So just think that you can and YOU CAN!

I feel the same way. Then I realize that I have never taken a class, or copied directions from a book...I see and attempt to duplicate. I'm not at the level that I want to be, but I'm on my way. I looked at your cakes and they look great. But YOU have to know that. You can do all things through Christ. You have a gift, use it. Have you ever been in a business where everything jut works out 100% perfect 100% of the time. It will take some time but you are great at what you do. Everyone has doubt, but don't let that get you down and stop you. Let it push you to the next step.