How Did You Get Introduced To Cake Decorating?

Decorating By UltimateCakes Updated 26 Oct 2008 , 11:39pm by wendalynn11

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tugboat Posted 23 Oct 2008 , 11:28pm
post #31 of 55

I have always wanted to learn how to decorate cakes and I always thought it would be fun to make wedding cakes when I got older. On my husband's 29th birthday (3 yrs ago) I made him a guitar cake. It was my first cake to make and I did it even before I took cake classes (didn't even know what I was doing!!) but after making it, I really wanted to take classes! Several years ago, I wanted my BFF at the time to come with me to a Wilton class at Michaels to learn how, but she didn't want to so I decided just to sign up myself. I am sooo glad I did! I didn't know anyone in my classes (I've take all 3 classes) but that was ok because I was learning how to do something I loved! I've been decorating for about 2 years now and just recently have started getting better because I have more reasons to make cakes. I feel my skills are getting better and better. I'm 29 now, married but no kids yet, but I hope to have some in the next year or so and I guarantee when they have birthdays they will have awesome cakes! They won't have store bought cakes! icon_biggrin.gif

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UltimateCakes Posted 24 Oct 2008 , 7:57pm
post #32 of 55

Seems like the majority of ppl got started by watching their mom. Hopefully I can break the cycle and my girls can get started by helping dear ol' dad (ROFL) icon_biggrin.gif

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EnjoyTheCake Posted 24 Oct 2008 , 8:10pm
post #33 of 55

My first job was at Baskin Robbins and I wanted to decorate the ice cream cakes like our decorator did. But i didn't take any classes or really pursue it until last year. Prior to that I had done some casual decorating based on what I had seen my Grandmother do or what I had seen on various TV shows.

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tirby Posted 24 Oct 2008 , 8:13pm
post #34 of 55

My husband was putting the wiring in a shop for some people who we attend church with...During the day the wife asked HIM if I would like to learn how to decorate cakes for the kids birthday...Well he GLADLY said yes. So I wasen't even remotly interested in it and I reluctantly agreed....
Well six years later hear I am. My teacher... The lady whos husbands shop my husband was wiring...has been a great support she did birthday and wedding cakes. She is a fondant wiz..... and has helped me so much....My idea of cake decorating before was icon_redface.gif Slap some frosting on a cake that I made in a 9x13 pan ..mind you the cake was still in the pan when I slapped the icing (from the store icon_redface.gif ) onto the cake...
Well we all had to start somewhere...So I guessmy venture started in a shop (garage)

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marknelliesmum Posted 24 Oct 2008 , 8:15pm
post #35 of 55

I've always enjoyed baking and like many others grew up watching my mum bake ( not too often but she knew what she was doing icon_lol.gif ). My decorating hobbie started when I baked my son's christening cake - my mum's friend who used to own a bakery had agreed to decorate it for me ( I am a good baker but had never decorated ) and i was soooooooo disappointed. Even without any experience I know I could have done a better job. I really felt I had let my son down by having such an ugly cake that I decided I would not have nasty looking cakes in future icon_twisted.gif (One of my worst habits is thinking... I could do that - plumbing is my only nemesis and something i won't attempt icon_evil.gif ) I bought a Susan Deacon book and have not looked back. My cakes are clearly by a novice and nowhere near the standard you find on CC but I've yet to make a cake that i feel embarassed about. With each cake i make i learn something new and CC has just been a fount of knowledge and my son loves to watch and help and can tell me who every cake i have baked was for icon_eek.gif ...Happy Days! thumbs_up.gif

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pigninnie Posted 24 Oct 2008 , 8:42pm
post #36 of 55

I started making cakes because i had a little girl and i love cake but hate the way store made cakes taste i have to say that i have tried more out going cake because i love watching DUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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DnEKakez Posted 24 Oct 2008 , 8:52pm
post #37 of 55

I have always baked but only for the holidays and my family has always loved my cakes.. But I really started looking into it when I got married July of last yr and my wedding cake that I paid lots for melted and fell apart I was so sad mad all in one it was my special day thank god the chef found someone to do in a a couple of hrs.. So I said I am going to learn how to decorate cake so that I can make my own family members cake and here I am LEARNING everyday

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wehmom Posted 24 Oct 2008 , 8:53pm
post #38 of 55

I was cheap and didn't like store prices for bad cake. Just did for the kids birthday's for many years. Now I am and instructor after friends convinced me I was better than I gave myself credit. Been teaching for 3 years and now own my own bakery. I love being creative with food.

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cakesbyk2 Posted 24 Oct 2008 , 8:59pm
post #39 of 55

I just started watching all the shows on foodnetwork. Got a bug to try the decorating and finally started taking the Wilton classes and since then have taken 3 more classes at our local community college. My 19 year old daughter is so proud of my cakes. Whenever she goes somewhere that has a celebration cake, she always calls and tells me that I could have done it better. She says I will be making her wedding cake someday. I am loving it so far. Just started about 6 months ago and my son and I will be making our first wedding cake together. He was a cook in the army and learned to do some decorating. Can't wait to see how it turns out and where it wil leads.

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cakelady31 Posted 24 Oct 2008 , 9:24pm
post #40 of 55

would you believe my Easy Bake Oven !????lol I have always been passionate about baking and creating. It makes everyone happy. I swear I remember baking and "decorating" the gross little cakes, and ultimately being very pleased with the outcome. Let me tell you that was many , many moons ago. I have always made the special occasion cakes for my family where I was a stay at home mom for a decade I was able to teach myself different techniques. For the last eleven +years I have been decorating cakes for a retail chain ,(part time, steady paycheck ) but do much more on the side at home and we know that is a whole different ballgame. My sister says to me ..... "you must really love doing this, I don't know anybody that works all day and then comes home and continues doing the same thing!"I am going to take the servesafe class on Monday to become certified with my local BOH. I am in the process of becoming a legit business ! Yay can't wait.! My children are all older now (my youngest is 18 ) so now it's my turn to pursue my passion. I hope to someday soon have my own shop.

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Pastry-Panda Posted 24 Oct 2008 , 11:07pm
post #41 of 55

Well I was always more of an ice cream kid. I didn't like to eat cake so much , frosting was pretty tasty. I really only liked to eat frosting roses off of cakes. Cake was always the center of good memories for me , you know like birthday's , Christmas , or any party/celebration.

One thing that really sticks in my head is when I was in 5th grade we had this really important project. Each student got to pick a state to do this report on , we were required to have a written report and a 3d "float" of the state you chose. Anyway the point is one girl whos mom was a cake decorator make a "float" of her state out of cake. I was so amazed that we got to eat that girls project! I didn't know you could do that with cake. icon_eek.gif

Ever since then I was very interested , but it wasn't until after I had my daughter that I really started pursuing it. I bought wil ton books and started studying them and buying little supplies here and there and doing birthday cakes for family and friends. Then I went and bought A LOT of stuff and kept practicing in my spare time. After watching many hours the food network cake challenges I decided I want to go to school. So I went to pastry school and learned a little bit about cake decorating , and a lot about fondant & flower making.

I still need to take the wil ton courses too , I think they will help me fine tune my skills some more and become better at buttercream work. I'm also trying to get a job at a cake decorating shop so I can get lots of practice and learn all of the tricks of the trade so I can go into business for myself. I'm not very good yet , but I will be in time!

I have learned a ton of stuff from everyone here at cake central!! I love hanging out with people who share the same interests , and I don't know anyone who shares my enthusiasm for cake. icon_sad.gif It's okay because I can come hang out with all of you and you all love cake! Yay us! icon_biggrin.gif

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Rose_N_Crantz Posted 26 Oct 2008 , 12:10am
post #42 of 55

I actually fell ass-backwards into it. I used to work as a cashier for a grocery store, then one day they were shorthanded in the bakery and asked if I could help out with bagging dinner rolls. I said sure and while I was back there, my mother (who worked back there too) mentioned to her boss that I went to culinary school. Turns out one of their cake decorators just threw her back out and they needed a replacement. I said sure since I hated cashiering. I decorated for a year and a half, started having wrist problems, and moved into the marketing team for the same store. I'm still there, but now I'm decorating on the side from home.

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glendaleAZ Posted 26 Oct 2008 , 5:58am
post #43 of 55

About a year ago I went to the hospital with severe stomach pains. The doctor told me that I need to have surgery, because I had a kidney stone that was too large to pass normally, at it was putting my kidney in danger. Well after my surgery, I was sitting on the sofa, completely disinterested with what was on TV, when I turned the channel to PBS (8.2 create). I started watching a show called Bake, Decorate, & Celebrate (I hope I got the words in the right order, canât really remember them now) Anyway, this show stayed on for the entire day, it just kept repeating the same 6 shows over and over throughout the day.

Well I wouldnât be exaggerating if I told you that within my 48 years, up until last year, anything I baked turned out like a rock â no joke. I never like sweets, or cooking for that matter, but when I saw what they were doing with cakes I was glued to the TV. After a few days of healing, I went to my local Michaels store and purchased some items to begin practicing what I saw them do on the show. After a while, I even surprised myself. I was doing cakes that I never dreamed I could have made. I started taking my cakes to work so everyone could give me feedback. They said that they tasted really good, and that they looked great too. At first, I though they were just being nice, but then after a while, I started to believe them. I love making cakes now, and I get such a RUSH when someone gives me a hug, because they love my cake. The funny thing is, Iâve never been much of a hugger, but now I kind of look forward to them.

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cakeandpartygirl Posted 26 Oct 2008 , 6:22am
post #44 of 55

I remember as a little girl going to the grocery store looking at all of the cakes thinking that one day I want to do that. Even when I was in girl scouts I tried to get the girls in my troop to take it with me but to no avail. Finally when I finished high school and got a job I finally took a class and it has been an up and down road but finally I am on the straight and narrow path. I am looking forward to one day having my own shop. Sorry for the rambling!

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Shannie13 Posted 26 Oct 2008 , 6:35am
post #45 of 55

this is an awesome thread because I was just talking to my stepfather about how long I have been decorating cakes for!

About 17 yrs ago was when I started (I will be 30 in a few weeks) and it all began because my mother worked for a company that provided halfway houses for recovering alcoholics returning from treatment. They needed some advertising done for a fun fair in a run down area of our city and I used her business card as my template. Even the police officers attending the event were impressed with my cakes and there were no leftovers to take home. I guess in the end it is from the most interesting people or situations that the best stories come from. Coincidently that was the first time I met my now Stepdad!
Thank you for letting me share mine!

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Pastelitoz4u Posted 26 Oct 2008 , 7:26am
post #46 of 55

I have always wanted to learn how to decorate cakes....I do the baking in the family......well, my MIL does great baking too. icon_smile.gif But on my side of the family I do, My grandfather was a baker and had a bakery shop....I didn't get to know him much because he passed away when I was one or two years old, icon_sad.gif but I knew about the bakery because my father told me about it and my grandmother did too. Anyway, I have always felt, the need and want to bake and decorate....So, I finally took a Wilton class and loved it.. icon_biggrin.gif ..I am hoping to take all 3 classes, but I got to take it a step at a time. icon_rolleyes.gif I hope to have my own shop too, but for now I will be happy making cakes for family and friends.

Some day, some day, some day icon_wink.gif

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indydebi Posted 26 Oct 2008 , 1:37pm
post #47 of 55

Went with my (former) sister-in-law when she ordered her wedding cake. Decided "I can do this!" and bought tips, bags and a Wilton Book. That was 30 years ago.

I am also an Easy Bake Oven alumni! I was also the person who ALWAYS had homemade cookies around. Always loved cookie baking. Never thought about cake DECORATING until my SIL was ordering her cake.

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lipstickvk Posted 26 Oct 2008 , 2:14pm
post #48 of 55

I used to work at Michaels as the classroom coordinator. The cake decorating instructor we had was very talented (I took her Wilton I class and loved it!) but always bumped heads with the manager until the day she put in her notice. It took our store a year and a half to find her and it was the most profitable class we had so i didn't want to loose that. I decided that I would become the WMI.

I enjoyed her first class and decided to head to another store and take the remaining two classes so I could become an official WMI. At the time I had no idea that this would become my hobby. I taugh (and was a darn good instructor) the classes for about 2 years. Now I am doing cakes for my family and a few friends.

I am very blessed that this "hobby" fell into my lap like it did.

I also would like to thank everyone on Cake Central. You all have been such an inspiration to me. Thank you.

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kakeladi Posted 26 Oct 2008 , 10:36pm
post #49 of 55

My story is different from most of you.
Back in the late 1960s after seeing an article in Family Circle magazine I taught myself to decorate Panorama Sugar (Peep) eggs. I knew *nothing!* about decorating.....I used push button cans of buttercream icing!! (They were removed from the shelves for yrs but sometimes now can be found again). You cannot believe how many of those cans of icing I went thru over the yrs! icon_smile.gif
Then our oldest DD gave us just 6 wk to the day to plan her wedding. Of course back then (1980) she caught us w/no savings/funds to spend. We ended up making everything! She had seen a cake at a wedding snow that they wanted something like $500 for plus we lived some 50 miles from the bakery so they also wanted an arm & a leg to deliver it. We prayed for some answer to this and just a couple of wks before the big date her (soon to be) MIL talked her into letting us make her a 'homemade cake w/cream cheese icing'. THis lady had taken cake deco lessons some 10 yrs before but had never done anything w/it. Her supplies were 'out in the barn'! She dug them out - there was a Wilton yrbk; I looked thu it and found something I thought looked easy which I later found out was an advanced technique (cornelli lace which we called squiggles!). I found a supply shop 30 miles away and bought supplies; she also gave me some adviceicon_smile.gif I ended up making a 4 tier cake w/side cakes (satalites) connected w/bridges (plastic stairs).
We lived in a very small community. More people showed up at the reception then we invited because it was the talk of the town that I was making this cake!
3 days later I was asked to help make another small wedding cake for a gal who found out just days before her wedding that the person who was suppose to make it wouldn't.
3 weeks after that I was asked to make another one.......and.......
3 months after that another Wedding cake!
Of course I was hooked.......and found some lessons......not wilton but by a former wilton insturctor who had her own shop. I had to 'go to town' (40 miles)for the whole day to take these lessons;... take my DH to work and stay in town for my lessons and pick him up after work.... It ment a long day but sure was worth it.
Since then I have owned 2 different shops but am now retired.....forced into that when my DH needed care 24/7 icon_sad.gif

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kbak37 Posted 26 Oct 2008 , 10:59pm
post #50 of 55

Hi, Im a newbie but have been doing cakes off and on for 15 years...then before that I was 10 and introduced to the star tip and character pans and off I went! When my husband and I lived in England, I met a lady on the AF base that was a Wilton trained cake decorator/instructor and she taught me everything I know..for free. I have since done many cakes, all for free, but I am yearning to start my own cake decorating business since there is a great need here in Wasilla (and no I am not Sarah Palin!.Know them, Imnot her!) Anyway, I thank you all for all the tips and the wonderful cake photos. This is a talented group of people and an informative site!

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Malakin Posted 26 Oct 2008 , 11:11pm
post #51 of 55

My daughter was getting married and she begged me to do her wedding cake. I had never decorated one before this and I got interested when I saw hers.

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Sweettooth1120 Posted 26 Oct 2008 , 11:11pm
post #52 of 55

My grandmother made cakes. Not to the extent that I do but she had decorating supplies. I used to make cakes for my parents,etc. When I was younger I worked in a daycare and made a Ninja Turtle cake for one of the kids. The family raved and suddenly I was overwhelmed with orders to do Ninja Turtles, Superman, Batman, etc. Back then I had a decorating bag, a star tip and canned frosting. When my grandmother passed I got all of her decorating stuff so that sort of sparked the interest more. I made cakes over the years for family but it was about 3 years ago that I started to really enjoy it and get more creative with it. Now I would love to do it full time but I dont want the hassle of owning my own bakery. I just want to decorate.

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gingersoave Posted 26 Oct 2008 , 11:20pm
post #53 of 55

I paid for my wedding cake 15 years ago and said "OMG! I can do THAT!" And here I am teaching cake decorating and doing cakes like a mad woman!

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rebew10 Posted 26 Oct 2008 , 11:23pm
post #54 of 55

I had always walked down the cake decorating aisle in Hobby Lobby and thought it would be fun to do. Now that I am a stay at home Mom, I thought I would give it a try. I have only made a handful of cakes as of date and so far everyone has liked them. I would love to learn from someone with experience, but have gotten so many ideas, tips, etc. from this website.

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wendalynn11 Posted 26 Oct 2008 , 11:39pm
post #55 of 55

My wonderful mother-in-law decorated cakes and made the grooms cake at our wedding. When she passed away very unexpectedly and very young (57) I decided I would keep the cake decorating going in the family myself. I have always baked and had thought decorating would be fun but it wasn't until her death that I did anything seriously. I have named my hobby emi inspirations after her (her name was Emilia) and any money that is given to me for cakes will go into the brain aneurysm foundation charity fund under her name. I love to decorate along because I can always feel her presence with me when I decorate. IT makes me fool close to her again.

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