Hi everyone,

I am just a recreational caker, doing it for family and friends. But lately (even moreso since being on this forum!) I have been wanting to extend myself further and enter an occasional competition to learn more from constructive criticism. So when I read about the Halloween cake comp on this site, I thought this might be a good first comp to enter.

HOWEVER, I am still a little concerned that I have not taken formal lessons (I was taught over many years by my grandma, in old fashioned but timeless techniques) and as such I know that for the first few yrs I will not be up to scratch. So my question is, how much experience do you need to look like you belong in a competition? I dont want to enter a comp and find that mine is the cake that looks like it was made by a 2 year old, compared to the rest of the field. That would be so embarrassing...

You could take the first year and just scout all the local compeitions or find pictures online of last year's entries so you know what to expect and see if you think yours can 'hang' with the competition?

Any level can enter. Everyone was a beginner at some time. If you are concerned about what you do, then try looking at some sites that show the cakes from various cake shows. The Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show has some past photos of the winners in the different divisions. I'm on a different computer so I don't know the URL. You can Google it though. The Mid-Atlantic Cake Show has some photos as well.

Take a chance. You never know how well you will do until you try.

Good luck.

Michele

I took a peak at your photos, and you certainly don't have to worry about your cake looking as though it was made by a 2 year old! You do beautiful work. So...it just means coming up with a design you are comfortable doing and that has appeal. Judging by what you've already done, you'll do great!

Thankyou for the tips and encouragentment! I have been checking out cakes from all kinds of competitions, and OMG, everyone is so talented! But it has inspired me even moreso to enter comps, as I firmly believe that competing in whatever you do pushes you to better yourself, and that's what life's all about, huh!

Of course, I am so tempted to buy more supplies now, but being off work with a new bub means it's not a good idea for me to splurge tooooo much at the moment. So I am going to challenge myself to make and decorate cakes using the basic tools that I already own. This will be hard, especially since I LOVE the look of textured fondant (using either a textured roller or texture mat) but I don't own either, so I will be coming up with all sorts of different ways to texture fondant. Should be fun. I am lucky enough to already own a few flower petal cutters etc from my wedding, and I own all sorts of different tools from other crafts - let's see what comes out!

Cheers,

Kate