Calling All Hobbyist

Lounge By peppercorns Updated 3 Mar 2013 , 6:24am by peppercorns

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peppercorns Posted 18 Feb 2013 , 7:19pm
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What made you choose cake decorating as a hobby?   It is very demanding, time consuming not to mention can get expensive. I started cake decorating because I want to know whether I have the gumption to do it! It is hard work but it helps me to structure my time for the day. I also love to see the creativity and beautiful products of  cake couture, a lot of talents out there. Share your enthusiasm with this forum.icon_razz.gif

58 replies
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shanter Posted 18 Feb 2013 , 10:19pm
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I started because of the creativity of design and I thought it would be a challenge. I continue to do it because of the praise I receive from my family, friends, and co-workers.

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LizzieAylett Posted 19 Feb 2013 , 12:35pm
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I started just making beautiful cakes for my children's birthdays (although I cringe at them now!).  I think the change to wanting to learn new techniques and styles actually came in a rather round about way, by randomly coming across a link to Cakewrecks.com!  Seeing the amazing Sunday Sweets cakes on there led me to clicking through to Jessiecakes blog and she taught me so much! It has just grown from there through following links to other blogs and Youtube tutorials.  Once I started doing more cakes, my confidence and interest grew so I have been asking my friends if they'd like me to make cakes for them.

 

I love being able to focus on making something beautiful that brings joy to others.  It takes me away from the burden of constant housework!  I like Jessiecakes' view that making cakes is her way of being a blessing to others, although I fear my motivation is more one of pride and people-pleasing...  Still, it is good to have a hobby :-)
 

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Nin55 Posted 19 Feb 2013 , 2:32pm
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I started about 35 years ago. A neighbor made me a cake for my son's birthday and I was so impressed that she could make a cake herself.  A co-worker asked me to go to a Wilton' cake decorating class at the local mall.  I fell in love with decorating.  Today it is much more popular and I love reading and trying new techniques.  The internet is a vaulable source to learning and viewing different designs.  I only do cakes for family, but looking back, I would have loved to gone to school to be a pastry chef.

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Gerle Posted 19 Feb 2013 , 4:45pm
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I've always loved to bake and I did it a lot, especially when I was working.  I use to bake all the birthday cakes for work and I always baked big trays of goodies for my husband to take to his work and for me to take to my work for Christmas.  So it was a natural progression to try decorating.  My oldest son and his wife paid for me to attend the Wilton courses as a Mother's Day gift, and I've been hooked ever since!  I bake birthday cakes for my entire family and a few friends.  It is an expensive hobby, but I love it!  It can be maddening sometimes when things don't go the way you want them to, but you just keep picking yourself up and try, try again.  There's so much to learn and so many different techniques.  Not just for decorating cakes either....there are cookies and cupcakes, too!  I didn't know there were so many different decorating tools out there and can't tell you how much I've gathered in the past 2 1/2 years of decorating!  Good thing I have an understanding husband who supports my hobbies.  And as Lizzie said, it's pride and people pleasing.  It does feel good to have someone say the cake/cookies/cupcakes you provided are so beautiful!

 

I was told about CC and thought I'd give it a look-see.  Now my husband laughs at me and asks if I've had my "CC fix" for the hour!!  I love to come on here and see the beautiful cakes everyone is making.  Some I know I'll never be able to achieve, but others are fun to try.  Only problem.....my husband and I have gained WAY too much weight since I started decorating cakes!  Gotta find a new outlet for my experiments.  I love to try new flavors as well as techniques.  If I would have started this in my early 20's or 30's, I might have considered making it a business, but not now.  Now it's just for fun and relaxation.  Yes, I do find it relaxing for some reason.  And I love the helpfulness of so many CC members.  I've learned a lot from so many of them!  They've shared recipes and techniques which have enhanced my abilities and I appreciate each and every one of them.

 

Peppercorns, thanks for starting this thread.  Glad to see one devoted to us hobbyists.

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peppercorns Posted 19 Feb 2013 , 5:20pm
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Beautiful beginnings all of you, thank you for sharing, I go to cake central galleries everyday,to check out new cakes, I can only look at them with such longing and wishing that I could be halfway as good. Like you, I love the look  and happy  faces of my friends when they get a decorated cake, one them a war veteran said and quote" I never had a beautiful cake such as this"  he need not say anymore. He made my day! princess.gif

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Spuddysmom Posted 19 Feb 2013 , 5:52pm
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Started baking for my teachers when I was in high school - I had a very heavy academic load and it relaxed me. A few years later, I wanted a special party cake for my 3 yr old and decided to create my own 2D Big Bird cake....it was the size of a picnic table. I overestimated how much cake little kids could eat and it looked pretty funny. After that it was just so much fun! I only did  cakes for family celebrations until a couple of years ago when friends began requesting cakes and I began working toward my own biz. New cottage food law passed last year makes this possible and I'm starting my paperwork, but until then, strictly hobby baker.

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cheeksgirls805 Posted 19 Feb 2013 , 8:13pm
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I have always loved to bake. I would get the idea to bake and end up in the kitchen for 6 hours making cookies, cupcakes, and brownies with enough to feed the neighborhood. In October I decided to make a cake for my friend's birthday. That cake was the "AWE" moment for me. Sitting in my kitchen trying completely new things relaxed me. When I finally gave it to her seeing her beam with excitement was the next "awe" moment. Since then I've just come up with new ideas in the most random times and tried to have them work out for me. Most of the time they do but then once in a while I have to rethink my plan and try again. And now I'm having more and more friends asking for them for their birthdays and events. If I wouldn't have stumbled across this site last month I don't think I would have had the enthusiasm I do. I love looking through and seeing all the different styles and learning some how to's. I'm no where near some most of you but I hope to be there one day.  I've told myself I love doing this and I'm going to see where it takes me. 

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kerriealloyd Posted 19 Feb 2013 , 9:35pm
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Ai started doing this as i find it quite relaxing. it is a challenge of which i thrive on and i really enjoy it.

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peppercorns Posted 19 Feb 2013 , 10:42pm
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I love the responses, I can hear and feel the satisfaction of each of you, I am requesting each one to continue to share stories, very uplifting, still calling on all hobbyist, share your personal satisfaction, it is very good for the psyche.king.gif

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SPCOhio Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 1:01am
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AI've always loved baking and cooking, having come from a long line of good southern cooks. I made my first "fancy cake" for my niece's first birthday in 2004 simply because I was the best baker in the family and was nominated. Lol. It was a Wilton design of a three dimensional Pooh sitting on top of a larger cake with his own small "cake" in front of him as if he were decorating it. I then took a long break from decorating to grieve a deceased husband, eventually rear my only child, and generally stress out about life. :) I started decorating again about 3 years ago, when I decided to make my sister in law a cake for her birthday just to do something special for her. It was my first fondant cake and it was a hit. Now, I do it because I LOATHE my day job, which is unproductive and soul-sucking. I like being able to point to something and say, "THAT'S what I did for the last four hours of my life" because my day job makes me feels useless and pointless. And I really like making something personal and beautiful for people I care about.

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ttshock Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 1:25am
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Believe it or not, I started baking as a way to help with my dieting. I had no problem watching what I ate during the day while at work...I had a schedule and I stuck to it, no big deal. But I need something to do at night to keep my self busy and my mind off of snacking (I have NO will power, if I'm thinking of snacking...I'm snacking!) My mom gave me a book on cookie bouquets and I started baking dozens upon dozens of sugar cookies. From there I moved on to cupcakes. The better I was doing on my diet, the more I baked! My family refused to try anymore flavors, so I started taking cupcakes to work. Daily. Someone asked me to make some for a party, then someone asked me to bake a cake and I thought...why not? It was a boob cake and everyone loved it and I was hooked! I'm now making cakes weekly and I've lost 40 pounds!!

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peppercorns Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 2:18am
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ttschock , incredible, wow who would think? I say continue and now maybe you are going to open your own cupcake and cookies shop. If you do let me know, my husband and I travel a lot, who knows one day we might be going your way and taste a cookie or two. So happy for youthumbs_up.gif

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kikiandkyle Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 2:26pm
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I've been baking since I was a child, I used to spend my summers with my grandma and she would teach me everything she knew. She would make these super elaborate cakes for my birthday every year, and I wanted to be just like her. I've never stopped baking, and often made cakes for friends, but since taking the Wilton classes last fall I've stepped up my game, found CC, then found Craftsy, and it's gone from there. I'm making more cakes for friends and neighbors now, as I love to practice new techniques but I can't eat that much cake!

 

I'm actually putting together plans to open my own cake business, I always wanted to be a pastry chef when I was younger but life happened and I never got around to it. Now that I'm at home with my kids and making plans for my future, I'm realizing that maybe I can do this, and make a living doing something I actually enjoy.

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mhcl Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 2:48pm
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I started wanting to make more than just a regular 9x13 can frosted cake when my first daughter was turning one.  And I will say, the cake, was AWEFUL looking!  I should post pics;o)  Growing up, my mom wasn't around for many years, but I do remember one year for my birthday she made me one of those barbie cakes where the dress is the cake part.  And I felt sooo special that she took all that time for me!  Now, we weren't the closest mother/daughter pair but we were slowly getting there but then she passed away from cancer the day after my first daughter was born.  So, I guess, for me, this is a way of doing something for my 4 kids that hopefully will be a good memory for them when they get older and and a way to pass on something my mom did for me, to them.  Whew, that's way more personal information than I usually give anyone other than my husband!  I guess that's the power of cake;o)

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peppercorns Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 3:48pm
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Hi, kikiandkyle, I have seen all of your beautiful pictures, such talent, when I look at these beautiful products, I can only wish...All the best peppercorns

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peppercorns Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 3:57pm
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Hi, kikiandkyle, I have seen all of your beautiful pictures, such talent, when I look at these beautiful products, I can only wish... All The Best. Congratulations.

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peppercorns Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 4:07pm
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You have some very lucky children, neighbors and friends.Alas! You're too far from me, I would have love to exchange goodies with youthumbs_up.gif

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VicB213 Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 4:32pm
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I can bake.. and I am good at it.. I just could never get my cakes to look as beautiful as they tasted so, I found out about the Wilton course and jumped in from there. And I am loving every time consuming, dollar consuming minute of it.

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kkmcmahan Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 4:50pm
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VicB213, are you taking the Master Course directly from Wilton or are you taking Wilton courses through a Michaels or JoAnnes?  Although expensive, the Master Course is so worth it!
 

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kkmcmahan Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 4:54pm
post #21 of 59

I started after years of watching all of those reality shows and decided last year I would try a fondant cake.  It only took that one and I was hooked.  Still new to the field I have a lot to learn and am still working on technique but I plan on doing this for a long long time.
 

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VicB213 Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 5:13pm
post #22 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by kkmcmahan 

VicB213, are you taking the Master Course directly from Wilton or are you taking Wilton courses through a Michaels or JoAnnes?  Although expensive, the Master Course is so worth it!
 

I am taking the course through Michaels, but I have a great teacher who has taken an interest in me and I get "private" classes sometimes and extra knowledge.

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kkmcmahan Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 5:35pm
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Wow VicB213, that sounds really great.  Sounds like you found a gem.  That's not to say it's hard to find a great instructor, when I took the master course I worked with an instructor from NY and she was so totally awesome.  I'm glad to hear your excitement!

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kikiandkyle Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 5:48pm
post #24 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by peppercorns 

Hi, kikiandkyle, I have seen all of your beautiful pictures, such talent, when I look at these beautiful products, I can only wish... All The Best. Congratulations.

 

Thanks Peppercorns! I try. There are many that do not go public! Plus, wow. Your cakes are amazing! I wish I had the patience to try Lambeth. It looks so beautiful. 

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VicB213 Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 6:38pm
post #25 of 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by kkmcmahan 

Wow VicB213, that sounds really great.  Sounds like you found a gem.  That's not to say it's hard to find a great instructor, when I took the master course I worked with an instructor from NY and she was so totally awesome.  I'm glad to hear your excitement!

I did and count myslef very lucky that is for sure.  I would love to take the Master Courses though... but then again I would love to go to Scotland to learn how to "cook"... maybe one day.

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peppercorns Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 9:39pm
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You sure are a boost to my ego,I still have a long ways to go, I guess practice is the key, I think Fondant is more demanding than piping, as you really have to be creative, I cannot make a decent fondant flower. I tried.icon_cry.gif You however have mastered fondant creations.birthday.gif

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peppercorns Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 9:43pm
post #27 of 59

Hi kikiandkyle,that comment is for youicon_surprised.gif  ops!

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kikiandkyle Posted 20 Feb 2013 , 9:46pm
post #28 of 59

icon_biggrin.gif

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peppercorns Posted 21 Feb 2013 , 12:45am
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Hi everyone,what a hobby, huh? I love trying out new ways of decorating, but I think it is becoming more of an obsession, I am hoarding books, cutters, moulds,etc, to name a few. I now have dedicated one room in the house for all of my " stuff" and now I can hardly find any more space!icon_mad.gif I think this hoarding is getting out of hand. That's it I'm going to see a psychiatristicon_cry.gif

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cazza1 Posted 21 Feb 2013 , 2:57am
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When I was about 8 I went to a party where the mum had made a Dolly Varden cake.  I loved that cake and could not understand why my mother couldn't make me a cake just like it.  Not very fair in retrospect as my mother can barely sew on a button and would be a career woman now a days, rather than a homemaker.  (She bought us ice cream cakes for our birthdays)  But I am the total opposite of her and obsessed about that cake for years.  Fast forward quite a lot of years and when my son was 4 and my daughter 1, I took a course at the local craft cottage.  Loved it, became obsessed and even did my sisters wedding cake.  Then the politics of the local cake decorating group became very *****y and it soured me.  I walked away and did only one or two cakes a years for 10 years.  In the meantime we shifted states, I gave up work and joined the group in my new town and am back to being obsessive again and absolutely loving it.

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