Calling All Hobbyist

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

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kikiandkyle Posted 21 Feb 2013 , 3:03am
post #31 of 59

It is very addictive, I have to hold myself back from buying every new tool I see. My house is tiny, and I just don't have room for anything else. I improvise a lot which helps, for example using a five petal rose and a heart cutter to make a peony instead of getting peony cutters. 

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peppercorns Posted 21 Feb 2013 , 4:05am
post #32 of 59

Hello  cazza1,funny how some memories sticks in our heads throughout the years, and somehow we always recreate it. How wonderful for you and how lucky your children are, who can create beautiful art and eat it tooicon_biggrin.gif,  I love Australian Cake Decorating. I struggle to learn this method  but I cannot find any decent book teaching that particular style. In three weeks my husband and I will fly to  Adelaide, I'm sure the uni will have some sort of reference for me to buy. You are so lucky, to have that accessible for you. We have The Wilton Industries here teaches Master Classes on several  techniques, but it is two thousand miles away from where I live. I can only wish.icon_sad.gif Thanks for your time.

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peppercorns Posted 21 Feb 2013 , 4:10am
post #33 of 59

Hello, kikiandkyle, I'm totally hopeless when it comes to gumpaste and fondants, people with artistic abilities  such as you, almost always knows how to get around making something out of nothing.king.gif

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kikiandkyle Posted 21 Feb 2013 , 6:11am
post #34 of 59

I actually live about half an hour away from Wilton! The Craftsy courses have been really useful to me, I was clueless with fondant until very recently. The snowman was actually my first real project using it, and that was for last Christmas. 

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peppercorns Posted 21 Feb 2013 , 6:21am
post #35 of 59

Wilton School in Illinois? Wow! Awesome, lucky you. The last class I took was the " Lambeth Boot Camp" by K. Lang, Alpine Ca. The Wilton School teaches Master Classes  on almost everything!icon_surprised.gif

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cazza1 Posted 21 Feb 2013 , 11:07am
post #36 of 59

Hi peppercorns, the class I did was actually not very good but it did get me going.  Living in the bush there are generally not any classes within cooee so a lot of what I have learnt has been self taught.  The local branches of the cake decorating association in all states of Australia are a great resource for  learning.  Nearly every month someone will demonstrate a technique of some sort and our branch will show any interested new comers the basics.  I have also been doing some of the craftsy classes, which I have been finding really helpful.
 

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peppercorns Posted 21 Feb 2013 , 1:34pm
post #37 of 59

Hello mhcl, I agree,fond memories of cookies baking from mothers and grandma always lingers in our memory bank. judge.gif

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peppercorns Posted 21 Feb 2013 , 1:44pm
post #38 of 59

Hello, cazza1, I heard the Australia Women's Weekly magazine  is  chuck full of cookery and cake decorating tips and ideas.icon_smile.gif

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kikiandkyle Posted 21 Feb 2013 , 1:52pm
post #39 of 59

Yes, I live in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Not been to the Wilton School yet, the classes are kind of pricey. I'm hoping to go to the tent sale in June though.

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cazza1 Posted 22 Feb 2013 , 12:23pm
post #40 of 59

Peppercorns women's weekly put out fantastic cookbooks (I have about 60 of them) but I would not personally recommend them for cake decorating.  Thier cake decorating is rather simplistic in the extreme.
 

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peppercorns Posted 23 Feb 2013 , 6:26am
post #41 of 59

Hello cazza1, thank you for letting me know, now I know why I hesitated to order it on line. I tried Craftsy, but  have not done any projects yet. I'm still stuck with piping.

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peppercorns Posted 23 Feb 2013 , 7:33am
post #42 of 59

Hello kikiandkyle, icon_smile.gif

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kikiandkyle Posted 23 Feb 2013 , 8:05am
post #43 of 59

I love the Craftsy classes, they're so good.

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cazza1 Posted 23 Feb 2013 , 8:49am
post #44 of 59

I love the craftsy classes too.  I know they are very simplistic in spots but you can skip over those if you want.  And you can sit with your lap top next to you and halt the screen, practise, and then start again.  I did try just watching but I'm not very good at that, I tend to drift.

 

I made a handbag cake last week.  Simple carving for a lot of people, I know, but it took me outside my comfort zone.  The last cake that I tried to carve into a specific shape ended up carved away to nothing and I had to cook another cake and do a different design.  I followed along with the craftsy class as I did it and was over the moon with how it turned out.  It was a reinterpretation of one of my daughter's favorite handbags.  I sent her a picture of it for her birthday!  The hydranger at the base is another craftsy class.  It was reasonably easy but I hadn't made any flowers in over a year so I was quite happy puddling along with the video.  I find that much easier and more pleasant that trying to read instructions out of a book. No leaves on the hydranger yet as I have been waiting for a cutter and veiner from GSA.  It arrived yesterday so later today or tomorrow my flower should sprout leaves.

A reinvention of one of my daughter's favorite Guess handbags

Today I am getting side tracked and making bread rolls with the Artisan Bread video.  I make my own sourdough so I'm used to making bread but I am finding it quite interesting as he explains why you are doing things.

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peppercorns Posted 24 Feb 2013 , 6:34am
post #45 of 59

Hi cazza1 wow! It looks so real, and the flowers, you have talent! I'd post that all over town, surely you kept that purse/cake as a trophy?  icon_surprised.gif

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cazza1 Posted 24 Feb 2013 , 6:46am
post #46 of 59

The cake is made of fruit cake so we will look at it for a few weeks before we eat it.  Daughter lives 5 hours away in Perth so all she gets is a picture of it.
 

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peppercorns Posted 24 Feb 2013 , 6:56am
post #47 of 59

Hello cazza1, thumbs_up.gif

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Chellescakes Posted 24 Feb 2013 , 8:29am
post #48 of 59

Peppercorns , I hope you enjoy our lovely country while you are here, This is the Website for the South Aussie cake decorating Assoc. http://www.cdasa.org/  You might be able to attend a meeting as a guest when you are there, Most clubs have some sort of demonstration every meeting , There may even be a demo day , that is an all day demonstration with several decorators demonstrating . 

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Chellescakes Posted 24 Feb 2013 , 8:51am
post #49 of 59

As for how I started in this wonderful craft of ours, I have always liked baking and cooking , in fact I was a chef . Until the end of 2006 when I was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  My whole world changed with that diagnosis, I couldn't work as a chef anymore.  In fact I couldn't work at all. I went from working 70 hrs a week to doing nothing and it was soul destroying, My darling Mum , gave me a leaflet that had come in the post about a tafe college course for cake decorating, it was something that I had always wanted to do but everytime I had enrolled in a course it was cancelled or something else happened.  Mum paid for the course , my family drove me to class and carried my equipment in , and helped me again when class was over. It took me almost until the next class a week later to recover from the previous class. 

 

I loved it and it awakened a passion in me giving me back my spirit and my will to get better . I will never be totally well healthwise or be able to have a job outside the home . 

 

But I decorate, I teach , I demonstrate and the most of all the support that I found when I joined the local cake decorating association was just wonderful. 

 

So all in all that brain tumor actually changed my life , but for the better. icon_biggrin.gif

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cazza1 Posted 24 Feb 2013 , 11:30am
post #50 of 59

Wow, can I just say that both your cakes and your spirit are amazing. 

 

I know what you mean about inactivity being soul destroying.  10 years ago I had a work accident and for 6 months I could do virtually nothing.  Even though I love reading, when it is the only thing you can do it drives you bonkers. And I had always been hyperactive.  I ended up having to see a psychologist to stay sane!!!  I can do whatever I like nowadays but I do have to limit how long I do them for or I pay for it.  Most people don't realise and just think I'm a fidget.  They probably also think I have a poor attention span.

 

And I agree.  Our cake decorating associations are fabulous groups to belong to.  When I was over East last year I was going to visit one up Buderim way but unfortunately they were having their annual general meeting at the time.  Maybe next time I am over.
 

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trebakes Posted 24 Feb 2013 , 2:32pm
post #51 of 59

I have always loved baking since I was a child. I retired 3 years ago and started "decorating" cakes almost 2 years ago. Wanted something to do to keep busy and bring new ideas to my neighbors in my senior bldg. I bring cakes to our bldg functions and make them for family and friends. I took the 3 Wilton classes the next months after making my avitar cake last year and am always on the lookout for new ideas to try. I joined the Wilton forum a couple of months after I started "decorating" and that led me here to CC :). I love looking at the pics of the great cakes and things posted here and only wish I could make them. I bake less than 10 cakes a year and each one has a  different technique that I learned online. Thanks to all of the fantastic bakers that contribute to the forums thumbs_up.gif

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kikiandkyle Posted 24 Feb 2013 , 5:45pm
post #52 of 59

Wow chellescakes that is a great outlook to have on what happened! 

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peppercorns Posted 25 Feb 2013 , 1:51am
post #53 of 59

Hello Chellescake, what courage, and you have such a wonderful family, I'm glad you discovered baking and teaching as well. "An idle brain, is wasted talent and time" I'm glad you found your niche. Good luckprincess.gif

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peppercorns Posted 25 Feb 2013 , 2:09am
post #54 of 59

Hello trebakes, are you going to The Wilton School of Cake and Confectionary Art! In Darien?judge.gif Lucky you!

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trebakes Posted 25 Feb 2013 , 3:52pm
post #55 of 59

Peppercorns, even though I live in Chicago, I don't have any plans to take any courses at Wilton. I took my classes at Michaels' in 2011. I've been to the tent sale (with the Cakin' Friend Fest last year and plan on going this year also) but that's as close to Wilton that I've been. They have one day seminars but I'm not that deep into decorating (yet). I enjoy reading and learning from the forums and youtube.

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cakelady524 Posted 25 Feb 2013 , 5:32pm
post #56 of 59

 My Mom loved cooking and baking and I loved being in the kitchen with her, not realizing I was learning as a child. She decorated cakes for her family and close friends. I could see as a child the love that she put into everything she made an then giving it to a loved one. So thoughtful. So generous. As I got older an she let me take over the kitchen, I baked whatever I could in my Moms recipe books. Sometimes trying to out do her lol. I am now grown an married with 2 daughters, Haley 14 & Hannah almost 8. I decorated my first ever birthday cake when my oldest daughter turned 1 yr old. way back in 1998. I spent all day piping boo coos of 10 different icings with a wilton star tip on a huge Elmo shaped wilton pan lol. I never felt soo exhausted but proud of myself all at the same time lol. I took on the task jus thinking hey my Mom did it so can I..an jus believing in myself. Its something Im passionate about, comes from deep down. Every yr after that, Ive done birthday cakes an special occasion cakes ever since. Challenging myself all the time, new techniques, cook books, you tube, websites etc.. Im no professional, I jus love baking an learning new things to add to my craft. I am currently looking into turning my hobby into some side $$ an baking out of my home. We shall see icon_smile.gif

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Spireite Posted 25 Feb 2013 , 9:13pm
post #57 of 59

I'm still relatively new to the decorating side of cakes.  I grew up watching my Mother bake - but not ice - mainly fruit cakes.  As a result I enjoy baking, with rich fruit cakes a bit of a speciality.  I baked some friends' 2 tier fruit cake 12 years ago, but they got someone else to ice it.  So whilst chatting with a newly engaged friend of mine getting married in the local cathedral I mentioned I could bake their cake IF they could find someone else to ice it to make it look pretty!!! He chatted with his intended and they were happy for a totally fruit layered cake - for 300 People.. EEEK!!!..but I was committed by then,  So I did the maths, and prepared my recipes and started baking last September. (the wedding was Nov 10th), thinking that any cake I wasn't happy with could be my own Christmas cake!!!  I was happy with all the cakes I made, even the bottom 12" round...which was a bit of a beast!! I baked 5 layers with an extra 10".  A friend of the bride iced it and it looked fabulous...

So I decided to try icing, I managed to ice 4 fruit Christmas cakes for the family....hence the avatar picture on here....and this week I will be my first attempt at stacking using dowels  icon_biggrin.gif

Over the years I have attempted different cakes as birthday cakes...and will try and dig out some of my photos....one of my favourites being a 7" tall  Dr Who Dalek for my husband covered in Smarties!!

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peppercorns Posted 28 Feb 2013 , 3:47am
post #58 of 59

Wow! That's lovely!thumbs_up.gif

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peppercorns Posted 3 Mar 2013 , 6:24am
post #59 of 59

To All Hobbyist, thank you for participating on this thread. I hope the little stories that we have shared has warmed your hearts as it did mine.thumbs_up.gif

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