ATootle! Haven't you ever stretched tootle?! All The Best decorators do.

My passion & fat fingers were flying too fast to stop autocorrect.

A

You may want to tone down your viscosity first.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/viscous

I just thought I'd chime in for any Aussies reading this thread and say that the advice being given here is specific to the US. I also think it's smart for people to give their local tax office a call (ATO, IRS, whatever) and ask what the guidelines are. This is copy and pasted directly from an Australian Government small business website:

The easiest way to find out if you are running a business or a hobby is to ask yourself a few simple questions. Here's a quick test:

- Is the activity being undertaken for commercial reasons?

- Do you have the purpose and prospect of making a profit?

- Are you regularly and repetitively undertaking the activities?

- Is your activity planned, organised and carried on in a business-like manner?

If you answer yes to more than two of these questions, it would be reasonable to assume that you are operating a business.

SO - I would ascertain from that if a family member or friend approaches you and asks you to make a cake and they will supply the ingredients, or reimburse you for ingredients it is not a business. As long as it's not something you are actively seeking out and doing on a regular basis and are not doing so in a business like manner. 

But I'd still ring up and ask. Which, I'm actually going to do today. But THIS information is Australia specific.

A

AOMG! I think my husband may be in trouble for operating an illegal auto shop. I reimbursed him for the oil he put in my van! I hope none of you reports us. *chewing fingernails*

:-)

Only if he put the oil in your gas can....or otherwise harmed your car.

A

A

Not to worry, the IRS has been notified since your husband failed to preemptively claim the oil reimbursement as income. A paddy wagon is now speeding to your location.

A

Just haven't gotten around to it yet.

A

[quote name="jason_kraft" url="/t/762749/how-did-you-start/45#post_7436283"] While it is illegal in some jurisdictions to give legal advice without being an attorney or posting a disclaimer, responding to legal questions posted online is specifically considered legal information, not legal advice, and therefore neither passing the bar nor including a disclaimer would be necessary.

http://hirealawyer.findlaw.com/do-you-need-a-lawyer/what-is-legal-advice.html[/quote] ;-D

A

Loved this post. Just wanted to say.

If you want to see more twerking (that's now in my phone's spell check memory, thanks), check out the Watch What Happens Live YouTube page. Everybody for time for dat.

 I have been advised many times in these forums that what I am doing is illegal and that I should not be making cakes and under cutting the professional businesses and trivializing their craft with my cheap cakes.  Thank you Jason-kraft  for the links you provided concerning the cottage food law !  I had no idea this was even in the works to make us able to sell from our homes.  As many of course can tell I am from Texas and I just spent a few minutes going over the cottage food law guide lines.  Here in simple terms is what will become into effect next week in Texas !  So by the looks of things if I follow the guide lines and get  my papers in order and my food handlers  card ( which takes all of an hour ) I will be legit !!!  I of course will be talking to my attorney to make sure I cross my t's and dot my i's.     But this is truly exciting.      http://www/texascottagefoodlaw.com/TheLaw/HB970Summary.aspx

I LOL'd at the Wonder Woman cake, but I think the others are good! The wedding cake looks a bit dated, but it's probably because of the time you did it. I can see why you went into business! 

AI love that wonderwoman has no neck!!! When I did my first sugarpaste figurines, I remember my mum coming around and her mouth was twitching (she isn't known for her tact). Then she couldn't contain herself anymore and was practically weeping with laughter at my 'ugly drag queen bride'. Nothing like parental encouragement! I don't have any pics, but I am happy to say that I can now turn out one of these!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=616531578379942&set=pb.574932149206552.-2207520000.1377673713.&type=3&theater

CakeChemistry, your post made me laugh so much!! Drag queen bride!!

AI love ur 11 year old birthday cake with all those colors. Ur wonder woman is very unique. Lol it cracks me up!

ATexas_mom. I think you are the very last to know that Texas has a cottage food law, lol! It is being changed to expand it, it has been in place for 2 years. What we protest to the very most is undercutting. Please set prices you could live on, as if it were your only income. If it takes 8 hours, you need to pay yourself at least a living wage those 8 hours, plus the cost of supplies and overhead. There is also profit, which is not your personal pay, it is what you can invest back into your business.

After looking at this with fresh eyes (minus the raging headache) *deep breath*. I can see how my original post could have been taken as hostile, I should have perhaps used a more gentle approach in expressing my opinion, so I'll try one more time in the spirit of healing and making amends. 

I started off baking purely for my children, so I understand the joy and love that goes into having a hobby that fills a creative outlet that you have a passion for. Where the line gets blurred is when hobby bakers start referring to cakes as "orders" and money starts changing hands. Many states (and countries) have cottage food laws that has made it very easy for home bakers to sell legally out of their home. I don't understand why people don't at least check into what it would take to become legal..in some cases, it's not that much. I baked for my family (free cakes) for 4 years before I started thinking about going into business. Then I spent the next 2 years trying recipes, practicing decorating, learning way more than I ever wanted to know about taxes, rules,contracts (legal stuff makes my brain hurt which is why I TRIED to pass on what I had learned the hard way through marathon, brain-numbing legal Q&A at family get-togethers...when I would have rather been in the kitchen baking.) Then came the next step of breaking down recipes to figure out costs, then came menus, then came the even more painful process of website/page design. THEN came my first paid order..2 years after the thought of a cake business first popped into my head. 

Yes, my examples of bartering may have been overboard, by that time in the thread, I was ticked off. I should have walked away and not responded, but I did and now I'm owning it. I could have not come back and apologized, but that's not the person that I am. If I say something harsh, my gooey center gets the best of me until I make it right. But sometimes on these threads, everything besides a 100% positive comment is taken as mean..I was not intending to be mean (especially in my original post -- go back and read it) I was intending to be honest, which is what I am.

The point I was trying to make (and yes, by the end I was down right crabby) was to at least do some due diligence and do your own checking into rules/laws/regs..it's really not that hard. You'll have an understanding of what you need to do in the future if you ever decide to have a business, if you go through cottage food laws, you'll take classes on food safety so people aren't getting raw food and get sick.

So, I'm sorry for almost "driving someone from the board", for the tone of my last few responses. I'm taking an extended vacay from CC...it's too stressful and I don't like that emails can be taken in 5000 ways.

Peace, love, hugs, puppies and unicorns..kumbaya...and all that mushy stuff.