I have an order to do for a cake for someone that installs fire sprinkler systems.
Here, you have to order them installed by a licensed installer so they are not available in a standard building supply store. I haven't been able to find a picture online of what the actual head looks like. so I can duplicate it. I gather he installs wet heads as opposed to other types of systems. With all of the folks on here that work with fire departments, I am hoping someone is aware of a site with good pictures?
I would appreciate any help! Thanks!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

Never mind, found a site!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

Well I have to respond to that, since my hubby installs Fire Sprinklers! I did a cake for him a few years back(well, way back!) and made a chocolate girl, like one in a pinup magazine from the 40's and put a toolbelt on her and a hard hat; she was laying flat on the cake with chocolate sprinkler pipes running all over the cake behind her. It was a hoot! Good Luck and Id love to see a photo of it when its done!

Hhmn, now that sounds fantastic, bet he loved it!
I wish I knew this person that the cake is for, I would have a better idea. The lady ordering it is a sister of a friend and regular customer. All she asked for was either sprinklers or a fire hydrant. I used a different make of fondant, not the Wilton one I usually use for molding things, I added Gum-tex as I usually do and the darn stuff just isn't setting up or hardening like it normally does, darn! So I have a not quite hard fire hydrant and not quite hard sprinkler heads, haha! And a not quite in the mood decorator, to boot!
Oh well, sometimes it goes like this!
Hugs Squirrely Cakes

I hear you there! Its Friday night, and there are 2 wedding cakes to be decorated, a strange request for a cake in the shape of the horses head from the Godfather, and a baby shower cake all sitting and waiting for me to be in the mood! And now ive eaten dinner, so im full and tired too! HAHa, Good Luck with that fondant; I usually use the Wilton stuff too!

Well, I hope you get in the mood, I am still not, haha! Yes, I like the Wilton fondant for molding things because it already has a bit of hardener in it and it works well. This stuff just isn't getting hard, I can still use it, but I am not really happy with it. I really do not want to do this cake, haha. But of course, like you, I will!
Hugs Squirrelly

Well since you wanted to see it, here it is. I didn't want to do it in the first place and I am not happy with it so I will likely give it to the customer for a darn good price.
From scratch, double layer, two cake recipes, 9 inch square chocolate cake, cooked chocolate icing, it isn't supposed to be smooth, vanilla buttercream filling. Used a different brand of fondant and added Gum-tex to it but learned that the next time I will stick with the Wilton for molding things. It just wouldn't firm or harden. Dowelled the fire extinguisher and sprinklers.
Used the Wilton icing in the tube red with my writing tip #3 on it and ended up with red icing all over because the darn thing exploded and the bottom of the tube opened up, never again, haha! So I had to make up a batch of red icing, oh joy!
Haha, note to self, don't take on a cake you do not want to do! Well, at least I know it will taste good!
Hugs Squirrelly

Squirrelley Cakes, I don't know what you are talking about ..this cake looks fantastic.. I love the fire extinguisher and the colors are so vivid.. I'm sure your customer will be thrilled with it..
Liz

Thanks Liz, it just wasn't a fun subject for me and everything gave me grief when I was making it. Haha, I don't much like doing sheet cakes either and the last few cakes I have had to do, were not my favourites. Heehee, too bad you can't dictate to the customer what she really wants!
Hugs Squirrelly

Oh it looks great! The sprinkler heads look real! I think we all have done cakes that are just "oh man, im gonna stop doing this because im losing it!" and then they love it! Great Job!

Ginger

That is so true! I just seem to be on a roll lately with having to do cakes that don't appeal to me, funny how that goes!
Hugs Squirrelly

Hehehe, I'd just like to have customers..LOL
I have only had one actual paying customer.. The other cakes I've made have been for friends and my daughters wedding cakes.. This weekend I had some of my cookies for sale at at event.. Not many sold.. but then no one seemed to be selling anything so it wasn't just me. I had some nice remarks on them but not many takers.. I did sell a few of the moose cookies and some cat cookies but I have enough cookies left that I may gain 10 lbs this week..LOL I had a day care for over 25 yrs so I will give them to some of the kids I use to look after. Hope you get some orders that will make you wanna jump for joy.Happy baking.
Liz

SquirrellyCakes, I find sometimes that the more color I have to add, if I need a strong color, the longer it takes for my fondant to set up. It seems to make it a little too moist. Do you have any tricks for that problem, besides not waiting until the last moment to mold them so they don't have time to dry (seems to be an issue with me!)?

Crimson Hair,
I don't know why, but I always found it hard to do well at bake sales when we lived in Northern Ontario. I was involved in a number of volunteer organizations that used bake sales for fundraising. We always found we had to drop the prices really low too. I suspect it is because, for some reason, more folks bake their own things there than they do in Southern Ontario where I found it a lot easier to sell things. Perhaps it is because in Southern Ontario folks are spending so much time getiing to and from work, they have no time? Haha, I know I baked less when we lived in the Toronto area too, likely because I was up at 4 am. and out of the house by 5:15 and not home again until 5pm.
But that is a great idea to give the cookies to your old daycare customers. Heehee or eat them!
Tastycakes, well I add more icing sugar to the fondant as I add colour and that helps a lot. I use about 2 tsp. of Gum-tex powder for every 10 ounces of fondant too. I suspect the Wilton fondant works better because it has a hardening agent. Normally I also make up things more than a week ahead, two to three weeks drying times seems to work well. Plus I tend to dowel things so that they have the extra support, but this last batch really didn't work well.
I have used the Wilton gumpaste mix and it was far too hard for me to manipulate, it hurt my hands. I have mixed up gumpaste using the Gum-tex and it didn't work well for me either. So then I started just adding the Gum-tex powder to my fondant and had a better product. I don't like using marshmallow fondant for these kinds of things because I don't find it as elastic as rolled fondant or gumpaste. It is fine for some things, but for example, I don't like using it for a rope trim as I find it isn't elastic and it tends to crack and dry out really fast as I work with it. I think I will have to start making my own gumpaste and send away for tylose and see if I like it better.
I actually like to use the Wilton fondant on its own, to make certain flower like roses and leaves and such. It holds up really well, in my opinion. I don't worry about the taste because, for a flower and such, well there isn't much taste. Besides, in spite of what a lot of folks say, I honestly don't find a whole lot of difference between marshmallow fondant or homemade fondant or any of the brands. Just that the Wilton one has a hardener in it, to me they taste pretty much the same.
The one drawback on adding Gum-tex is that it does tend to add a bit of a peach coloured tone and of course, it has a bit of a vinegary smell to it.
I don't find adding the colours to fondant to be a problem, but I tend to use the paste colours, I find the gel colours very liquidy when you use them to colour fondant and this does make it messy to work with, you keep having to add a lot more icing sugar.
Of course humidity is a big problem too, but this wasn't really a humid week for us here.
I have only been playing with fondant and gumpaste for about three years, just trying it out. I don't have any information books on it and haven't taken any courses, so I am learning as I go. Pretty well my take to cake decorating as a whole. No professional here, just a kid playing with stuff, haha!
So even though the Wilton fondant is expensive here, for the amount of boxes I use to make molded things and flowers and such, I think I will stick with it until I find something better.
I found from scratch fondant just as expensive to make as buy and a lot more work, haha. So I have only made it a few times. I haven't played too much with marshmallow fondant, just a few times and I didn't really care for using it. It is ok, but that is about it, in my opinion. The only plus is for covering cakes it can be rolled much thinner and it is cheaper to make. It is a lot more work to colour marshmallow fondant as it tends to accept the colour in a marblized way and you really have to work it in. I have tried adding the colour to the water, but don't find it helps much and besides it is hard to determine how much colour to add at that stage.
So much for going to bed early, haha, I did and ended up back on the sites.
Hugs Squirrelly

Squirrelly Cakes you are right about baking not selling well up here, I belong to several organizations and we all have th same problem at our fund raisers.. It is a very small town too so that might have something to do with it.. I was visiting a friend in Sault Ste Marie last week and made some baskets of cookies for her sister and aunt as gifts and they went over so well and they said I should sell them.. Guess you just have to be in the right place at the right time.. Think I will take my baking supplies with me to Florida this winter and treat all the neighbours to cookies and never know I may get a few orders..LOL. As my hubby says.." you bake everyday anyway might as well try to sell some so we both don't get fatter than we are already" LOL

Haha, we used to have trouble with bake sales in the Soo too, I think people expect cookies to go for a nickle, go figure, haha! I just loved living in the Soo, even with the huge amounts of snow we would get, we had so much fun shovelling with the neighbours and getting together. Many fond memories! That would have been my first choice to retire to if I didn't have family here and it was so easy to go over to Michigan too! I found the folks in that area and in Michigan were just so nice and friendly! Haha, one of the best times I can remember was at the Polish Festival in Petoskey, Michigan. And I just loved Mackinac Island!
Living up north gives you so many places to visit, doesn't it? Friendliest folks around!
Well, I guess there are super nice people everywhere you go but I found up north the people were more trusting and honest.
Haha, now stay out of those cookies kiddo!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes