I think your cakes are wonderful!!!

I thank you all so much for your compliments and comments. Really, I wasn't looking for the compliments. It's just that I get completely frustrated with my cakes. What I envision does not seem to translate into reality. It looks perfect in my head, just not on the cake. I have just completed my order for cake dummies to practice on. I'll let you see the results of my "creations". Thank you again. I'll keep practicing.

allow me to share some advice:

"close enough is good enough"

nearly 30 years of directing HS theatre has taught me that.

as a director I envision this perfect set with perfect props, actors delivering lines perfectly while wearing perfect costumes and moving perfectly about the perfect set under perfect lighting with perfect sound and sound effects for the perfect audience.

oh what a HOOT!!! -- ain't gonna happen in this or ANY lifetime!

after all they are called PROfessionals -- as in PROficient! --- not PERfessionals as in PERfect.

Perfect only exists one place that I know of -- heaven -- and I'm not ready to "pay" the entrance fee just yet!

learning to let go of Perfect and accept Proficient -- close enough -- took time.

Practice does NOT make perfect -- if it did, then every one could practice enough to finally never make a mistake -- and just look at all the pros (sports and otherwise) who practice, practice, practice and still BLOW IT! (a certain cake decorator, Duff, comes to mind -- isn't part of the fun of his show....watching them fix the blow outs!?!)

Practice makes proficient -- we know when it's close enough and how to cover up / make the best of those inevitable boo-boos!

-----

now, get back to making more very lovely cakes!

(that little leprechaun is so cute!)

i dont what you are looking at but these cakes DO NOT LOOKhomemade i wish my cakes looked a pinch as good as yours i dont cook that many because i will eat them all up and for some reason i am ADDICATED to the buttercream and i meam addicated to the frosting and trying to keep my weight down thanks dorothy from tenn they ar beautiful

Hey Yellowdog, We're practically neighbors. I live in Roanoke, just 20-30 minutes from you. EVeryone feels the same way as you at some point(S) in time. I know in the 5 years I've been doing this that I have felt that way MANY MANY times. But remember...what your's may lack in that certain something it probably makes up for in love for what you are doing. A "professional" cake decorator is just that. But I know that the people who buy their cakes from me become a friend. "Oh my gosh you mean Johnny is already 6? I remember when I did his first birthday cake." You can't beat that with a "professionally" done cake. It's the coolest thing in the world.

Ya know I have been contemplating this post on and off for awhile now. I think maybe what the original poster meant was not "why are my cakes homemade looking" maybe to her they just look less than what she perceives as "professionally" looking a certain way. Being new to this whole wide world of cake decorating, I still feel very inferrior when it comes to my final cake presentations. I am still learning the ins and outs of getting that "professionally" done look. Like the ribbon on the cakeboards and drums, covering a cake drum with different mediums. The look of gumpaste flowers. You know the little details that really make your cakes POP! So to her she sees all these little details and to her it seems hers are just not up to snuff. Well girl, I for one feel ya. But as we grow and learn and develope our own styles and tricks that "professional" look will develope and your own style will prevail. So keep cakin it!

Your cakes look great!! And at least for me fondant is much easier to work with than BC, some by that standard your doing great! BC takes ALOT OF PRATICE!!! Great start to a great hobby/career!!!

Luv,
Jenn

I love your leprechaun. Really really nice work.

Less great, look at your edges and corners. Edges that should be straight should be... straight. Corners should be straight and square.

They definitely don't look like you slapped some store bought icing on them! You have talent! The only negative thing I noticed when I scanned your pics quickly was that some of the borders weren't straight and some of the cakes looked like they weren't level (could have been camera angle though). But the overall impression I got was that you do great work! I would just suggest going it slower if necessary. If you pipe on a border and notice it isn't quite right, try to get it off, or when it's dry, gently ease it into place. If you level the cake and it doesn't seem right, carve it a little more or ice it to allow for that problem. Just keep on plugging, you're off to an awesome start!