Need Help In Getting Cake Decorating "necesities"
Decorating By an_g3la Updated 8 Apr 2007 , 11:15pm by bethyboop
i just got into cake decorating and i'm loving it...but it costs a lot for a student like me...i'm just starting to buy stuff for cake decorating and for baking too...
i've been checking posts for the cheapest things 
i get confused with all these sites...thay have almost the same prices but i guess it's the shipping that costs too much..i currently buy from michaels bec. of the
40 % coupon...can you suggest other stores where i can get my "neccesities"
what things should i buy first? i only have 2 cake pans so i figured this should be the first on my list 
where do i get those sets at a cheap price?
thanks so much...
Walmart has a small cake decorating section with Wilton supplies and the prices are less than Michaels (unless you're using the 40% coupon). JoAnne's has decorating supplies as well and they will honor the Michael's coupon and vice versa.
If you are in the states Hobby Lobby has a 40% coupon on the internet you can print off and have lots of cake stuff. I purchased drywall scrapers from the hardware store for about $1.49 for the plastic ones and they are great for icing your cake. Pvc piping comes in different lengths to use as rolling pins and are alot cheaper. There are some good deals on ebay sometimes but you have to know your prices. Shipping to Canada can get expensive but I only buy off ebay when I can't get it here.
I have some extra pans if you would want them..cheeply... Im also a student and I have been looking around at yard sales and things like that someone always has stuff that is useful and for almost nothing. My best example is I really wanted a stand mixer, didnt have that much cash - i found an awesome "old" one at a sale (for $3 and it works perfectly!)
The best thing is to be creative, pyrex bowls double as "cake pans" and sometimes getting into a rest. supply store will get you better things that are less expensive. goodluck
pm me if u are interested in any pans - i have a few extra shapes/character ones.
thanks for your suggestions...i didn't know that you can print out coupons from hobby lobby that is as much as 40%...i know michael's also accepts competitor's coupon so i could use hobby lobby's since we they don't have a store in our area
i'm also interested in buying your old pans
thanks for all your help...
I get AC Moore coupons on the computer weekly; but my Michael's doesn't accept the ones you print out yourself. They only take ones you cut from a flyer of a competitor.
I received an email today from Hobby Lobby for 40% off of all wilton products, I am attaching the link, hope this helps you out... you have to have the coupon to get it, and the amount you can buy is unlimited. I print and reprint this for the week of the sale because I go more than once, I always forget something!
http://www.hobbylobby.com/site3/weekly/coupon.cfm
Don't buy a special brush to apply your pan grease like Wilton tells you .... shove your hand inside a sandwich baggie or use a sheet of wax paper to grease your pans. Don't buy those U-shaped plastic flower formers .... cut the inside core of paper towels in half and you'll get two U-shaped channels to set your flowers in. You can buy a box of 50 disposable decorating bags cheaper than you can buy 2 or 3 re-useable ones (faster clean up, too!). No need to buy special containers to store pre-made flowers .... use egg cartons (I'd love to take credit for this one, but I read that in a thread on here one time!).
Put "cake stuff" on all of your birthday and christmas lists! Or better yet, put "gift card to (cake supply store)" so you can pick out exactly what you need!
You may want to try ebay for pan sets. My local cake supply rents cake pans for a dollar a day. You might have something like this available in your area.
Find out if your area has a local ICES (International Cake Exploration Societe) chapter. Most of the Days of Sharing events include a 'garage sale' where decorators sell items they no longer want.
I am a penny pincher as well. I use coupons from all the craft stores (Micheals, Joann, AC Moore, HL). AC Moore does usually have better deals than the others on certain items like candy melts.
Look for items in isles other than the cake isle.
Clay shape cutters are much cheaper. I also noticed that Micheals had some letter cutters on the clay isle. I frequent the scrapbook isle as well for things such as cake board paper, stencils, etc. When the paper goes on sell, I buy several pieces. If you get interested in using luster dust, you can use non-toxic chalks found on the stamp isle or the drawing isle. Also, check out ebay. Sometimes you'll find a good deal there.
Good luck!
thank you for all of your advice, and the great question. I too am a new to decorating and have/had the same the question about deals. I also saw one time a decorator made a book cake and used rubber stamps from the scrapbook isle to creat the book cover.
thanks for the tips.
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