How Did You End Up In The Cake World?
Decorating By CakesbyMonica Updated 27 Apr 2007 , 12:56pm by jules06
My BIL's step dad owned a bakery here in Nothwest Indiana and I grew up around there. I always wanted to try my hand at decorating because I loved watching them create the cakes but never was able to till about a year ago. That bakery closed a few years ago so I had to get cakes somewhere else. I did not like any of the cakes I was getting so I decided to take classes and start doing them for myself and I love it as much as I thought I would.
For me decorating cakes is fullfilling a lifelong dream. When I was about nine I went to a birth-d party and they had a beautiful sheet cake decorated with big pink bc roses. I was amazed by it and knew I had to learn to do that some day. I have been buying cake decorating books all along and tried my hand at it often through the years. I always looked for places to take the Wilton courses, and if we happened to live someplace that offered them it would be impossible for me to take them. Well, finally at age 47, I have taken all of them in the past 6 months and signed up for the new one next month. I have my first order for a wedding cake in June and have made several cakes in the last few months for birthdays and such. I love this site, I have learned as much or more on here than in the classes! But the best part is that my instructor has asked me to be a sub for him so I am going to be an instructor too!!! Thanks so much CC! Linda 
Thanks everyone for sharing your stories. Its so amazing how we all came from such different places and can be here to help each other.
What a cool thread!
My mom is one of those people who can learn anything and do it with amazing perfection on her first try (I like to think I got a few of those genes, but not quite all of them- knitting really eludes me). She decorated cakes for a few years when I was growing up, just for family. Since then, I hadn't given it another thought until...
My hubby's bd last November. We had NO money and he said don't get me anything. I said, "Can I at least bake you a cake?" and he agreed to that- I found CC, saw a few Ace of Cakes episodes, took all the Wilton Courses, and now I'm hooked and considering renting a kitchen space to do it for income.
Thanks CC! And, CakesbyMonica- keep doing what you love and keep following your dream!
When I was younger, my aunt had taken the wilton courses, and showed me a little bit, but she grew out of that phase, and I didn't know how to do it on my own. Since then, I had always had an interest, but never ventured into it.
In late 2004, at the job that I had, I was aprt of the "Spirit Squad" OUr sole purpose was to raise and maintain a good morale in the customer care center. The big thing was doing something special one weekend a month at least. For February, nothing was planned, so I decided to bring a cake in for Valentine's Day. But this wasn't going to be any ordinary cake, the was gonna be a tiered cake!! I remember my aunt doing then, and it was no sweat! HAHAHA, so I thought. I had bought the carousel seperator plates, which I remembered to dowel underneath. The clown seperator plates I had bought, the person had taped the 2 plates together and I didn't realized it wasn't supposed to be like that. I put dowels under the clowns feet, which were directly on the cake, and had the plate holding the cake above it. The dowels slipped into the holes of the clown's feet and the whole cake toppled over. Only messed the frosting up a little, which I fixed, and I just set the 3 cakes on the table next to each other. From that point on, I was determined to learn how to decorate them properly. March of 2005 I found this site, and it as been glorious ever since!
I had worked for about 21 years as a Legal Secretary and I had decided to quit working to babysit my granddaughter.
I have six granchildren, five grandsons and one granddaughter. Of course, when the grandaughter turned a year old, I was going to make her birthday cake, my niece had taken the Wilton classes and she helped make the cake.
Well, needless to say, I was hooked. A week later I signed up for classes and it's the best decision I have ever made. I've been teaching the Wilton Method of cake decorating for about five years now, LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT!
My mom took the Wilton classes when I was a kid, and made cake for any occation that came up on the military bases we were stationed at. I picked up a few technics, but never got the bug for it. About 6 or 7 years ago, I took a job a grocery store bakery, and needless to say I was hooked. I then took the Wilton classes myself, and had SO much fun I became a WMI. I've been teaching for close to 3 years now. I still do cakes for family and friends, but what I really want to do is have my own cake shop. Where I can do it full time. But for now I am content being pregnant and making cakes for my two girls and hubby.
I think I have been making cakes my whole life. I made my first cake at 8 years old and have always loved baking.
I moved to Europe when I ws 22 and a friend visited the states and brought back a character pan and Wilton Yearbook. She asked me if I knew how to decorate and I said yes (what was I thinking???) We made that cake and people went nuts at the party, no one had ever seen a character pan. So we ordered almost every pan Wilton had and started a business. I had soooo much fun and was known as the "American" that did cakes, cookies, pies and jello jiggles.
When I moved back to the states 13 years ago I quit as I figured everyone could get the Wilton pans here - so who would need me.
I owned my own business for a while (children's paint - just like color flow but not eatable) and also worked as a visual designer at the local Macy's - awesome job - terrible boss!!!
I quit a year ago as I could not stand my boss and my girlfriend ordered a cake the next day. I told her I don't do cakes and she said why not, you made them every weekend for 4 years at wrestling season and you use to do cakes, so why not?? And I thought why not??
So now I am a Wilton Instructor, took Colette Peters class in Chicago at the Wilton School and started my own company plus did my first Bridal Show. Wow what a great ride this has been and my family is wonderful to support me.
Now at 50 it will be cakes till I die. I wonder why did I ever leave them but that is OK as I am back and having the most fun!!!!!
This is so cool....I have read through this thread and it is awesome that so many of us sarted out through our mothers, grandmothers, aunts or some form of family. Talk about handing down traditions. I also learned from my mother who took the wilton classes when I was a child. She taught me some basics and then when I was grown I made cakes for my childrens birthday's and family. I kept learning differnet things on my own and the in 1998 I started selling to the public (through alot of encouraging from family and friends). I love it !!!!!
When I was 16 I worked a a Dairy Queen, and they taught me how to decorate cakes. It was simple decorating, tracing & filling in with piping gel, roses and shell borders mostly, but it got me going. I didn't really decorate after I stopped working there, but picked it up again four years ago when I became a stay at home mom. Now I do wedding cakes and know a lot about decorating! It's so much fun!
I worked in a restaurant and was in charge of the birthday and holiday celebrations. I would bake a cake and decorate it (trial and error) just for fun. One of the girls I worked with liked my cakes and asked if I would make her wedding cake. I had never done a wedding cake before. She loved her wedding cake and told me I should be doing it full time. Other friends told me the same thing. I got a job in a bakery. The head cake decorator told me she wouldn't have hired me if she knew I was left handed. She said that there are no left handed cake decorators. Guess I proved her wrong!!! 
When I was 17 I married a man who was born and rasied in a very very small place in Southeastern Kentucky. Very hard to get use to at first being a city girl, who came from a place up in Ohio where, you could find just about any type of store and didn't have to drive an hour to get there. At the time we married the only place to get a cake was Piggly Wiggly almost an hours drive. My mother in law could do a little decorating and would make cakes for her family or holidays. So when my son was born I wanted to do his cake and she show me a few things and it started from there. I never had any glasses because there was no where close that had them, but I wish I could have, so I could have learn more then what I know. I stop doing cakes after my daughters second birthday. I mostly did crafts for baby showers or birthday parties, like game books, party favors, decorations, ect.. I would also do cookies for holidays and this year was my 1st for doing Easter, I never did another cake till my grand daughters 4th. birthday this year. In the time that I have join CC I have learn so much from so many being helpful in giving advice to sharing tips, ideas, recipes, that it's like taking the classes I didn't get to take 24 yrs. ago. If it hadn't been for CC I don't think I would have ever pick up fondant or gumpaste and gave it a try. So thanks for a site like CC and all the wonderful people on it.
It's great to read everyone's stories, its like getting to know a new friend! So I will join in now, I have always loved to cook and bake. My mom would have me in my high chair in the kitchen, I learned everything from her. I went to school as a political science major and discovered I hated it. I decided to take a few cooking classes at the local culinary school, I then decided I would be a chef and have my own restaurant. I wanted to take a fun class over the summer, so I chose cake decorating. (I baked cakes all the time, I didn't know how to decorate them.) I fell in love!!! I changed my major I am now going to be a pastry chef and have a bakery. I make the cakes for any family party we have, I get plenty of practice with 5 sisters and 1 brother. I also make them for my closest friends as gifts. They love to receive cakes or cookies for their birthdays because they know I make them with lots of love especially for them!
Erica
I started about a year ago taking the Wilton classes. I did it because I wanted to make my parents 50th anniversary cake and was giving myself a couple of years to practice. I took all of the Wilton classes and started making cakes for family and friends. Then a friend of mine wanted to take the classes and I took them again so that she didn't have to do them alone. After taking each class twice my WMI asked if I wanted to become an instructor so that she could spend more time with her family. I have been teaching for four months now and am having a lot of fun teaching others.
I still have a couple more years to "practice" for my folks cake, but am having a great time doing all of those practice cakes!I hope to one day be 1/2 as good as all of the talented people here on CC!
(Once I figure how to get my pictures uploaded onto the site; I'll show everyone my cakes, too!)
I was a broke teen that had a mom that was so awesome and cool that I wanted to do something for her for her bday. We had cake mix, powdered sugar and the rest of the fixins so I grabbed a bowl, some pans and off I ran. I am still playing and running today...My oldest is also into this, so we are having a ball.
Patricia
My mom used to make our cakes when we were really little too! I was one of those kids raised by "you'll get what I give you and nothing else" kinda mentality. We were happy with what we had. Nothing special for cakes, but we were awed by them. She mostly took the picture from our invites and transferred them onto the 9x13 cake and filled them in. Actually quite good for having no experience. I really hope my daughter picks up the skills for it, too. But she's 2, so she's got some time. 
Any more beginnings to share?
For me it started when I saw a really cute but simple castle cake on the internet and I thought that would be perfect for my daughter's upcoming birthday (I think it was her 3rd). I found out I really enjoyed making it, even though I knew nothing about leveling or decorating back then and just used canned frosting as is. I didn't even have any tips, so it came out rather crooked and looking like my 3 year-old daughter made it.
I kept my eyes open for cute cake designs and just kept making cute birthday cakes for my kids. Then I was at church for a meeting and there was a youth group in the kitchen learning some cake decorating basics. The wife of the man running my meeting was teaching the cake decorating, she's a Wilton instructor and I found out where and when I could take her class and I'm so glad I did.
It's so great to finally have a hobby and something I love to do this much. I'd been getting very frustrated not having anything to do besides housework and being a mom (don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a mom, but a little variety is nice. I will never claim to love housework, though). Anyway, I really excited - and a little nervous - because I'm doing my first wedding cake in May for my brother-in-law. I love this website too - I've learned more here than I ever could in any classes. I don't post a lot because I feel too new to have very much to contribute, and I'm still too nervous about posting pictures, but maybe soon. Thanks to everyone who makes this such a great site.
I got into cakes because of my daughter, she has just turned 14. For years she has been saying that she wants to be a pastry chef. So last fall we took Wilton I, II, & III together. We had a great time doing together. And in the process I discovered my love for cakes too. But she is also growing with me!! Awesome to have a 14 year old having fun in the kitchen with mom
My parents decided that my sister and I had to much "junk" so for Chirstmas they decided that they would pay for us to take Wilton 1 at a local bakery. We took the course in January and since then I have been having fun. I bake mostly for my family but have baked for my childrens schools. For now it's just a hobby and for fun but years from now...who knows.
Sherry
I started making cakes in high school & intermittently through the years I would do bday cakes & wedding cakes for family - nothing fancy,mind you !!
A couple of years ago, I saw an ad for cake decorating classes in the local paper & I've been obsessed with it ever since !! My teacher is a member of the cake dec. association & teaches full-time. Sue teaches us anything we want to do from gumpaste wildflowers, fondant figures, chocolate making - if we can think of it, she'll teach us ! I love it..& being a single mum of 5 it's nice to get out one night a week & socialise with other women !!
Sorry this is so long 
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