I Am New To Cake Decorating And Have Some Questions
Decorating By lipbalmcollector Updated 15 May 2007 , 6:08pm by jobartwo
First of all, I have someone that wants me to make a graduation cake for them. It needs to feed around 60 people.
I am collecting ideas from this site as to different cakes, I think I could actually do,just by looking at the pictures I have saved.
How do you figure out what to charge? What size of a cake to bake? and can one work with fondant without having to take classes? I get the idea that you cover the cake in buttercream frosting and then put the fondant on.
Please tell me I can do this,thanks for all your help in advance. 
First off Welcome to CakeCentral. You will find a wealth of knowledge on here that will help you through anything!
So lets take this one at a time.
How do you figure out what to charge?
I charge per serving. I figure my serving sizes to be 2x2x2 for single layer cakes and 1x2x4 for double layer cakes. It is the same amount of cake just cut differently.
What size of a cake to bake?
What size will be determined by how many people you need to feed and what type of design you are planning on doing. A sheet cake vs a circle or round will give you different serving amounts and different surfaces to decorate.
and can one work with fondant without having to take classes?
I worked with fondant before I took a class. I would highly recommend doing a test run just so you get an idea of what you will need to be doing. i have a white present cake in my photos that was my first fondant cake. I just made a one layer cake and some fondant (all in one color b/c that was beyond what I wanted to do) and spent about a day to do all of it just to get a feel for it. It helped a lot and I have gotten a lot more comfortable with it over time.
Please tell me I can do this,thanks for all your help in advance.
You can absolutely do anything you want to do!! And do NOT think any question you have is stupid! If you come across a question add it to this topic or search the forums you will be amazed at all of the information that is in the forums already =)
Can't wait to see the cake!
Can you post links to some of the cakes that you are thinking about doing so maybe we can give you some pointers to make it a little easier for you?
I second all of that and WELCOME TO CC, YOUR BOUND TO NEVER LEAVE !!!!
Welcome to CC!! And totally agree with the pp. Either make some fondant, here is the link to fondant recipes. Many CC'ers love Rhonda's Ultimate MMF...
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Recipes&sort=recipename&sort_dir=ASC&op=search&chname=X&chingredients=X&searchtext=fondant&cat_id=-1
Or purchase some to use for practice. The wilton fondant is not tasty, but is real good for practicing with to get the hang of fonant. And most of all...Good luck and have fun with your cake, we would love to see a pic of it! Jen
Hi and Welcome, lipbalmcollector. 
Here's a list of CC acronyms:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-2926-.html
And a very heavily linked thread with info on doctoring cake mixes, less sweet frosting recipes, how to make a cake, tiered cake, whimsical cake, Wilton cake preparation/serving guides, flower nail trick, making your own pan grease, torting & filling and so much more:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-66313-.html
HTH
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