It's nice to make some money here and there, but where to find the TIME??? And I'm going back to work in a month or two... no way... it's midnight, two cakes are cooling, a third is in the oven (because of the concave issues). I am defrosting my icing I made a couple weeks ago and I'm dead tired. Cake is due tomorrow at 2 pm... I know as soon as that cake is out of the oven, I'm going to bed, getting up at 6 am and doing the bad mommy thing of letting my toddler watch TV while I frantically finish this cake - like ALWAYS...

I'm just too tired in the evening and too busy with family stuff at other times of the day. have a toddler schedule and an active 10 year old's schedule keeps me on my toes - plus the never ending house crap...

How do you all do it with family and little kids???

melissa

After being at the kitchen til 4 AM yesterday with my boys in tow because DH had to work til 5 AM - I don't know.

Rachel

I'm having a hard time too. Wish I had some advice--but I need it too.

I'm just getting started with this whole cake business, and I have a 15 month old who is all over when I'm home because I also work full time. It's hard, but when I see the expression on the people's faces when they see my cakes or other baked goods, it makes it worth it. I'm always tired, but I'm hoping to be more organized. try baking the cakes ahead of time and freezing them. That might help a bit.

I was just talking with my husband about this! I think I would only do it as a hobby at this time (well, my cakes are not good enough to sell now anyhow!). I have a 6 yo, a 4 yo, a 2 yo and a 4 month old, and I homeschool, so life is busy! But I do enjoy doing it on my time frame, no deadlines, and when I do decorate, it is at night after the kiddos are asleep. But they also love to watch, so sometimes I will do it during the day (more work and patience, but I know it is fun for them). So right now my time making cakes is for friends and family, and for honing my skills so maybe one day, years down the road, maybe (???) it will turn into more. I just don't want to lose the joy of baking, which I have always loved. I used to make baked goods (biscotti, bread, cookies) for our local farmers market, and with little ones, it took so much of my time away from them, and it took the joy out of my baking because I HAD to do it. So that didn't last long! Now it is fun and on my time, and I love it.

I know what you mean. I stayed up to 2am making Bridal shower cookies, shipped them via Fed-Ex (priorty), and they didn't make it there on time

pmw109 you are so right about baking and freezing ahead of time! That little trick has helped me immensely and I only bake for friends and family right now!! But with a full-time and part-time job, as well as being back in school and my bellydance troupe...I have no spare time.
I will take all the suggestions and hints I can get!!! keep them coming....

(TUG - I love!!!!! your avatar photo)

I don't have any children and you all have my deepest admiration!!!! for not only trying to have your own life, but for making the lives around you your priority.
Cakes Off to You!!!

Wow this topic hit home tonight. I was just sulking how I have no time to do cakes and there is always someone underfoot. I just finished a christening cake for tomorrow and it is horrible I have only done a handful of cakes for friends and family and I just feel like I don't have the time to give them the attention they deserve.

Oh, I left out that I have a 2 yr old and a 3 1/2 yr old who are always awake! I decorate after they are asleep but I am exhausted then and end up all night Maybe in a few years I'll have more time

give me an oar, I'm in the same boat as you guys.

Mine may be a bit more on the extreme...

I have a four month old as well as SEVEN other children ( ages 2 through 16 )and I homeschool too. I hit the ground running ever morning.

I want so much to be in the kitchen doing cool stuff with icing but there just isn't time.

Someday I'll be able to decorate in the daylight....sigh.

mommachris

It was so refreshing to read this after I just finished making 7 doz. royal icing daisies for cupcakes next weekend! I have a 4 yo, 2 yo and a 6 mo. and I can only get my stuff done when they are sleeping. I usually do my baking during the day when they nap and then after hubby is home, I get out the frosting and stay up late decorating. I'm tired but I love what I do and accept the sacrifice of staying up late so I can enjoy my time with my kids during the day. Plus I only accept a couple of orders a week. Graduation is next weekend so I'm trying to get ahead of the game

I got in a jam over doing too much with little time this past week. I talked my husband into baking the cake for me. I gave him the recipe and told him to follow it exactly. I had him put 3 inch towel strips around the pans, (whoever on CC came up with this idea, I have a pedestal to put you on!!!!)
and bake away. His cake turned out sooooo good that I have him convinced that he will do the baking because mine don't turn out as well as his do, and I will do the decorating. You would not believe how much help he was. So, that is how I have added more time for this. We'll see how long it is going to last. I am going to enjoy for now!!!lol

Lu

Listen Ladies, I know just where you are coming from, I have been a nut over this cake decorating thing for years, but I was too busy raising 2 boys alone...so...I finally got them grown, finally got in a place to take the classes and finally decided I was good enough to pursue cake decorating. Sometimes things that you love have to be put on the back burner for awhile, that doesn't mean you are throwing in the towel on something you love, it just means you do the best you can and don't beat yourself up when you can't. Trust me, your love for cake decorating isn't going to go away...and the day will come when you can give it all the time you want. Don't get discouraged...just do what you can and it will all come out right for you. Linda

lovincake,

I like that!

What is the saying?

All good things come for those that wait!??

Something like that.

Lu

lovincake, that is some great advice. I work full time as a real estate agent, and I have 3 little ones (8, 4, and 2). I try to decorate after they go to bed, and that can get pretty late. My husband is a stay at home dad right now until my mom gets back from overseas in a month, but I can only see it getting harder when he isn't around all day.

Organize, prioritize (?) make a plan and stick to it.
Easier said than done.

Try spreading the process over a few days.
Bake and freeze one day.
make icing,tint and bag one day.
decorate day befofe you need it delivered or picked up. This way you are not overwhelmed and if something happens and you need to redo or adjust you still have time and aren't frazzeled.
Don't take on more than you can handle.
Once you go back to work bake only when you want to!!!

Sometimes I wonder where I find time to bake I have three children ages 6, 4, and 21 months and I work 40+ hours a week at one of the busiest pharmacies in the state.. what can I say other than the fact that I love what I do and I may be a glutton for punishment lol
Happy Baking

Well, it seems I'm not alone in this. I do know it gets better. When our oldest son got to be about 6 or 7 I had much more time to pursue other things. Then, when he was 8.5, we had #2 and life ended again. This time, at least, I know that we will get our lives back.

I just won't pursue cakes. I'll make them for friends and earn a little here and a little there, but I'm not going into high gear for so many reasons - lack of time being #1 and lack of true talent #2! LOL

Melissa

I also bake as a hobby for friends and family, work full time and have 2 little boys. There's no way that I would consider pursuing this as anything other than a hobby, I find it relaxing and enjoyable and I don't want it to become stressful. I bake and decorate on my own terms. I bake and freeze in advance, which is wonderful (I currently have 137 cupcakes in my standup freezer), also if I don't get 2 weeks notice I can't do it.

What about not having enough time on Cake Central! I have a 4 yr old and a 6 month old (that does not sleep well at all) and I don't have time to bake, but also find I am staying up to all hours on CC when I don't have a cake to do, funny what takes priority over sleeps sometimes! Sorry, guess I don't have any good advice for you!

I started out making character cakes when my kids were smaller and now that they are 17, 11 and 8 I have had lots of practice and people are paying me to make cakes for them. It seems like I'm still rushed and there are things I don't get done when there is a cake due, but I love doing it and my husband and kids are supportive. My kids make me feel terrific when they brag about my cakes to their friends. Also, I make about $400 a month in extra cash, and that never hurts!

Keep up your hobby and keep practicing. Enjoy your babies while you can, they grow up so fast.

I definitely agree with you, dolphin. I read somewhere else that someone said that decorators have to be extremely organized in otder to make this work...I am learning that!

I committed to a huge (for me) cake donation (4 tier: 16, 12, 10, to my church over the weekend. I kept procrastinating and procrastinating. I ended up ad-libbing it the entire night, cause I had not planned properly. I literally ended up staying up all night to barely finish it right before dropping it off at 8 this morning. What crushed me is that the final product was nothing like the initial vision I had for this cake...all because I failed to plan. My husband made me promise to plan each project in detail going forward as he wiped tears of frustration from MY face this morning. Lesson learned: I will plan each project and break it up into smaller pieces...'cause this was the first time I quietly thought that maybe this isn't for me.

Well here I was thinking I would sound like a if I expressed my true feelings about it all. I'm glad someone had the heart to say it. I really want to do the cake decorating thing and I have spent a ton of money on it so far. But, like so many others before me, I have 3 kids (21 mos, 5 and 12) and I work a full-time midnight job. Killer is the best way to describe my days. Sometimes I get down on myself because I don't practice as much as I should and I threaten to quit but DH steps in and says, "you can't quit, you've spent too much money on all this stuff". He works a full-time plus OT job at the UPSP and he also does wedding photography. Way, way too busy! Am I crazy to even think that I can pull this off?



Sleepy Angie

Nobody is crazy for living their dream! My dh is overseas right now, I have 2 1/2 yr old twins (one with special needs), and I opened up for business in Jan this year. When I decorate, my kids are at their table playing with the play-doh. My ds can make a pretty good rose now, and my dd tells me if the cake looks "gorgeous" or not.
Nap time is great, if taken, otherwise I am a vampire. But I can't stop what I love doing, it's just not in me.

For every thing there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven...Ecclesiastes 3:1
When my kids were little, I made their birthday cakes and family holiday cakes, with a couple for close friends thrown in. Now that they are 14 (twins,boy/girl) I'm taking more projects and they help me alot.
Cake decorating is my creative outlet and I refuse to take on more than my life will let me. So for those with small children: take it easy, practice your craft and enjoy your kids. Believe me, addtional cake orders will be there when your kids are older