Well this is my first post ever to CC, although I've read quite a few. I must say I do love this site!!
My delema is this: I'm a daughter of a great cake decorator. I however, just don't get it! 
I'm in my Wilton I Course and I have so many issues. I can never get my icing consistency correct, I can't get my cakes iced flat, and I just don't have the creativity.
I was preparing my cake last night for class and my husband comes up and helps me get it smooth. I start crying, he asks why. I explain to him that it should be in my genes and I just dont' get it. Then here he comes to "save the day". he tries to make me feel better by saying "well maybe we can be a duo and work together to get cakes done". Sweet guesture, however I was hoping I could have something to call my own. (He does computers/websites and that's his thing, ya know?).
Anyways, I really have no idea what this post was for, just wanted to vent and cry and express my feelings and knew that this was the place to do it. It seems like I'm the worst cake decorator ever and that I lack the creativity. I dont' know where to start or if I should just give up and realize I'll never be as good as my "daddy". I also think part of these feelings are because he's no longer on this earth and when I do it, it makes me miss him. Like I wish he could be here to guide me.
Am I silly and just taking this way to seriously? Any and all advice would probably make me smile again. At this point, I have no desire to even go to my last 2 classes. I bake great even cakes, just can't decorate them.
What's a girl to do?
Sorry for the long post. Thanks for listening.
Ginny
I am sorry you feel so bad! I wish you lived closer to MS- b/c I would totally let you bake my cakes- that is the part I hate!
Give it time- I am sure you will get the hang of it.......Also, try different mediums- fondant, gumpaste, royal, etc. Just because you are not that good at the smoothing, does not mean you are not an awesome decorater! Keep your chin up!
Sweetie, we all have been there at one time. I got so excited in the beginning that I decided my first cake would by my son's B-day cake. BIG mistake. I tried to do a red and blue Spiderman cake. Let's just say I manage to dye everyone's tongues and that was about it!
You will get it. Hang in there, and know that we are all behind you rooting for you! Welcome to CC!
Don't worry! My first cake suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked. Horribly. Just keep practicing and you'll get it! Also, what thickness did you use to ice your cake? Thin usually works well for me.
I'll tell you what a girl is to do. Go to her classes! I'm sorry you're felling depressed. Here is a hug! It may take some time but you will get better, I know it. When we all started we had problems. I like it when my icing melts off my cakes. It still happens. If we didn't have problems we couldn't learn from them. You'll be all right. I'm sure you're dad would have been proud just to know that you are trying. 
Well Thank you all for the support.
I'm just getting very discourage and don't have that much confidence in myself. (a problem I've been dealing with for all 24 yrs of my life).
I am using thin to ice, but am having problems getting the "stiff" just the right "stiff" LOL and the medium as well. The thin icing is fine.
Thanks again for all the replies. I can definately see this site will be awesome for support.
I guess I just need to see "the light at the end of the tunnel" so to speak.
I doubt that you Daddy was perfect when he first started out!!! You have to learn the basics before you can be great and creative!! Give yourself a chance to learn. You can't be a great cake decorator through osmosis, you have to learn it for yourself. If you truly want to be good, you will be.
Dont worry.. I still have issues with smooth icing and am not that ceative at all.. Thank goodness for this site.
I'm so sorry about your icing thing. Mine isn't really smooth either, I wish I could post pics, but we're not online at home and it won't let me at work 
. Anyway, we all struggle sometimes and just need a little pick me up. I too have the decorator genes in me. My grandmother, apparently was a fabulous decorator and had her own shop in Winston-Salem, NC back when everybody bought everything including their bread at the local bakery. She did it all! I didn't even know this until a few months ago and she passed away in 1988. I feel like I missed out on a lot of bonding time with her and that part of my heritage was stolen from me. Anywho, I try not to dwell on it and just remember that I may never live up to her skills, but I can enjoy what I do with MY cakes. I'm sure she would be proud of me for giving it my best as your dad is of you. Keep up the practice, even though your icing may not be smooth, I've found that most times you can stick decorations over the worst parts to hide it 
. When all else fails......cheat!
Tonya
My most creative cakes start with someone else's idea! I can modify designs, or copy an invitation, but to come up with something totally on my own is very tough for me! And I've been doing this since I was 8 years old! You'd think by now I'd be coming up with spectacular designs. I usually Google the theme and see what everyone else has done, then modify to my ability.
As for getting cakes smooth, use the Viva method! When your icing just starts to crust put Viva paper towel on top and smooth it out - I use a fondant smoother over it - works like a charm!! If you don't use a crusting frosting, then try either a hot spatula or a very cold one - see which works best with your icing. This is also why I LOVE fondant!! I am not always happy with how smooth I can get my cakes, fondant always looks great. Or I use cornili lace or stars, flowers, fondant cut outs, whatever it take to cover up what I don't like!
It takes time, think about it - it has taken me almost 30 years! LOL! Don't worry, you will get there. You just have to find out what medium will work best for you. What worked best for your dad may not be your style. Keep trying!
Plus that fact that you can bake a great cake is HUGE! I just use a mix 
Plus it might help if you post a few pictures - that's ALWAYS a good ego boost here!!! 
Just thought I would pass along a tip for getting your icing smooth- It's the Viva paper towel method.......crumb coat your cake, ice it with a crusting BC, then after it has crusted slightly, lay your Viva on top and smooth with your hand or a fondant smoother! It is like magic.........also, if you don't have a Viva, you can use a sheet of computer paper! Try it and see! But it has to be a crusting BC or it will stick to the paper!
Too funny redhotmomof3!!! We must have posted at the same time 
See daisygurlvb - it MUST be a good way to smooth your frosting! 
Daisy, I'm in MA, too. Let me know if you ever want to get together and talk cakes...or better yet, play with practice cakes! Sometimes all it takes is a little support. We've all been there, trust me!
I am new to this but I think I have an idea what the prblem is... First of all we are all our own worst critics. Check out the thread where peple were asked to post their worst cakes ever. Yes some of them were needing help but if you listen to the descriptions they were much more critical (and funny) then the actual cakes were. AND most of the peple on there have been at this a very long time.
Don't give up, you'll find your groove and remember, to quote my husband, "even the goof ups taste good."
I agree with MsTonyasCakes with the "cheating" part. I have hidden the mistakes with decorations numerous times . Aside from that I have found the Crusting Buttercream Icing (viva method) recipe here on CC to work the best for me. Chin up and practice. One day you'll realize it's working out.
I know SweetResults! I went back to read and thought "That was not there when I posted mine! LOL! " Great minds think alike! LOL!
It doesn't sound like you've been trying for too long, so you definitely gotta be patient and take the classes and learn all you can.
And in the end, if you just can't do it, you just can't do it. My mom can draw wonderful pictures just by looking at something or even without looking at something. Me? I can't draw stick people! We're both creative, just in our own ways. So your creativity may need to be directed in another area, but don't give up just yet!
Thank you to all for the support.
I'll keep trying.
Hey ginny, I'm sure you will be fine. Experience is the best teacher, so practice, and go to your classes. I know how hard it is to loose your Daddy. I lost mine 18 yrs ago, and I miss him like it was yesterday.
My Daddy, (and I did call him Daddy until the day he left this world), didn't decorate cakes, but he was the best fix-it man ever. So when I need something fixed, I let him help me. I feel him with me always, and I know he helps me just like when I was growing up. I can even feel the warmth of his smile when I don't do things just right. So let yours help you too. It helps. Let him, along with all of your new CC family, help you on your way.
Ok daisygurlvb, you think it should be in your genes? Me too!!! My Grandfather & Uncle were Pastry Chefs for Big named establishments in their time, and my sister has been a baker/decorator for 26 yrs. Me?, here I am at 48 just starting!!! Don't be so hard on yourself dear, for as you can see there is a ton of support for you here at C.C. Many of us are starters right along with you and with any luck and a lot of practice we will all learn how to enjoy our craft. Your never alone here, and I thank all the Cake Angels on this site for lifting us up everytime we need it. So keep smiling, keep baking, & keep trying, your safe in this cake haven.
Gloria I
daisygurlvb,
Sorry you are feeling depressed and sorry to here about your father. Hugs to you! But one thing i know about that Wilton icing recipe is that, in my personal opinion, it's nasty! And it's not easy to get smooth. I actually use a non-crusting icing now and love it! It's from the Whimsical Bakehouse book(called their House Buttercream) and I LOVE working with it. It is smooth and forgiving and not as sweet as most buttercreams. Just remember Wilton is teaching their way of decorating which isn't necessarily the best way for you...you have to decide that. Learn what you can from the class and then practise your own style...it takes a while to figure it out. And if you have the baking down then you're already half way there!
Finish your class if you can and want to and then go from there. You might not enjoy cake decorating as much as your father did and that's ok!
Most of what I do in decorating is from practicing and from looking at other people's ideas. I just didn't like the Wilton classes. I felt like we didn't get enough one on one help as we had a huge class. The instructor was very nice but just didn't have the time to devote to each of us.
I made horrible roses and finally realized that my icing was not thick enough. Now I can make a passable rose. Not as good as most on CC but passable. I'll just keep practicing. Same for smoothing cakes--takes practice, practice, practice.
So don't get too discouraged. I'm sure your dad would be proud of you and he knows that you'll be a great decorator one of these days. Tough to lose a parent. My mom died 3 1/2 years ago and I think of her every day and miss her every day.
diane
I too am trying to learn this stuff. I am trying to teach myself because I don't have the money for classes right now. It's frustrating but I'm sure after awhile it will just click. I couldn't do the shell border on the one cake I posted in my gallery. I guess I had to small of tip or something. I got a new tip and I CAN DO IT. Like right now I need to practice a FBCT for my son's birthday party on the 29th. Yikes it's a Danny Phantom one, and I'm not sure what border to try and how else to decorate it. So we'll see what disaster I come up with!
I agree to hang in there and keep practicing, with one caveat...is this something you WANT to do, or are you just trying to find a hobby that you enjoy? It took me years to find a hobby that I enjoy, and many false starts with things that I didn't really like. Everyone needs a hobby, true, but it should be something you look forward to! If you are dreading it then it is no good!
You did say that you have the hang of baking. Your cakes don't have to be artistically decorated...your hobby could be making the best and yummiest cakes around! You could experiment with recipes...make cupcakes, bundt cakes, muffins, scones!
Just a thought. But definitely hang in there if this is something you ENJOY!
I think you just have to give yourself time.
I don't have a cake decorating background. I've been doing this for about 7 months and I by all means don't have that creative side like alot of the people on this site. I come here for inspiration and support. Sometimes buying a book and looking at all the pretty cakes is inspiration enough for me.
I'm sure we all have days when we just want to throw down the spatula and quit. You are just having one of those days. Don't give up. It will come to you when you least expect it.
Chin Up Little Trooper!
Ginny,
The best advice I was ever given was...."Fake it till you make it!"
You can cover up a lot of things with frosting. I love the Viva method but in a pinch I also use waxed paper. My mother was a wonderful decorator while I was growing up and she put herself through coloege making cakes. My aunt is also a decorator for over 30 years in the same town that I live in. I didn't get it either for a long time, but I found CC and found wonderful inspiration and advice along with a lot of confidence. I still can't get even shell borders and I can't make a decent rose to save my life. I have never had any classes. Only my memory of my mother making cakes and this site.
Play with your frosting until you find something that works for you. I use the all Crisco buttercream and thin it with splashes of milk until it feels right.
I feel that you will do very well with cakes, even if you don't think that it is in your genes, you have enough determination and that will get you where you want to be.
Hang in there!
Fishercakes, that's what I do. I use the all Crisco buttercreme but I don't use as much Crisco as the recipe calls for. I just add milk until it feels right.
Reminds me of when I was in high school and my mom told her girlfriend to teach me how to make cornbread. (My mom was a great cook--just couldn't make cornbread worth a hoot) Anyway, when Faye was teaching me she told me to add some flour and some cornmeal. I asked how much and she said, "Until it feels right." To this day, I don't know how it is suppose to feel. I found a recipe and basically have gone by it for 40 plus years and I make pretty darn good cornbread!
Practice, practice, practice. Can't stress that enough.
diane
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