Ok, I just spent about *9 hours* on a few simple little things. I am just starting out on this cake decorating adventure, and I love it, but am getting a little discouraged. I have a tiny kitchen, and limited supplies, so it seems like every 15 mintues I'm doing dishes. I made two cakes today (I cheated, used box cakes), attempted to make a batch of MMF, made two batches of buttercream (one chocolate) & two fillings. Then filled and frosted the cakes. That's as far as I got in all that time! I guess I'm stupid when it comes to MMF, because I have yet to get it right. I am taking a cake decorating class, and I want to make my mom a fabulous birthday cake this week, but as it's going now, I'll have to start tomorrow in order to have it all done my Saturday! Ugh!
I am not an entirely patient person ... and with all the reading on CC I have been doing, I expect everything to come out just right. Then I get really frustrated when it doesn't. Am I just overreacting? Will this stuff get easier over time? How do you get faster at the whole process of decorating? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
TIA,
Lorie
It take time and practice. But I have to tell you, after doing this for almost 5 years, I'm still slower than ever and I have yet to make a batch of MMF turn out the same as the previous--I haven't had one batch turn out the same or really any good--talking about feeling stupid. And I've made this stuff I don't know how many times! I'm constantly washing dishes also as I have limited space. Don't worry, you will get a hang of it, I do a lot of planning and then add on about a day since I always misjudge. 
And, it is not cheating using box mixes! 
Just have fun with it and then is does not seem so discouraging. 
It does get easier!!! And I use box mixes all the time (although I do add to them a little bit!)
You do get faster so don't worry. I have a tiny kitchen as well and that does make it a little bit harder (I hate my kitchen actually).
I do as much as I can the day before, make icing, back cake, color icing then all I have to do the next day is decorate. It seems much faster that way.
Fill a bowl with hot soapy water and drop everything you've used straight into it, then while you're waiting for the oven to be ready or whatever wash up a bit at a time - makes it feel less horrid.
I have no tips on how to do the decorating part any faster - I don't think it gets faster!
If someone knew how to do it faster they could sell that inf ofro a ton! It takes me forever. Hubby says I'm working way below minium wage because of the time it takes.
I too am guilty of spending waaaaaayy too much time on a single cake!!! There have been times (like with my spiderman cake) that I was so excited to decorate it that I just got going first thing in the morning and worked all day and didn't get finished until like 10 pm and it was then and only then when I went to sit at my kitchen table to finish piping the webbing that I realized I had not sat down the entire day!!! I had spent a whole day from 8 am to 10 pm working on ONE cake....and not a very complicated one either.......I just spent way way way too much time trying to smooth the icing over and over and over and.....over!! Today, I could probably pump that cake out (the stacking and decorating) in like two hrs. so it definitely does get quicker. Once you get the hang of the baking and making the icing you'll learn how to multitask it all. You'll be making a batch of icing while cakes are baking and making fillings while cakes are cooling, etc. !!! You just gotta do it a ton!!! I'm still slow on new cakes that I've never done before so I always allow for extra time......I always try to have the cake finished the day before it's due....that way if I really mess up and need to pull an all nighter I have that option lol
I have found the secret is practice, practice, practice.
Plus about a week in advance, I start making a list of things I can do before hand, like covering my boards, a check list for ingredients, making wax paper circles, and don't forget the box to deliver it in. Those are all things you can be ready for in advance. You can make your frosting before you do your cakes, too.
While my cakes are in the oven, is when I clean up. This gives me a tidy area to decorate the cake, which is less stressful to me.
I empathize with you. I feel like a "turtle" when I'm decorating. I know I have gotten better over this past year and even a bit faster but, it still seems to take me so much longer than I think it should. I think it just really takes time and lots of practice. And for me, a somewhat patient husband. My kitchen and dining room table were an absolute disaster this past week! 
Hey, I take a LOOOOOOOONG time. Way more than you ever would. It takes me around 20 hours on one cake. But positive thinking and practice should make it easier. 
I am very slow! And I always feel pressured. It seems to get a little easier every time.
I always use boxed cake! I just doctor them up a little bit and I also freeze all of my cakes. Some people will disagree, but I think it makes them so moist. And much easier to frost! That way you can make your cakes a day or two in advance.
Wow! Thanks everyone for your responses and advise! I really do appreciate all your support! I love CC ... And always feel so inspired by the forums and galleries here!
A few of you mentioned that you "doctor up" your cake mixes? I would love to do that ... what do you do to them?
I was thinking of making a scratch white cake, with four layers (9in) two layers filled with raspberry mousse, and the center layer filled with whipped chocolate ganache - for my mom's birthday this weekend. Would I be better off saving my time & energy and just using a white box cake?!
Thanks so much, again!
Lorie
I use a box of instant pudding for every box of cake mix, and I just tried using Flavored creamer in place of some of the water, and wow! What a wonderful flavor. I used Vanilla hazelnut. The cake was really moist and just had a hint of flavor. People kept asking what my secret was. And again I did freeze it for about 5 hours before I decorated it. Good luck!
Like so many others on here, I'm slow here too.....Good to know I'm not the only one.
I have noticed some things are starting to go faster for me, think that's just experience and practice starting to show up.
One thing I've noticed that helps me out BUNCHES is having more than one decorating bag going at one time--that way you don't have to stop & change tips each time you want to do something different.
Tim
As far as doctoring cake mixes, I highly recommend getting the book "The Cake Mix Doctor" by Ann Byrne. It has a ton of great cake recipes that start with boxed cake mix and add ingredients to make it seem a little more homemade/scratch. There are a lot of great recipes in it.
I also take a lot of time to do one cake. I just plan ahead and do parts when I get time. I have 3 kids at home with me, so I'll bake the cake one day during nap time and then freeze it. If I am doing any candy clay figures, I'll do them a few days in advance (again during nap time). I just try to spread it out so I don't have to spend one entire day on a cake.
With practice it does get quicker 
Oh, so very slow. I spend an average of 10 hours on each cake. The prep before hand, the actual baking (that's the fast and easy part), the icing and then the decorating. All the fondant, the filling and of course, the icing have to be made. That's after the time spent making the decorations and such to put on it to finish it off. Slow, but rewarding in the end.
Yeah...pretty slothlike in nature here, too! 
But, it does get much easier. Just by doing it a few times, you'll learn what works best for you.
I've found that if I bake and freeze the cakes ahead of time, it takes A LOT off my time.
Also, having more than one of the same kinds of tips (for different colors of the same tip) and the disposable piping bags help tremendously!
CLEANING EVERYTHING UP JUST BITES!! 
My kitchen is tiny, and was built in 1964! And what slays me every time I'm in there is: Back then, they didn't have the "convenience" foods we have today...so HOW did they do everything back then? They washed the heck out of dishes all day like I do! GAH! 
But, as someone above had said, if you keep a sinkful of hot, soapy water handy...it definitely helps, too.
Keep at it--you're good!
--Knox--
There are very few "born" cake decorators. Each new technique takes practice to perfect. Try to be patient and stop beating yourself up because it takes so long. The more cakes you do, the better and faster you will become. Organization really helps, especially when you have a small kitchen. Making your icings and flavoring ahead of time will save you a great deal of time. Then you can concentrate on decorating the cake and not preparing to make it. Relax and enjoy it. If you let yourself get too uptight, then you will start to make mistakes and it will become a snowball effect. Good luck!
I'm a newbie, too at this decorating of cakes...but I love it! I too have a small kitchen- limited work space! But, I think it does get easier with time, you will eventuall find your "flow". I'm always washing dishes- and sometimes still having trouble, but because I love it so much- it's so much worth it seeing the finished product!
Well, my "go-faster" secret is to get my husband to wash dishes for me 
Last night I made a cake, and while I got it in the oven my husband washed the KA bowl (I only have 1 
) so that I could get started on icing right away. I also decorate/cut/cover the cake board the night before.
Well, my "go-faster" secret is to get my husband to wash dishes for me
Last night I made a cake, and while I got it in the oven my husband washed the KA bowl (I only have 1 ) so that I could get started on icing right away. I also decorate/cut/cover the cake board the night before.
OMG what a wonderful husband you have! My husband doesn't offer to help me and I'm nine months pregnant!!!! Good for you.
I've learned a few tips where I work p/t...... we do everything in stages. On Tuesdays when I go into work, I fill and crumb coat the wedding cakes. Then they go into the walk in refrigerator.
On Wednesday, my boss ices the cakes and puts them back in the walk in.
On Thursday when I come in, I stack the firm cakes (easy that way) and decorate.
Believe it or not, the wedding cakes are still delicious and moist on the weekends! We do this at a high end caterer and I've tasted a few dessert cakes leftover after the weekend and they still taste great.
I don't spread my projects out over that many days at home...but I do fill and crumb coat either in the morning, or the day before.... and then ice and decorate later. By refrigerating the crumb coated cake, you get a firm, crumb-less surface to ice, and also less chance of the filling coming out of the sides. Also if I have alot of cakes, I bake ahead and freeze. If you wrap the cakes well, that does nothing but actually help them retain moisture. Especially if you wrap them when they are still slightly warm in the middle.
One thing I do on cake boards is save them, even if they are cardboard. I take off the aluminum foil, wipe it off, and put it back with my other cardboards I have already cut up. That way I know I will have the right size board(s) for my next cake.
One thing I have been having problems with is icing the cake. I spread it on, then go back over it, and the icing comes up off of the cake with all of the crumbs. I am just starting, too, like all of you, and that just makes me so frustrated. I try to do the crumb coat, let it crust, then ice it again, but the crumb coat comes off!!! What am I doing wrong? I spend
practically 2-3 hours icing the cake.
One thing I do on cake boards is save them, even if they are cardboard. I take off the aluminum foil, wipe it off, and put it back with my other cardboards I have already cut up. That way I know I will have the right size board(s) for my next cake.
One thing I have been having problems with is icing the cake. I spread it on, then go back over it, and the icing comes up off of the cake with all of the crumbs.
I am just starting, too, like all of you, and that just makes me so frustrated. I try to do the crumb coat, let it crust, then ice it again, but the crumb coat comes off!!! What am I doing wrong? I spendpractically 2-3 hours icing the cake.
Oh I am still ne too, and I have that trouble as well. I usually put the cake in the freezer for a little while to seal the crumb coat before I do the final frosting.
kitagrl or anybody...
when you take your cake out of the freezer, do you unwrap it right away or keep it wrapped until thawed? TIA!!!!!
Seems like I am in great company! Turtle is my middle name.
I have what is called in the housing industry a "galley" kitchen. Quaint word for minuscule kitchen the smallest of all home kitchens. I can touch every appliance from the middle of my floor! I actually think the real galley kitchens on yachts are bigger!
I have learned to use every space when I am working on a piece. I even pull out the built in bread cutting board and put it on the top of two pull out drawers and my large cutting board goes onto my stove for more counter space!
Then I have bought two of everything I use the most (except for the clay gun which is next on my list to have two). Two icing tips, two 16 inch bags, two spatulas, etc, etc. so then I never have to stop and wash.
I set up a garbage bag in the middle of the floor and wipe everything into it, poof - - - mess is gone. I only use the reusable bags for crumb coating and disposables for everything else. Cuz I really truly hate to clean-up then I throw everything into a tub of hot water when I am done using it - for easy clean-up.
I bake one day and then freeze the cake, crumb coat the next day let thaw and then decorate the third day. Works like a charm and even though I may have 15 hours into a cake it is spread out and doesn't feel so bad! A lot of my pieces have gumpaste additions which I also create on the day of baking so they have adequate time for dryingI am a turtle at heart, but very organized!
Trust me, mmf isn't one of the easiest things to figure out - well at least not for me. So don't beat yourself up over that. I used it to make a wedding shower cake for a friend, it's the lavender package cake with the white bow in my photos. That was such a nightmare.
Space is a big issue for me also. I still live at home with my parents, so all of my cake stuff is outside in the storage room on the other side of the garage. My mom once told me that I needed a cabinet to put all of my pans and decorating stuff in, and an apartment to put the cabinet in too. There's not really a whole lot of counter space either. Fortunately my parents and sister are very supportive and will sometimes do the dishes and help me clean up when I'm doing a cake.
As others have stated, it just takes time and practice. Heck, I'm just glad in knowing that I'm not the only one that takes forever to finish a cake.
Thank you, Kitagrl! I will have to try your method-you had not posted when I first read this forum. Any other advice would be great!! BTW, how long can a cake be frozen?
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