So, when you are a newbie trying to get some experience decorating, what do you do short of having cakes around your house all the time?
I think what I am going to do is get a practice board. Then maybe get some styrofoam dummy cakes so I can work on my smoothing and fondant techniques. Then maybe actually bake a few mini cakes. Of course my DD's bday is coming up so I will be sure to have some of my skills well practiced by then.
What did/do you do for practice?
XOXOX,
Cindy
While the practice boards are nice, it isn't quite the same as decorating on a cake. With them you are close to the table where as on a cake you are 2, 3 or even 4 inches up off the table.
And I know people will suggest getting dummies, but I find them harder to work with sometimes because they are lighter than a cake and move around. Plus you can do things with dummies that you can't do with a cake, so it isn't quite the same as practicing on a cake.
If you are tired of cake around the house, you can always give it to family, friends, or the neighbors. You can take it to work or send it to work with your hubby, family or anyone else. Donate it to a local fire house, or somewhere like that.
I think you can practice basic skills on smaller cakes such as piping, icing, smoothing, lettering, etc. I was lucky. I assisted my Mother and Grandmother since I was little kid and I've always had practice on the basics. It's the harder stuff that you really need to go full bore and do on real cakes. Like tiered cakes....styrafoam is level and all the same height and weighs less than real cake. If you practice putting tiers together with styrofoam, you're going to have a rude awakening the first time you put together an 8 layer, 4 tiered wedding cake!
There is still a lot of tougher cakes that I get that I have to make up stuff as I go that I've never tried before! Those are scary!! Like the 3D cakes. Sometimes I want to do a cake so badly but I don't want to waste the supplies that I'll keep my fingers crossed that a client will call me up and order it! I just got an order for a 3D Spongebob cake that I've been DYING to make!! It's due in three weeks....so I'm going to use that time to get my support structure 100% in place to make sure it doesn't collapse!
Practice the basics....once you get those down....the rest is trial and error....for all of us!
Whenever I level my cakes I save the scraps. I double bag them in ziplocks (one of these days I'll remember to BUY the freezer bags!) and when I want to try out something new I'll thaw some cake and frosting (I freeze those leftovers too) and practice. If I want to practice on a real cake I'll just make half of my regular recipe and make hubby take it to work or give it to family.
I'm new and have been blessed with lots of birthdays going on this month but I would think a friend, relative, neighbor, senior citizen home, or any group would LOVE to get a free cake. 
Susie
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