What Got You Started? Did You Have An Inspiration?
Decorating By Jenn1978 Updated 3 Nov 2006 , 3:07pm by erimsy
So I've been sitting here looking at photos trying to get some ideas for the upcoming Holidays as well as a baby shower I have coming up and it got me thinking about what got me started decorating cakes and who have been my inpirations along the way 
My mother had some part is getting me started. When I was in high school i wanted nothing to do with regular school work, just wasn't for me. She told me I was going to a trade school and to pick something. SO I thought hmmm...baking, now that sounds like it could be fun! That year I started going there for half the day and my regular high school the other half. I loved it! I found that I really enjoyed decorating cakes. There we learned just the very basics.
About a year after I graduated I found msyelf married and living in another state. I was working in retail as a manager and sick of working in the evenings and on weekends. I thought, hmm..why not see if I can get a job in a bakery, I've been told bakers hours are in the morning so that's what I did. I took what very little experinece I had and got a job in a bakery that only did cakes! A dream come true! That was the only think I wanted to do. The women I worked with in there became my inpirations! The woman who owned the bakery was self taught and she was amazing! I learned so much the year or so I was there. I was so sad to go!
Well that's my story, what is yours? What made you decide to start decorating? Did you have an inpiration? I think it will be neat to see how everybody got started!
I started out making my kid's birthday cakes. My mom was my inspiration, because on every one of our birthdays, she would ask us "what kind of cake do you want?" and she would make whatever flavors and colors (sometimes characters) we wanted and she wouldn't let us see it until it was time to blow out the candles! It was always very special for us and I wanted to carry on that tradition for my kids. I ask them what kind of cake they want and I go from there, except I put the cake on display for "eye candy" while we do the party. I put my heart into every cake I do and before I started doing cakes, I didn't think I had a creative bone in my body!!! This is my "art" and my passion and the more I practice the more I aspire to someday be a "professional"!
Well, let's see...I don't really have a specific inspiration. I started decorating cakes for my son's first birthday. My family has always joked about how I can't cook or bake and that I don't know my way around the kitchen. (This is NOT true BTW) I decided that I would show them by having amazing cakes at the birthday party. Well, I made a construction helmet for the smash cake and a coordinating construction scene sheet cake. I didn't think about cakes again until my son's 2nd birthday when I made a 3-D fire truck and a 3-D school bus (he couldn't decide). Anyway, I continued just making special occasion cakes for my family until my daughter's first birthday...that's when I stumbled upon CC and found out that people have tiered cakes for birthdays. I was totally addicted then. I began making cakes for everything. My daughter also had a kick-butt birthday cake! 
I guess that my inspiration was proving myself to my family.
I guess my obsession started with my easy bake oven 
I always always loved to bake and it was always a sort of joke throughout grade school and high school, I always made cakes for my friends and brought in cookies to school for christmas and other holidays. I wanted to go to a trade school for high school but my parents wouldnt let me then for college I wanted to go to the restaurant school but my parents talked me out of it so I go to school for business now. I work in accounting and I've never been more miserable so I just got to thinking, what am I doing?? I hate getting up 5 days out of the week, there has to be something else. So then I decided not to listen to people anymore. I started taking the wilton classes as a way to see if I like cake decorating (never did it before) and I loooove it!! I'll take the 3 courses then hopefully go to culinary school next year. I would love to start a cake decorating business from my home someday...when i have a home and not a small apartment
Oh my, ....Many Many years ago I won a book at school for a decorated christmas cake... it was what called PEAKED royal icing made to look like snow , I laugh at that now...mine was just that, with a sledge "path" and a plastic figure at the end of it.......but I suppose my "peaks" were ok cos I won the book.......but it was about 15years later that my Neice bought a book to show me on cake decorating, I JUST FELL IN LOVE with one picture that shown a cake with FRILLS on it....well that was that, I just had to try it......I WAS HOOKED..... and now another 15yrs later...I'm still hooked.
Denise
Since I was a child I was always amazed with cakes... like weddings, birthdays etc... We always see cakes on special occassions & so I thought it must have been special to learn how to do this. I didn't have a chance to do this until when I got married. I tried baking and I loved it. My husband didn't care much about cakes so I get my inspiration from my friends who ate every cake I make. I began decorating when I moved to Canada a couple of years ago & I'm hooked...
My inspiration is my Daddy. I was told in Dec '04 (the 13th) that he would live 6-9 months. He was never sick, down or ill. Just didn't feel good one day and went to the doctor. He had a rectal mass - cancer. "They" sent him home and my mom and I were told that he could do what ever he wanted, eat what ever he wanted and so on. I baked through the years and that Dec I began baking cakes, etc. and cooking Daddy's dinners to give momma a break.
Daddy died 5 months later, May 13th, 2005, 5 months to the day (Friday the 13th that is). I began cake decorating this past April and every cake I make is in his honor. It was the good that came out of an evil for me. I would not have been inspired to go further with my baking had Daddy not gotten sick. In Alabama you can't get a home business license for cake decorating. But if I could, my shop would be "Chuck's Custom Cakes".
I always baked cakes from being a kid. My mum had a couple of decorating books that I used to use for inspiration. When I got married I wanted a sponge tier in my wedding cake (which at the time was unheard of in the UK) so I went to classes to learn how to coat the cakes proplerly and it all stemmed from there
My son. He will be one November 6th. His birthday party is this Sunday. I ordered Parents magazine and saw a picture of a cake like building blocks. I thought, "That would be a great birthday cake instead of a plain publix cake." I ripped the photo out of the magazine and put it away. Then a few weeks later I was in Michael's shopping for yarn and "found" the cake decorating section.
I stood there in "AWE". 
I looked through the books they had there and the simple picture that I saw in the magazine just wasn't good enough any more. I got online and found CC and my addiction has grown like a fungus. It can't be stopped. It has a mind of it's own.
Hopefully these past few months will pay off with a great birthday cake.
That's my story & I'm sticking to it.
I've been a good cook and bread baker all my life, because of my Mom and Grandmother.
Last March I found CC and began reading. Now I've taken Course 1 and 2 and think about cakes all the time.
I haven't baked much bread lately, but am having a BALL doing cakes! All thanks to you good people here on CC!!!
when i had my first baby 8 years ago i started planning her first birthday when she was six months old, i new i wanted a cool cake so i decided to make one for her (it was a little miss naughty carved cake), so four kids later and lots of neices and newphews here i am but i must say that after finding CC and being so inspired by everyone, i have decided to take my decorating to a new level and i am now just starting to sell my cakes in my town.
i am just teaching myself as i go along as there are no classes or courses available where i live.
thats how i started!!!
kylie
My inspiration is my Daddy. I was told in Dec '04 (the 13th) that he would live 6-9 months. He was never sick, down or ill. Just didn't feel good one day and went to the doctor. He had a rectal mass - cancer. "They" sent him home and my mom and I were told that he could do what ever he wanted, eat what ever he wanted and so on. I baked through the years and that Dec I began baking cakes, etc. and cooking Daddy's dinners to give momma a break.
Daddy died 5 months later, May 13th, 2005, 5 months to the day (Friday the 13th that is). I began cake decorating this past April and every cake I make is in his honor. It was the good that came out of an evil for me. I would not have been inspired to go further with my baking had Daddy not gotten sick. In Alabama you can't get a home business license for cake decorating. But if I could, my shop would be "Chuck's Custom Cakes".
I have just looked at your cakes and you certainly DO HONOUR to your Daddy, they are beautiful and I can tell made with love...he would be so proud of you...well done
I went with my sister-in-law when she ordered her wedding cake. I was sitting in this lady's living room, looking at her photos, listening to her and just decided "This doesn't look hard! I can do this!" Went out and bought me some decorating bags, tips and a Wilton book and taught myself.
That was over 25 years ago.
My 12yo son took lessons through 4H. He had so much fun and really enjoyed it. So, I jumped on the bandwagon and did some searching on the internet for more creative ideas. That's how I found CC.
I always felt like I was one step ahead of Wilton! I got started by making my daughters first b'day cake 26 yrs. ago and what she was into at the time. With each child's b'day it represented what they were into, but Wilton never had pans like that at the time (they always came out with one after I busted by buns designing one). So my cakes were really originals. Someday will dig up most of the pictures. But with each one put pressure on myself to even out-do myself. Thus I was hooked. One child's b'day I fell short on time and actually bought one for him. He was so disappointed because it was 'just a cake'. So, back to the drawing board for me to this day. No matter how old they get, that cake is designed for them alone.
Three years ago my SIL asked me to do her shower cake becuase she liked the birtday cakes I did for my daughters' birthdays the month before. I told her there was no way I could decorate something nice. She insisted and I bought some books (I had tips and such for 15 years beucase I wanted to learn this in high-school but didn't really try). The cakes tasted great and didn't look too bad and things just began to snowball. I wanted to learn more and I just kept baking for every occassion. I've said since high school that I would make a wedding cake some day. My family and friends just laughed. Now the are my biggest supporters. My sister looks forward to pictures every time I bake. Oh, and might I add. Since August 12, I have made 4 large wedding cakes and I'm having the time of my life. I only hope to have a bakery of my own in a few shorts years. At 35 I don't want to wait forever.
CC has been a huge inspiration since I found the site last month. Thanks to the creator of the site and to all those posting and offering assistance any time there are questions.
One of my earliest memories is of Mama decorating cute animal cookies.
My childhood memories are filled with yummy kitchen smells, family dinners and pretty cakes and desserts.
So it brought back a flood of memories when I dug out her old Wilton bags and tips to start helping my DIL get started learning cakes.
After the first cake I was hooked.
And the bonding that is happening with my dear DIL as we do cakes together is priceless! 
My mom started her own cake business about 15 years ago, and I became very interested in cakes just by helping and watching her. I live about 2.5 hours away from her now, and about 4 years ago, I decided to start my own business. I learned everything I know from my mom (and Cake Central, of course!!!! )!!
i wanted a cake, for my birthday, she said the cost was $75.00 and im like yeah right... so i decided to do it myslef, after i finished four 9 inch round cake with the star tip.. $75.00 was not enough...
my sons first birthday ofcourse i imagine the cake and all, what i got? a nitemare. i vow never to pay for any cake again, started buying books and then along came the most wonderful site on earth and ofcourse i became an adict and i am better off and have learnt in more here than from all my books put together. now i not only make cakes for my kids but all family members and i even get orders and get paid for having fun.
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