What's Your Best Advice For Newbies?

Decorating By floophs Updated 17 Oct 2007 , 12:47am by peacockplace

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floophs Posted 14 Oct 2007 , 10:34pm
post #1 of 11

I came across CC not long ago and have been addicted ever since. icon_lol.gif I spend a lot of time looking at all the beautiful and creative cakes as well as reading the forums...anything to gain more great cake wisdom and advice. I just finished my first Wilton course and hope to take another one soon. Here's my question...for all of you who have been decorating cakes for a while, what is your best advice for a newbie like me?

Thanks.

PS Does anyone else ever dream of decorating cakes...or is it just me? icon_rolleyes.gif

10 replies
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CakesBySandy Posted 14 Oct 2007 , 10:49pm
post #2 of 11

Practice, practice, practice.

Welcome and good luck!

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GI Posted 14 Oct 2007 , 10:50pm
post #3 of 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by floophs

PS Does anyone else ever dream of decorating cakes...or is it just me? icon_rolleyes.gif







Oh yeaaaah! icon_biggrin.gif

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sherik Posted 14 Oct 2007 , 11:07pm
post #4 of 11

WELCOME!!!

Don't be afraid to try something new.

Keep notes on cakes you do, including mistakes, they will be helpful down the line.

Don't let anyone tell you "IT CAN'T BE DONE." If you think you can do it, try, improvise and modify.

YES, I do dream of decorating cakes.
This is my story (dreams included).
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-230396-.html#230396

Blessings,
sherik

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indydebi Posted 15 Oct 2007 , 2:43pm
post #5 of 11

Practice, practice, practice, and read, read, read.

I've learned more in one year of reading these forums than I did in my whole 25 years of doing cakes! So many things I'd never heard of or never dared to try and my fellow CC'ers pushed me out of the box!

You'll soon have a huge collection of favorite cakes that you've come across. You don't have to duplicate the whole cake ..... I've saved cakes because I liked just the border, or the floral arrangement. With every step (did we mention practice, practice practice? icon_lol.gificon_lol.gif ) you will get excited about cakes all over again!!

Welcome to the biggest addiction!!

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loriana Posted 15 Oct 2007 , 5:28pm
post #6 of 11

I would like to add:

Take pictures of ALL your cakes. The goods and the bads. They will both help, believe me.

The bads?; you learn by looking at them, later down the road on where you have come and how you still need to improve. You will say to yourself "well... my writing is better but my same-old shell border needs improvement".

The goods? You will be glad you took a picture, to add to your portfolio. Even if you never sell a cake, you will be glad to have a book you can flip through to see what you have accomplished in your personal life.

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Prudence Posted 15 Oct 2007 , 5:58pm
post #7 of 11

OMG!! So funny that you ask if anyone dreams of cakes! I do too!! I thought it was just me and my crazy usual self. Phew! Now I don;t have to check myself into the clinic!! icon_biggrin.gif

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BCJean Posted 15 Oct 2007 , 6:15pm
post #8 of 11

Welcome to the wonderful world of cake decorating. You will find yourself not only dreaming of cakes but everything you look at, you will see as a possibility for a cake design.
Of course, practice, read, experiment. Use a bold firm hand. Think about what you are going to do...then do it. Don't hesitate in the middle.
Don't shove buttercream decorating aside and move right on to fondant. Buttercream can be a very rewarding medium if you take the time to really learn it. It really does have it's benefits.

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floophs Posted 16 Oct 2007 , 8:23pm
post #9 of 11

Thanks for all the great advice. It was encouraging and I appreciate everyone's words of encouragement and tricks of the trade. thumbs_up.gif

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mommachris Posted 16 Oct 2007 , 8:48pm
post #10 of 11

favorite tip I learned here was how to use icing plugs in the bags to minimize the messy clean ups.

Take strip of cling wrap and lay it down on the counter. Drop a big ol blob of icing in the middle but closer to one of the edges. Fold the wrap over the icing and roll it up into a sausage shape. This is the plug that you drop into your pastry bag. It keeps the inside of the bag almost completely clean and makes
reloading ( with other pre-made plugs and even different colors) really fast and easy. thumbs_up.gif

mommachris

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peacockplace Posted 17 Oct 2007 , 12:47am
post #11 of 11

Learn how to use the search feature! There is so much great info that gets missed all the time. CC has been around for years now and some really great topics seem to get lost in the archives. Feel free to ask questions... but when you have time and want to learn a lot about a topic, search is the best way to do it. thumbs_up.gif

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