I have made onlky 2 fondant cakes ever i have not uploaded them here yet but they were both verryy similar as 1 was a practice cake of the 2nd one i used 9inch rounds..4 of them layers were buttercream i crumb coated it and covered it with the fondant and a boder and tons of colorful spots for my sons 1st birthday .. i had no "tools" at all as there are so many and i wasnt sure what to start wth i wasnt like the luster dusts and to practice with gum paste in my near future oh and also! when i made both the cakes the fondant went on very nicely except towards the botom of the cake one area on both cakes had a bunced up section where there was like .. too much fondant i diddnt have enough to stretch it longer to make it fit better .. in a situation like that that is what i should have done had i enough thickness to my fondant.. correct? also what toold do i need as a starter??

One useless tool I bought when I first started was from Wilton was the Dessert Decorator Pro, please don't buy it or anything similar to it. You'll never use it after you do more cake decorating. It's better to buy the disposable bags.

Hi Noob2Decorating, Welcome to Cake Central!

I'm sorry but I could not understand parts of your post. It's either because of the typos or the misplacement of the punctuations. That's okay, we all make mistakes hehe. =]

Anyways, you probably have your metal spatulas and bench scrapers so I suggest you start getting your gumpaste tools. There are also variety of cutters and molds out there.

What is your next step? Do you want to start making flowers? Figures? Are you interested in stringwork?

Don't worry, we're not the grammar po-po here

The tools that were most helpful to me as a beginner were the small wilton leveler, a cheap plastic turntable, a pastry wheel (like a pizza cutter but smaller), a pastry brush and cornstarch, and a large sheet of thick clear vinyl (which you can buy at the fabric store).

I am pretty new too. I have only been decorating about 6 weeks. IF you get the opportunity to take classes, do it! I started teaching myself but was able to find some classes in my area. I am currently in the last week of wilton course 1. It is fun and interesting. Most importantly, for me, I have met some really nice people.

I found CC not long ago and am I sure glad I did. I will never be a pro but I will always aspire to be like some of the talented folks on this site!

As far as tools..... definately a leveler and a cheap turntable.

Good luck!

Some of the first things that I got were some decorating books, turntable, lots of different decorating tips (stainless steel), mixer, and a ton of disposable bags. I can't forget, lots of various size cake boards for practice. If working with fondant my must have is a good fondant smoother. Happy baking.

My first "decorated" cake ever was Pikacho (from Pokemon). So, I buy the pan and read the list of materials on the back. I buy all the items, make the cake, make the icing, then I start coloring icing. It is then that I realize that I have 8 different colors of icing and only 1 coupler and one each of #16 star and #2 round !!! It took me about 4 hours to do that cake! I had to figure out how to modify the directions so I could do all of one color at a time and wash the coupler and tips in between. What a nightmare !

The next time I got ambitious enough to try again I went right out and bought a dozen couplers and several of each of the most popular tip sizes ! I have even more now!

So, to answer your questions...if you're doing buttercream and borders then buy a box of disposable bags (I personally hate washing bags) and a bunch of couplers and tips. You definitely won't regret that. Buy a shaker container for corn starch, it makes it easier and neater to shake just a little where you need it when you're working with fondant. Also I love my Wilton tool box, it holds so many things, but you could easily buy a similar box.

Most of all....have fun and be creative .

I really enjoy working with fondant and thank you everyone for your quick responses i am going to put of the pictures of the only 2 cakes ive made today .. i want to start doing flowers and figures and really anything i can my next task is going to be this awesome beehive cake sooo cute for a little cousins birthday the 1st cake i ever made was for my son and all i did was make my own fondant .. marshmallow and confec sugar make 4 rounds and dye mu fondant with gel food coloring and i cut out th circles using household things i could find with the right sized circles.. chapstick cap.. and a cream blush cap.. both sanatized of course .. if anyone has any! tips after seeing my cakes on how to improveim always open to new ideas


thanks everyone for your responses

If you have a Hobby Lobby or Michaels store near you, sign up on their web sites and you will be able to print coupons for 40% off. If you buy the student kits at 40% off you will quickly get some useful tool at a good price. About every 6-8weeks Wiltons has a 40% off coupon for ALL Wiltons products. I loved the Wiltons Gum Paste Flower Kit it even comes with the book.

The cakes look really cute!

I agree, if you want to start doing flowers, get the starter kit from Wilton. As for figures, check out Lorraine Mckay for her figure tutorials. You should also invest in your gumpaste tools because you will use those a lot.

Good luck.

Texas rose mentioned cornstarch. Is this for the fondant. I always thought you should use powdered sugar. I am new and just starting to figure things out. What do you feel is best.

Thanks

I got a Wilton gum paste kit, some pearl dusts, rolling pin to start. I like to keep it simple.

For my first time making fondant I didn't have anything special - just the big silicone spatula from Wilton. I already had the basics-cornstarch and shortening. For flowers I put them in a bowl so they cup up.(I do want to get "flower formers" though.)Have Fun!