What Are Your Strengths And Weaknesses?

Decorating By Rylan Updated 22 Jul 2010 , 11:18pm by indydebi

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tavyheather Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 4:31am
post #31 of 47

strengths: quick learner, baking comes easy to me...

weaknesses: overconfidence in assuming that awesome design in my head will transform itself perfectly....never as good as I imagine!

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KitchenKat Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 5:24am
post #32 of 47

I love this! Great idea Rylan

feel like I've come a long way from when I started (see my photos, which I haven't updated in years!). Whereas I used to try to tackle anything and everything the customer requested, now I've realized I can't do everything and I don't want to do everything.

My weaknesses are modeling figures and making flowers. I hate doing these!

My strengths are fun, whimsical, colorful cakes, piping and frosting.

I like both fondant and bc. But I really can't stand modeling figures!

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kaseyrconnect Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 5:44am
post #33 of 47

Strengths: I can do a pretty good job of smoothing my buttercream and I can make a decent buttercream rose.( I am very good at figuring out a better way to do my cake after it is all done.)

Weaknesses: Piping messages, can't come up with my own ideas, always seem to have the bulge, and I don't have a good eye for placing my designs on the cake so everything seems evenly spaced. (Just to name a few)

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thatslifeca Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 6:03am
post #34 of 47

wow great thread!
strength: piping,scroll, lace work, lambeth, extensions, I love the tiny details.

weaknesses: carving cakes, making figures, oh yessss and the dreaded airbrush....I just can't seem to get that little thing to work!

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mindy1204 Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 11:35am
post #35 of 47

This is a great thread

Strength- Icing cakes with buttercream. Mine are pretty smooth. Fondant figures.

Weakness list is much longer-- Piping esp lettering, crisp edges on fondant cakes, original ideas, gumpaste roses.

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cakecraft Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 12:01pm
post #36 of 47

Ooh, good thread!

Strengths: willing to tackle anything, able to eyeball an image and transform it into cake, carving, shaped cakes, I can do fun things with RKT.

Weaknesses: NO patience !! So perfect edges, perfectly smooth buttercream are still issues. And gumpaste flowers....grrr.

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Joshua_Alan Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 3:37pm
post #37 of 47

Hrm...

Strengths - Pick up ideas quickly, learn techniques on my own.

Weaknesses - A LOT! I could go on forever! Getting sharp corners is a huge one for me, on both buttercream and fondant! I have a hard time getting my fondant nice and smooth near the bottom of the cake too, always seems to bunch up on me.

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michel30014 Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 3:57pm
post #38 of 47

Weakness: Can't seem to stop myself from licking the bowl icon_biggrin.gif[/quote]

ramie7224,

You are too funny! I do the SAME thing!!! lol icon_smile.gificon_razz.gifthumbs_up.gif

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j_arney Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 4:10pm
post #39 of 47

My weakness is definitely an over abundance in confidence. I see these beautiful cakes that I want to try an replicate, and they don't come out looking anywhere near as nice. It's so disheartening. I know I'm new to decorating, so I shouldn't be as good as those who have been decorating for years. But in my head I convince myself that it's not hard, just do one step at a time. But I just can't replicate these beautiful cakes!! ARGH!!

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deMuralist Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 4:18pm
post #40 of 47

My strengths, I am creative and the flavors of what I put out there are amazing.

My weaknesses, I know I need to practice everything, only been doing this for a year, but can't find enough takers for the practice (so many people dieting!) especially the big stuff, so not so great at getting the ideas into cake form.

p.s. to stop myself from licking the bowl-I wear a surgical mask until all utensils are cleaned! It works.

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smokeysmokerton Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 4:18pm
post #41 of 47
Quote:
Originally Posted by j_arney

My weakness is definitely an over abundance in confidence. I see these beautiful cakes that I want to try an replicate, and they don't come out looking anywhere near as nice. It's so disheartening. I know I'm new to decorating, so I shouldn't be as good as those who have been decorating for years. But in my head I convince myself that it's not hard, just do one step at a time. But I just can't replicate these beautiful cakes!! ARGH!!





OMG, that is sooo me. I'm a newbie too, and I always get these ideas about what I want to do, then I get to it and I'm like, "what the hell was I thinking?" icon_lol.gif I like it though because I've learned a lot from it, lots of trial and error, and every time I try I get just a little better because I've learned what NOT to do. Now, I wouldn't go into something like that if I were making it for an event or something because I'd go crazy trying to get it right. But I'm so guilty of it when it comes to practice stuff.

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Joshua_Alan Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 4:21pm
post #42 of 47

Damn, me three. I have visions of grandeur in my head and it never comes out as clean or neat as the picture I was working from! *sigh* Patience and practice I guess icon_smile.gif

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ddaigle Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 4:28pm
post #43 of 47

Strengths: Quickly icing my buttercream cakes VERY smooth. I can ice a cake in about 7 minutes (working at a bakery helped me with this).

Weankess(es): Impatient, expect perfection (everytime), gumpaste flowers, getting all the details of "how to" to come to life. I can't always just "figure it out". I hate that the most!!

Deb

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Mama_Mias_Cakes Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 4:31pm
post #44 of 47

Too funny!! I tell that to my DH all the time. This looked so much better in my head! icon_biggrin.gif

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catlharper Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 4:39pm
post #45 of 47

Great thread Rylan!

Ok, for me:

Strengths: having a strong art background I can usually translate anything I can sketch into a cake. Fondant seems to be my medium in which to do this. And I can bake...cake tastes at least as good as it looks, always my goal.

Weakness: BUTTERCREAM! thanx to IDBC I can smooth a cake with no problem now but I need SO much more practice with piping...such as I wanna learn how to do string work. But as much as fondant is my medium, buttercream is not and so we have a hate/hate relationship that somehow I have to get past and work thru...I'm determined this Fall when I'm a bit slower to do practice cakes that are all wrapped around piping and buttercream.

Cat

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Rylan Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 10:25pm
post #46 of 47

Me too! There was never a time I envisioned something and created it exactly the way it looked liked. It just never happens...

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indydebi Posted 22 Jul 2010 , 11:18pm
post #47 of 47

Strengths:
- Buttercream anything;
- square cakes (LUV THEM!);
- being self taught when enables me to just look at something and do it;
- 30 years under my belt means I can ice/decorate a cake pretty quick.
- The Gift of Gab (years of sales experience!)

Weaknesses:

- Not wanting to take the plunge on something new until I've worked it out in my head how to do it (haven't even attempted a TT cake yet!). Even tho' there are plenty of how-to's out there, I need to build up the confidence in my head, first.

- Still working on scratch baking (my champagne/strawberry cupcakes got a good price as hockey pucks! But my choc Hershey recipe scratch cake turns out ok!)

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