Hi everyone, just thought I would introduce myself and tell you what an awesome site you have here!

I'm Kat, I live in the UK and am a Structural Engineer by day, although I am currently on maternity leave with a 9 month old baby so have had some spare time to dedicate to baking and cake decorating recently!

I've been a keen hobby baker for quite some time, but only recently taken the plunge into decorating - mostly simple cupcakes until now but I have just this weekend finished my first full cake! I made this Ipad cake for the birthday of my older son's best friend and am really pleased considering it is my first try and I am a complete novice.

I naively thought that covering the cake with fondant would be the easy bit but boy was I wrong! So that's the first thing I will be searing on here for hints and tips on!

Looking around this site I can see that I have a VERY long way to go, but I can see I am definitely in the right place to start learning!

Welcome!  That is a fabulous cake!  I love this website, it is so helpful in every way.

WOW!!

You did an EXCELLENT job!!   Really, I'm not just saying that!! Good for you!  Be careful, it gets addicting!

You will find so much info on this site and best of all, the members are so supportive and helpful- welcome!

I'm in a cake funk right now, so-- its so nice to read about someone getting excited-- I suggest, rent, buy as many tutorials as you can- Sharon Zambitos- Buttercream video is a must have!!! Craftsy is always running sales- excellent videos-- Etsy offers so many- you tube and so many other generous decorators have posted free tutorials- There is also My Cake School- worth the 30.00 US for the year-- just a few suggestions--

Ohh-- I wouldn't say you were a beginner/novice anymore- you are well on your way!

Hope to keep in touch-

Mo

PS-- The 9 months is that "paid" maternity leave, as in the US we only get 6 weeks- and in most professions you need to use your own sick time to get paid- I know in Finland they get 2 years PAID leave-- I was just wondering

Welcome,  Fondant is not always easy (it can really vary with the weather) but it is very rewarding.  Practice will help make it easier.  You will find a wealth of information in the old threads on this site if you a prepared to search.

wow thats an amazing cake! im new too and the 'cakers' as i like to call them are sooooo supportive.

can i ask did u use a printed sheet on ur cake or did u make all the icons?

that cake is fab! and i agree-ur not a novice anymore!!

Welcome!  Such a great cake.  There is a wealth of knowledge here.  The best cakes I ever made were because of the information I learned from this site..  Looking forward to see what you do next :)

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and your kind words :)

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Funny you should say that as I think part of my problem (other than inexperience!) was that it was maybe a little too cold to be fully workable. I will certainly be spending some time searching the forum for info, when the baby allows me to!

I didn't use a printed sheet, all of the icons are kind of 3D and I made them all by hand, even cut the letters for "iPad" freehand which was pretty fiddly I can tell you!

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Thanks for the suggestions Mo, I will definitely be checking those out! Regarding maternity leave, here in the UK we are entitled to up to 12 months off work - the first 6 weeks at 90% of full pay, the remainder of 9 months is a statutory amount (not much but enough to get by) and then the remaining 3 months are unpaid but many return at the end of the paid 9 month period. I know we have it good compared to you guys over there and am very grateful for it, but had no idea that in Finland they get 2 paid years - that would be fantastic!

Thanks again for your lovely comments people!