Back to School

I love the creativity in designing and making cakes/cupcakes for my kids birthdays, but I didn't really have the know-how to create the visions I come up with in my head.  So back in March 2009 I signed up for my first Wilton cake decorating class.  While I loved learning all of the decorating techniques, I quickly began to realize that beginning cake decorating and perfectionism do not go hand in hand.  I don't think I was ever more frustrated in my life.  Every new technique I tried never came out looking like the picture in the booklet.  But with a little bit a lot of patience and practice, I was able to create this for my  final cake project.

It took me 2 years to go back and take the remaining Wilton courses.  I'm not really sure why I waited so long...in fact I really wish I would have taken the classes sooner.  I learned SO much from them.  And just to think of the cool cakes I could have created if I had just known the techniques....

These were my first attempt at gum paste pansies.

My final project for the Flowers and Cake Design class.  They are jumbo cupcakes decorated to look like flower baskets.  I'm not overly happy with them, but that's partly because I had to create them in what I consider a backwards order.  I think they would have looked better had I been able to do the basket weave on the bottom first and then finished doing the tops.

This was my final cake for the Gum Paste and Fondant class.  I wanted to put cut out stars shooting out of the bow as well as a couple around the sides, but I ran out of colored fondant and couldn't justify the cost.