Where I started.

 My very first decorating job was at Cashwise Bakery in Waite Park, MN. Honestly, this seems like forever ago. I can't even remember exactly when I started there, but I do know I learned a lot. Above is one of the first cakes I ever did.

More birthday delicious-ness!

Birthday cupcakes! I helped celebrate the birthday of one of my oldest friends yesterday, the big 2-6! I couldn't think of a better dessert to bring than champagne cupcakes.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Those of you who are fans of my blog on facebook (which I would love if you would take the second to "like"!) have already seen the breast cancer cupcake toppers that I did. Last night I finally made the cupcakes that the toppers would go on.

Crossing my fingers!

I I know I promised a new post, but I of course have misplaced my memory card reader! So it will have to wait a bit longer.

Something that is exciting though, I have a potential cake decorating job! Cashwise called me in for an interview on Tuesday. So I will go in and decorate a cake and if I do well enough, I will get the job. I am so excited for this, and I think it will be the perfect place for me to start. Also the experience I would gain from this position would be so so great! So this weekend I am going to continue practicing piping, especially my writing.

I have a really good feeling about the job, but I am still keeping my fingers crossed. The manager kept saying how much she loves my enthusiasm about the position, so that has to be a good sign!

The shell boarders were something I had struggled with, but I think I have figured them out after much practice Thursday night!

I will keep you all updated and will post again as soon as I find my card reader =]
Have a great weekend everyone!

The wait is over!

Brace yourselves, I know you have all been on the edge of your seats waiting for this post. I am happy to report the wait is over. My first fondant cake is here! Try to contain your excitement. My friend Mark graduated from college back in December, but one weekend I really wanted to make a cake, so he received a very late graduation cake. I used the same fondant from my last post to cover this cake with, and I did have to microwave it for a few seconds to get it nice and soft again. When you do this, make sure you only do a few seconds at a time. Ok, where was I?

Hi Hat Cupckes= A Disastor!

Oh boy, where to start with these poor little things? First of all, you guys should check here on what these were supposed to look like.

Ok, so you have the idea? Now look at the picture above. Sad, isn't it? I know, I know,

Dad winter of '08

baking these cupcakes started off innocent enough. I went home to Minneapolis this past weekend to be with family, the 13th of May marked the 3 year anniversary of my dad passing away, and going to a bar in St. Paul is our yearly tradition to celebrate my dad. The following Sunday we were headed to my grandmas to celebrate some family birthdays (a lot of family time that weekend!) so I knew it would be a perfect opportunity to give these cupcakes a shot. Saturday night my Mom and I gathered all of the ingredients and started baking.

Cake= a great gift for Mom!

As promised, I am excited to share the cake I made/decorated yesterday! The other day My roommate Leif and I were watching TV and out of the blue he said, "So what's the going rate for a mom's day cake?" I got the biggest smile on my face and just said, "REALLY?!?!" I was so ecstatic that he asked me to make a cake for his mom. I am at the point where I feel weird/bad charging people (since I am still learning and practicing) so I just asked him to replace the materials that I used. I was excited all week to make the cake and yesterday it was finally time. I know I have not updated on my 2nd level of class yet, but it is all about flower and cake design using fondant, gum paste and royal icing. That being said, I really wanted to do some fondant work with this cake. For the class I bought Wilton fondant that was already made and colored (definitely does not taste as good as making your own fondant) so practicing some flowers was pretty easy.
Leif didn't have any specific ideas for the cake, just that he wanted it to say something regarding mothers day, so I had a lot of creative freedom with it.

First session of class is over...(updated)

Well guys, tonight marked the end of my first session of cake decorating class. You might think I would be really sad and devastated about this, and I probably would be if the 2nd session didn't start on MONDAY! Wooo!! haha
First of all, I realize I have pretty much abandoned my poor blog for the last week, and I promise I had a reason. What is that reason? Well I simply didn't want to "over-bake" myself. My mom and I (well more like my mom) did a lot of baking for Easter, and I didn't want to burn myself out before my final cake.

So excited I could burst!

Oh my gosh you guys. I said earlier I was going to decorate my first cake this weekend, and I did. Yesterday I finished decorating it and I have been all smiles since. It was SO much fun to do and it's just so so great.

I said I needed a purpose for a cake, and thanks to my boyfriend Josh, I had one. One of his buddies had a baby last week, so I made them a cake. I have never met these friends, so I am going to be the weird girl who gives them a cake, haha. Poor them, having to be the guinea pigs for my first cake.

Be prepared...this entry is going to be pretty photo heavy.

Update on Class

So I realized that I have not updated on my class at Crafts Direct! I am taking 1 of 4 classes right now. The first one I am in right now is "cake decorating basics."

On the first day we didn't get to actually do anything, but the teacher did go over a lot of techniques with us and I honestly learned a lot.

Yesterday was the 2nd day and our 'homework' was to bring in a batch of frosting so we could start decorating. We did a lot of different piping techniques and practiced with them. My hand KILLED after doing them so much! We also got to decorate a picture entirely out of frosting. During the first class we picked out a picture and for the second session she brought in a larger version of it for us to decorate. I did not pick the best one and definitely drew the short straw color-wise, but here is how it turned out:

It is a little hula girl and I got to do some leaf piping on the bottom and added some little flowers. Her face is SUPER creepy with that red frosting (we didn't get to pick out color) but overall it turned out pretty well. I am going to make a cake this weekend so I can do some more practicing. I can't wait.

This four part class costs $30 and I have learned more in these two sessions then I did in my three months at Le Cordon Bleu.

I will try and keep you guys updated about the classes! Have a good weekend all and stay tuned for my future post on the cake I make/decorate this weekend :)