Sugarcraft chat

[wem]

I started a thread for cake people a while back but it got a bit lost in Chat so thought I'd try to tempt people into our lovely new baking topic.

Hopefully I'll see some of the posters from the chat thread, but for any new people popping in, introductions: I'm wem, I'm a recent cake obsessive and have been bothering mumsnetters about it a fair bit as I'm starting up cake decorating business. I don't have anywhere near the experience or knowledge of some of the posters in here, but I do have an excessive willingness to chat about cake :)

Let's try this again, eh?

anttenae (sp?) are made from gumpaste (just needs a few days to dry hard). The monster was straight out of a book - I just can't remember which one . I will try and look in the morning - too tired to think/move right now after 4:30am start.

Ooh blueberry your cakes a fabulous, the cup is brilliant!! I have no idea what gum paste is .... lots to learn here!!

stealth your cakes are so good, the sewing basket is amazing!!

stealth, the sewing basket is great! slightly disappointed not to see a patchwork toilet though

Filly - no such thing as a hijack on a chat thread :). The fairy princess is beautiful. I love the picture at the party, it looks like she doesn't want to cut it!

Thanks Wem :) Stealth was my guru and my rock through that cake (wasn't helped by selling our house 2 weeks before and being camped out at my dps during its construction!)

Hi can I join, I'm just starting out as well. I've been doing cupcakes for a while and did some for our toddlers group recently, from that 3 people have asked me to make them some.

I'm also starting to do more sugarcraft, just starting flowers if I ever get time.

can i join in too??

I have recently started baking alot, i find it de-stresses me, and helps me manage some disabling conditions, therefore makes me happy

I have made some beauties, including owls, wedding cakes and normal birthday cakes and boobs [hmmm]

I bake every week, at least once and for birthdays/occasions etc!

I have been on a couple of professional corses, including a Paul Bradford one :)

At the moment i'm working on a two tier 80th cake for my grandmother, with ribbons and a sparkly brooch on it :)

Hi Lisa :) I have recently done 3 dozen boob cupcakes for a breast cancer survivor to take in to the hospital at her final appointment. They went down a storm!

Fairy princess cake looks lovely, filly - and DD looks so impressed (as she should be, that Mummy still managed to produce fab cake in the middle of a house move - we moved on my 6th birthday and I didn't get a cake at all, let alone a princess one [sulk]). I should probably warn sheepseyes that DS howled at the thought of anyone attacking his monster with a knife, come to think of it (and was pretty protective of last year's baby dragon too)

If the thread had been around when I was actually doing that basket, I would have been on here howling as to why none of you told me quite what a complete bastard challenge belgian chocolate sugarpaste was to work with. The basketwork ended up crap not very good and the covering far too thick because I couldn't keep the sodding stuff within the 2 degree temperature range in which is it neither rock solid nor liquid. Any tips much appreciated because I have lots left...

wem - I ended up ditching the DIY tools because of issues of both time and scale (on Thursday night when event was on Saturday I only had empty cotton reels and some needles!), and once I had done the quilted board I realised that I was never going to be happy with a 'draped' quilt, so the basket got filled with bits of fabric instead.

DH did almost get throttled for scrumpling up and binning the pins when they were drying on a sheet of baking parchment

I would love to do a course but they are all too far away and I have 4DCs under 8 and no childcare (apart from DP who works long hours) so getting time to bake is hard.

I do an evening course at a local college which is run termly and you can progress up the levels of you want. I have recently found a local sugarcraft shop that does courses on Saturdays and they are not too expensive, so I might sign up for a few specific courses.

at courses.

I have the same issue as sweetkitty - or a variation of it. Working full time and unpredictably, and so is DH, so I can't sign up for anything which assumes I will be able to go (which means I am not working, and neither is DH (so he can look after DC)) on the same evening each week. I would make 2 lessons a term

Or local college used to do courses but stopped them due to the cutbacks. I've bought that Cake Decorating Series you know the fortnightly magazines, maybe I've day I'll get the chance to do something out of them.

I have considered online courses - has anyone ever tried one (I mean paid ones with virtual classrooms etc)

Hi can I join you all please, I'm hoping to make my ds2s christening cake and then my mums 50th birthday cake.
Is it best to use a denser cake for icing and decorating?

Stealth - I never knew online courses existed, how do they get past the 'can you just look at this and squidge it so it looks like your demo one?' part of the lesson? (or is it only me who needs that part? :o )

Welcome Mamma - Madeira cake is often best for icing and decorating.

I don't know - I was looking at these ones but have not been brave enough to try one yet..

Stealth - do you get the cake central newsletter? I've just had an email with a 50% off offer on that course. They look incredible don't they?

Wem - yes, that, combined with talk of courses, was what reminded me. With
50% off they are not expensive, but I am struggling to see how I would find time to do it properly.

recognise one of your cakes blueberry!

smile

Wow!

thank God you posted Filly! I thought I had killed the thread.. I always love seeing other peoples cakes.

I am loving your Pirate ship (well all of them really) bet that was a total hit

Never - I made that from a picture given to me by a client. Is it one of yours?

I have spent my morning making great big tea roses and jasmine flowers for a bouquet display.