Close encounters of the cake celebrity kind - Giveaway!?!?!?

I try not to be a dork and go all crazy meeting "cake celebrities" but there are a few that I wanted to meet and talk to a bit.  I don't want to meet them because they are on TV, but because of what they have accomplished.  Not every decorator publishes a book, appears on TV, creates a new product/technique, etc.  Of course, not everyone gets recognized for their talent either.  Alright... enough of the chit chat.. and by the way... this is the most pictures you will EVER see of me...

Here is me with Edward Frys.  I took an introduction to airbrushing class with him back in March at the National Capital Area Cake show.  He has been on Food Network Challenge and does great work.  You may have seen this WALL-E cake or Yoda cake he did.

 This is James Roselle.  As I think I mentioned before, he does awesome sugar flowers... something I don't think I will ever be able to do.  He gave me some pointers, but for the most part, it's all about practice.

This is Jay Qualls of The Next Great Baker fame.  He was one of my favs from the show and he was the keynote speaker at the breakfast for shop owners.  He told us his story and how to work with social media.  One of my fav quotes from his talk was that just because you are busy, doesn't mean you are making money.  This applies to every business... not just cake... it kinda goes along with the "Work smarter, not harder".

 Of course, if you are at all familiar with cake, you know who this woman is.  She judges and critiques all the Food Network Challenge contestants, has published a book of her work, and of course is like the master of cake.  This is the only way I would meet her, so I figured I might as well ask for a pic.

Here is me with Marina Sousa.  She is probably the designer I look up to the most... and was the most excited to meet.  Maybe it's her style or the fact that she is a bigger girl like myself.  I also love her sugar molds and hopefully will find some time to give them a try.

And finally here is me with Sharon Zambito.  Sharon has a great line of DVDs that show you how to do various cake decorating techniques.  When I first started decorating, I borrowed Perfecting the Art of Buttercream and started using her tips and techniques.  I then bought all of her DVDs a few months later and learned a lot.  I still use some of Sharon's techniques, but I have also adapted some to fit me better.

 I get a lot of cake decorating DVDs... for me, I like seeing how different people do things and try to figure out what works best for me.  I have 3 or 4 DVDs on how to fondant a cake, and would gladly buy another... sure I have fondant down, but I feel the DVD is worth it if I get another tip or trick that I never heard of or seen before.  

So... to the giveaway... I have one of Sharon's Perfecting the Art of Buttercream DVDs up for grabs.  To enter, leave a comment below stating why you need/want this DVD.  For an additional entry, follow my blog and add a comment stating such (or add a comment that you are already a follower).  Entries will be accepted thru Monday the 15th of August.  Winner will be announced on Tuesday, August 16th.  Good Luck!

ICES Convention 2011 - The Cakes

Today I am going to feature some of the cakes/techniques I found interesting for one reason or another.  Some I was just in awe of how they did it, while others I liked a particular idea or design or color combo... whatever.  Unfortunately I didn't note everyone's name, so if you know who made the cake, please post it in the comments.

This reminded me of my tye dye cake from  last year

I liked the simplicity of this.

Love the flowers!

Love the stringwork... it's not too much.

My kind of cake from Melanie Stanger.

Another one from Melanie Stanger... she had 54 TIERS displayed at ICES.

 

 

Cake by Mark Seaman

 

Sorry some of these pics are kinda all over the place... it's not allowing me to organize them better... or maybe it is user error.  Anyway, these were some of my favs... check in tomorrow... I will be doing my first ever blog giveaway!!!

ICES Convention 2011 - Charlotte, NC

It wasn't too long ago that my friend Zoraya introduced me to ICES, the International Cake Exploration Society.  I kinda giggled at the "exploration" part... is there a large cake somewhere that needs to be discovered?  Anyway, I joined and shortly after attended my first local cake show in VA.  As I got more involved with cake decorating, I learned a little bit more about the organization and found out that there is an annual convention every year where all the big names in cake decorating come together and teach classes, provide demonstrations, and introduce new techniques and products.  To me this sounded like heaven, but traveling to San Diego, CA, where last year's convention was held, seemed a bit out of my price range, plus the baby was only a few months old.  Disheartened, I found out that the following year's convention would be in Charlotte, NC... and that was within driving distance!!  So I started making plans to attend.

Fast forward several months and cakes later, and I was ready to have the experience of my cake decorating life.  Zoraya and I got down there around 12:30pm on Wednesday, unloaded, and headed over to the convention center to register, attend a "first-timers" orientation, and register our cake displays.

Thursday was the first full day of activities, and the only day I was taking hands-on classes.  I decided against taking several hands-on classes because a) they were more expensive than the demos, b) they take more time, and c) I wanted to make sure I had enough time to do everything else, most importantly, SHOPPING.  My first class was with Paul Caswell and Peter Gibson of The Sweet Guys in Orlando, FL.  They do a lot of chocolate work, so we made a sleigh and truffles.  Unfortunately we ran out of time, so I didn't get to assemble it... yet... but it actually turned out to be a good thing because I was able to carry it around with me in the molds in my bag.  Below is a picture of what the sleigh will look like.

The next class I took was Bas Relief and simple painting with Kelly Lance.  We painted a scene on a piece of gumpaste and then sculpted a fish on top of the scene.

Then came some demos... from stenciling to isomalt to making cake stands... I came home with a ton of new techniques, tricks, and ideas.... and a ton of new stuff.  Here is a pic of my "stash" after my first hour or so in the vendor hall...

I didn't take a pic of my entire stash, but needless to say I brought home A LOT!  Now I need some time to re-organize, unpack everything, and hope my credit card statement comes later than normal.  I actually bought so much I needed to empty some rolling carts filled with scrapbooking supplies that I never use, so I have more storage for my cake things.  How do you store your cake stuff?

Tomorrow I will show some of the displays I thought were neat... and then... close encounters of the cake celebrity kind...

Charlotte, NC... ready or not, here I come

Next week at this time I will be waking up in the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, NC.  Charlotte is this year's host city for the 2011 ICES Convention.  For those of your who do not know, ICES, is the International Cake Exploration Society and has been around for over 30 years.  It's a great way for a cake enthusiast to learn about new trends and techniques, get recipes, and find folks that share the love of cake decorating.

This is my first time attending the convention, and I am so excited to go.  I have heard so many wonderful things that I can't wait to experience them myself.  From the classes to the shopping to the demos... I may think I have gone to my own personal heaven!  My biggest concerns are being overwhelmed and overspending (I LOVE cake decorating tools... and unfortunately... they aren't cheap!)!

Besides having 5 days of CAKE, CAKE, CAKE, I will also be away from both of my boys for the very first time.  I may not know what to do with myself!!!  Of course, me being away means my husband will be at home with the boys for 5 full days... hopefully he will have a better appreciation for me and understand why I am in a bad mood when he gets home from work later than expected.

So the next few days will be getting my orders out the door, prepping a small display cake for the convention, laundry, packing, and getting all those little things done before I leave!!