Course 3 Of My Cake Decorating Class

I finished course 3!
It always go's by so fast!

This course was very fun, and definitely the harder one of the 3 courses!

Lesson 1, we learned cornelli lace (a continual squiggly line), bead border, brush embroidery on fondant flowers, single drop strings, multiple drop strings, overlapping drop strings, ruffle border, and ruffle garland.

Lesson 2, we learned how to work with fondant, the fondant rose, and how to make a fondant ribbon and bow tie.
(it's supposed to look like a present, but there wasn't enough time in class, and I didn't have enough fondant. So, it's a cake with a bow:)

Lesson3, we learned how to make the following flowers in royal icing: Easter lilly, poinsettia, petunia, and morning glory.
Lesson 4, we made a 2 teird cake!!
We had to bring two, 2 layered cakes covered in fondant, and our roses that we made at home, to class.
Our teacher told us we could switch out the fondant roses, with either royal icing, or butter cream icing roses. I didn't like the roses we learned in class, so I looked up videos on-line, and taught myself how to mold them by hand.I liked the way they came out, but it was time consuming, and I had to make 30 roses! So, I decided to make them out of royal icing instead.
In class, we assembled our cake, and decorated it with the roses we brought from home.(my friend Julie and I with our final cakes. Julie did a really cool Halloween cake!)
I was in a rush to get home that night, so I waited until I got home to put on the leaves, and I also removed some roses, because it looked cluttered to me.
The final product...
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I got so much more out of this then just learning how to decorate cakes!

During this course, I also learned:

~Not to give up. The day of our final class, I was up sick the night before and didn't get much sleep, and I still had an upset stomach. I was not physically or emotionally up for the challenge of making 30 roses, and getting my cakes ready for class. I really wanted to throw in the towel that morning, but managed to move forward. Then when it came time to put the fondant on my cake, it was completely not working, and it kept ripping. At that point, I decided I was giving up, and I wasn't going to finish the course. I sat down on the couch, completely frustrated. I stared at my unfinished cake on the counter and a voice in my head kept telling me not to give up. I wasn't on the couch for more then 3min, when I got up, and gave it another try. I got everything done, and I couldn't believe I did it! I felt really proud, and happy I didn't give up.

~I grew a deeper appreciation for my husband. He helped me out a lot the last day, and I would not have been able to finish without him.

~To believe in myself. I really didn't think I could get the last class completed, but I kept telling myself "You can do this Brittany. You can totally do this!"

~I learned that through our struggles, come lessons and rewards, IF we allow it to. The last day of class was a huge struggle for me. It was filled with many emotions, and lots of tears. By persevering, I made it to the end, with lessons learned, and a beautiful cake to show for it! Although it would have been a completely different outcome, if I let my struggles bring me down.
Yes, I took that valuable life lesson from a cake decorating class!

Course 4 starts in January...Can't wait!

Course 2 of My Cake Decorating Class

Well, I've completed course 2.
It was so much fun, and I learned lots of neat things (mostly flowers)
This time we didn't have to make a cake, and bring it to class to decorate. We just had to bring all the frosting we would need to practice what we were learning in class. It was kinda nice to not have to make a cake every week, but it also meant we didn't get to decorate anything, showing what we had just learned. That part was kinda a bummer.

Week 1 we learned how to make rosettes, a reversed shell, rose buds and chrysanthemums (chrysanthemum)

Week 2 I was wasn't there because I was sick, but they covered the apple blossom, violet, and the violet leaf.

Week 3 we learned how to make the Victorian rose (same technique as the the regular rose, you just use a different tip), Daisy, daffodil, primrose, and pansy.
Week 3 I learned that I really like primroses, and daffodils, but I can't do a daisy to save my life! (daffodil)(Victorian rose)(primrose)

For week 4, we had to make all the flowers we've learned, at home, as well as make a 2 layered oval cake to bring to class.
In class we learned how to do a basket weave, and a rope border. Then we decorated our cakes, with the new techniques we had just learned, and with the flowers we had made at home.
I had planned to skip the basket weave on my cake, because I knew there was no way my hands would be able withstand it, because of my arthritis. My sweet teacher told me to do as much as my hands could take, and she would finish the rest. I only made it to 1/4 of the way through, and then she finished the basket weave. Isn't she sweet?!(my friend Julie, and her fabulous cake!)

(the side of my cake)

Once again, I'm a proud mama of my cake, and I'm really happy to be taking these courses!It's been fun learning to do lots of new things, and meeting up with a friend each week, to do something fun together!!

Next week we start course 3!

Course 1 Of My Cake Decorating Class

Over the past 4 weeks, I have been taking a cake decorating class with two of my friends, Julie and Nikki. It has been so much fun! We even went a little crazy, and got cute aprons, towels and wash cloths to match! Hey, if you're going to take a cake decorating class, you may as well go all out, right?

Our first class, we didn't do much, other then listening to the teacher go over how to properly make a cake, how to make frosting, and how to properly frost a cake.

Our 2nd week, we learned how to make a star, different lines (zigzag, squiggly, etc), and writing. In class we had the option to make a teddy bear cake COVERED in stars, or a rainbow cake. I decided to try the rainbow cake....It didn't come out to well. I was so annoyed when I was frosting my cake for the first time (each week we have to bring a 2 layered, frosted cake to class). It was so horrible, and I kept thinking to myself "She made this look a heck of a lot easier in class!" Then when I got to class, things just weren't quite working out for me. It was pretty hard on my hands. I was almost ready to give up, but I'm SO glad I didn't!

Week 2 rainbow cake:
Our 3rd week we learned how to make drop flowers, faces, bears, and clowns! We had the option to bring cupcakes or a cake. I decided to bring cupcakes, because I'm a cupcake kinda girl.

Week 3 cupcakes:(they fell over in the car, and got a little squashed. So these aren't the best pictures, but you get the idea)

Our 4th class was the grand finale! We learned how to make roses, leaves, vines, and bows!
I was all emotional in class (although I managed to keep it in:), because with each rose I made, I felt So proud of myself! My mind kept going back to the first class, when my cake looked horrid and it just seemed hopeless. I was amazed at how much I had grown!

Week 4 rose cake:
(I took a TON of pics of this cake because I'm a proud mama)
This was so much more then a simple cake decorating class to me. I learned a lot about decorating cakes, but I also learned SO much more!

I learned not to give up. If I would have given up the first time I felt frustrated, look how much I would have missed out on! I would have never had the opportunity to gain all that I did.

I learned to believe in myself. There were times when I would tell myself I just wasn't creative, or skilled enough to do this. Now I know that I TOTALLY am!! :)

I learned to not back away from something that intimidates me, or takes me out of my comfort zone. I learned to just jump right into it, and not let fear keep me from doing something that I really want to do.

I learned how to be more organized, and not procrastinate so much. Each week I had to have a cake all ready to go, along with all the frosting that I would need in class. Sometimes, it was a lot of frosting! I became better at doing everything I needed to, in order to meet a deadline.

I'm really happy I took this class. Like I said, I got so much more out of it than just learning how to make cakes.I got a Wilton Method of Cake Decorating Course One Certificate of Completion. I'm totally proud of that little piece of paper...even though it really doesn't mean anything :) To me, it does...

I'm super excited for the next three courses! I've learned all this in just one course, and I can't wait to see what I will learn over the next three!!