Gina’s Obsessed with…Cake Decorating!

“I’m Obsessed!” is a weekly series where one blogger (or artist, blog reader, crafter, etsian, etc) will share what they are currently obsessed with and why. If you’re interesting in writing a post for the “I’m Obsessed!” series please email me kendra[at]likeabirdblog[dot]com

This week, we have a yummy obsession from Gina!

Gina blogs over at Fantasy Casting about books and movies, but mostly about books being turned into movies. Follow her blog or twitter

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Hi, my name is Gina and I’m a cake decoratoraholic.

They say admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. Well, I don’t want to head for recovery. I *love* having a problem with cake decorating!

It all started a few years ago when my sister and I started a catering company. After the first few calls came in, we realized people expected us to be able to make cakes and cupcakes for parties as well as the food.
We both decided to take some classes, just to get the basics under our belts.

And an obsession was born.

I began making cakes that nobody ordered, just so I could practice. I would give them away, or worse, throw them away after my family would fail to eat them before they turned stale.

I started by making my kids’ birthday cakes. You know, a cartoon character here, a teddy bear there. But, before I knew it, I was piping daisies and violets for no good reason at all!

I made a three tier chocolate cake with over 100 roses attached to it for my mother’s birthday. Which doesn’t seem so outlandish, until you hear that there were only going to be about 10 people at the party.

I’ve practiced making cartoon characters out of fondant, just to see if I could. Then, of course, they turn to rocks and I have to throw them out and start all over again.

I’ve begun “selling” my work, but without actually making a profit. I made a wedding cake for a dear friend (I love her and would do this again) and charged her only $500. For a cake that ended up feeding 600 guests. The cake eventually would be over four feet tall, with five different flavors (if you included the groom’s cake and the “extra” top tier for their anniversary). Once I deducted the cost of my ingredients, I made about $210 making that cake. Divide that up by the number of hours I spent measuring, baking, torting, icing, filling, covering, decorating and stacking, I made approximately $4 an hour. To make a wedding cake.

Of course, there is the sense of pride I feel when I succeed, though it’s not always about me. There are times when my cheap labor really benefits others. For instance, I made a wedding cake for a woman in our church. She was going to get a plain cake from the grocery store’s ready-made cake counter. I made her dream cake, complete with a spray of shimmering lavender roses for less than she was going to pay for the disgusting grocery store cake. She had a real wedding cake, one that she couldn’t have afforded had I not been willing to give away my services.

Between January and April, two of my sons have their birthdays, and seven of their friends do as well. I’ve already made four birthday cakes for preschoolers thisyear and I could not be more thrilled about it! From now till the middle of April, I’m booked solid, with a cake either being made or mapped out every single week

After that, I don’t know what I will do with myself…