I think I'm losing my motivation to do cakes. My Wilton classes were so incredibly stressful and frustrating that I hardly want to think about making any more cakes. That just ended this week, though, so it's probably temporary. I also remember that I can be creative now and do whatever I want. That gets me excited.. Ok, so I get a twinge to do another cake and then the problem is that we still have more than 1/2 a cake in the fridge. It's just myself and my partner living alone and we are both kind of sick of cake now and I'm trying to lose weight, too.

Both he and I work from home and we just moved to this area so we don't know many people. We have a house, so there isn't an apartment manager like some of you had suggested making cakes for. I would like to get to know my neighbors and let them know I do cakes and do some subtle advertising (not too overt because I'm doing this from home..), but many of them are elderly and I'd be concerned that if I made them a cake that they couldn't eat it. Grah!! I guess I should buy some pans that make tiny cakes and bring those around the neighborhood? Haven't got those pans yet, but can probably find something.

My partner is out of town for a couple days and it's a good time for me to do cake decorating work, but with so much leftover cake here I can't seem to get psyched to do it unless I know where it's going. Does that make sense? I have a ton of royal icing flowers already, so that's all set. What the heck else should I do? I want to learn BCT's, but no ideas for what to make.

What should I do that will help me stay or get re-motivated in this? Should I just wait til this cake is gone and then start up again? Who else could I make cakes for? How do I know they will be able to eat them? Do I send out feelers first and tell them I do this and ask if they'd like samples? How do you do that and get in trouble? I'm so confused!!!

Blessings,
~AngelWendy

I'll bet if you gave cakes to your elderly neighbors they would love it! They would probably tell their friends and family "my nice new neighbor just brought me a beautiful, delicious cake" and you could take it from there! Classes can be stressful because you have a time limit and specific things you need to make for the next class, etc. Now it's your time to get creative! Enjoy!

Debbie

Don't know how much advertising you might get, but you would definitely leave a good image with someone.Take any extra cakes you might make for practice and donate it to the local homeless shelter. Someone from their would love some good cake I'm sure.

I'm in the same situation where I don't want to eat the cakes. I think a homeless shelter, local fire station or police station are all wonderful ideas.

I do not know how thing work out in your country. But here where I stay, we have daycaresenter for old peoples, firestation, policestation, hostpital for only old peoples, handicap daycaresenter and a lot more. And not for mention all the old peoples that are all alone and like someone to talk with. The homeless peoples. There are so many that would like a pice of a great cake. And I think they would love it.
Just belive your self, relaxe and try.
You have no timetable now, so everything can go in your own way.
Good luck...

JULIET THAT WOULD BE THE PERFECT THING TO DO - DONATE TO YOUR LOCAL FIRE DEPT. WE JUST GOT OVER HAVING A FLOOD HERE - WE MADE NATIONAL NEWS. THE DELAWARE RIVER AND THE NEVERSINK BOTH FLOODED - WHERE NY, NJ, & PA COME TOGETHER. EVERYTHING IS STILL OUT OF WHACK HERE. I BELONG TO THE FIRE DEPT IN WESTFALL TOWNSHIP, PA AND THIS WEEK WE TOOK EVERYTHING WE COULD GET. WE HAVE A LOT OF GENEROUS PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY WHO DONATED WHATEVER THEY COULD - RESTAURANTS AND GROCERY STORES HELPED US OUT WITH THE DONATION OF FOOD WHICH WE WERE VERY THANKFUL FOR. JUST CALL YOUR LOCAL FIRE DEPT AND SEE WHEN MONTHLY MEETING NIGHT OR DRILL NIGHT IS AND YOU SHOULD BE GOOD! WE ARE STILL PUMPING OUT BASEMENTS, I HAVEN'T BEEN HOME MUCH TO LOOK AT THIS SITE AND THIS HAPPENED ON SUNDAY APRIL 3.

When I started out I gave tons of cakes away. i made lots of little 6 inch rounds and single layer 8 inchers. It takes 7 cupcakes to make a sampler cupcake cake. I took them everywhere.. .library, doctor's, realtor's office (I was buying a house then, too)... literally everywhere.... and of course, neighbors... and they ended up being great customers.

If you're just looking to practice decorating, why not buy some "dummy" cakes. From what I understand, you can ice it with a product that stays on, then decorate with buttercream however you want. When you're ready to try something else, you can just "wash" off the decoration and start over.

I agree with the others...all those avenues are great. I just started keeping my ears open and when an opportunity for a cake came up I offered to do it at cost to get more experience under my belt.

Are there soup kitchens in your area? Check with the Salvation Army to see if they have any suggestions. Are there any scout troops in your area? The kids may appreciate a gift during their monthly pack or troop meeting. Womens groups (or mens for that matter) for local area clubs. The boards usually have monthly meetings and would probably appreciate a dessert. The other idea that comes to mind are youth groups from area churches. You could make up calling cards on your computer with your phone number & email address and attach them to the cake box.

Another avenue that you may want to consider would be to call your church (or just a nearby local church if you don't attend one regularly) and volunteer to make desserts for funeral luncheons. Just a thought...

Any practice cakes we won't eat at home I take to my former work place. I took all my class cakes there. They love anything I want to "unload", such generous people lol.

AngelWendy, I was the same after I finished a class. Then pretty soon I got started again and the orders started to come in. I really got burned out after doing two wedding cakes just a week apart. That was October and I just started making cakes again in Jan. The stress of doing class stuff burned me out for a little while but once I caught my breath I was off again. I bet you'll do the same. Yah, you will. Ü

AngelWendy... it's funny because I felt the same way you do. My last course was last Dec. It is really hard to get everything ready for class while decorating your house, wrapping gifts, shopping, church & all. I was so burned out that I used the wedding cake for the last course for my dad's bday cake!! He wasn't so excited about it because it had the roses on it, LOL!! After that last cake (Dec 20) I didn't do another cake till Jan 1st! That was for a friend. The burn out goes away & then all you will want to do is learn & practice! So be patient w/ yourself. Your just going through the same things alot of us have gone through! We got through it! Ha ha~

Well first off, the problem I see is you are a little burned out, and thats ok, but let me tell you that it will be over soon. Its not like you are a bakery and have to make bunches of cakes everyday....do it because you like it...I am in the same boat...I made myself do baby booties for a class, I made a chocolate cake yesterday because hubby said I dont make choc anymore...so I made one for him, with a choc frosting and just me and my 4 year old put a border on the bottom and around the bundt cake hole on top. He loved the cake, not so crazy about the frosting... but oh well... ANGEL, like stated above making small 6" cakes for the elderly is great idea... its the idea that you are thinking of them and "watching" out for them that is going to matter. There are always bakesales here and there...donate there... take something into sweetie's place of work and tell them you miss him and got bored wanted to make
a cake, and since you dont want to eat it, you wanted to give it to them... take a deep breath...breathe realize you are doing cakes cuz you love to, not because you have to (like class) you will get your best work out now!!!

Duh I'm sorry, I didnt read that part about working from home..sorry....

No no no.. NO Problem!

The way that I practice my cakes is I tape wax paper onto the cake pan that I want to decorate on then ice like I would a cake, that way I don't waste cake and I am still able to develop my skills. Also it's much easier to scrape off and start over (keeping the buttercream for the next one) and it is the right size and shape for what you are going for. Alot less stressful for me to try new things and not worry about wasting cake. (Not sure it would work very well on character cakes though..)

Just a thought.

Mixee

My issue with dummy cakes:

Even with doctoring, cakes cost less to make than buttercream. Yet, it's the buttercream we're wasting (scraping off and throwing away). I feel like if I'm going to be throwing the BC away, I'd rather give it away on a cake.

Yes, I could use the cheaper bc to practice.... but it's a different consistency and feel and I wouldn't be practicing at all with what I'm using for real.... huh?

How much batter do 6" cakes take? How many of those can I get from one cake mix?

Ack! And I have to get up earlier so I can get to the place in town that has Wilton supplies at half price, including the pans! I've spent a lot of money there already, but I guess I'll spend more. It's in most cases less expensive than using eBay because I don't have to pay the shipping, either. I bought the large open book pan there and lots of coloring and colorspray and fondant and tips. Could use more tips, too, at half price.

Now I'm psyched and don't have what I need to do it. LOL! It figures, huh?


Ok, here's a weird thought. Can you stack a smaller layer on top of a larger layer without doweling - just doing two layers altogether? Hmm. Maybe I need to make a new thread for that question?

Blessings,
~AngelWendy

I took my practice cakes to the local police station. (My father works there) I dropped the first one off around 9:30am and my dad called me at 10:30 and said that he just went to the breakroom to see my cake and someone told him it was already eaten. These people were so appreciative that they started talking about the cake and before the end of the week, business started coming in.
I also volunteer at a local crisis pregnancy center and we give baby showers to the women who visit us. I volunteered the cakes for free so that I would have an excuse to practice. I have also had some calls from those cakes too.
You can always find someone who would like a nice cake for a surprise. And the first time you do it, and you see that they appreciate it so much, you will be hooked and already be trying to think of what your next cake is going to be!

Well, I just moved here and I don't know any of the firemen nor police officers. So damn! You're basically saying that anything I bring anyone anywhere is just going to be thrown out because people will think it's suspicious? This totally sucks. I'm going to give up!

Angel

No, I'm not saying it WILL happen... but the possibility is high.... we live in an evil world and they of all people must be careful... we can't blame them. Terrorist don't always look like terrorists.

AngelWendy,
I just did some checking on the Keene fire department. It is a Paid department staffed with 36 career firefighters in a total of 4 shifts. If you stopped by and introduced yourself to some of the firefighters and their officers around the firehouses and began talking to them I am sure you could find a place to donate cake creations to. The fire officers are the ones you really need to talk to as they are responsible for the firefighters in their shift. Fire departments are usually like a large family and from my experience in the volunteer world and as a part time Firefighter EMT they will eat almost anything.

Firefighters are not as suspicious as cops.... poor guys (the cops that is)... I have one living in my house.. humph... she doesn't trust anyone !

I want to thank Alan (Ump107) for the detailed info on my local fire dept. !!! I will go in and ask for the fire officer one of these days. I think we have two stations right now.

I went to the local Home Show today and talked to the police officer that was at a booth to teach about crime prevention/neighborhood watch. I told him I was learning cake decorating and was wondering if it would be ok to bring a free cake in to the police station and if they would like it there. He said they'd love it, but told me to go in during regular hours so I could talk to the secretary and leave it with her. Ok.. sounds good. At least he didn't say no that they couldn't eat it.. and didn't give me the impression that was the case. I will give them my name and address and list of ingredients anyhow so I think that will be reasonably safe.

I also realized the other day that since we have a college in my town, I could find some place that college students would appreciate cake. I could probably talk to the RA's at the dorms and they would probably really appreciate cake donated to the dorms. The other place would be donating to frat and sorority houses, where I bet they'd LOVE cakes occasionally and it might give me business for future parties, too.

Blessings and Light,
~AngelWendy

Another thing to think about is that your elderly neighbors probably have grandchildren to eat them. Then--you have a "birthday cake" advertising going. I know that my neighbors love it when I'm practicing! It's a great way to introduce yourself.

Lisa