( still in shock)

In my opinion, she was/is simply stupid and i cann't even imagine if you could go any lower. Did she really think that she could get away with it?

I used top ut my name on the cakes but i have been so lazy to do it lately.
Wouldn't that be so nice if you upload your photo in the gallery here and cc or whatever sign would magicly appear on your photo while it uploads.
Perfect for the lazy people like me. ( hint, hint...)

I think it is horrid what this person did and I feel bad for the CC members that had their cake pics stolen.
However, I also feel bad for the customers of this person. They order a beautiful cake and I'm sure that's not what they got in return. If this person had to steal pics then they obviously don't have skills to make their own beautiful cake.

Lazy_Susan

Also, did we ever figure out the member name of this person? That way if they happen to get back in we'll know and can contact Heath and Jackie.

Call me stalkerish, or lame, but I searched her name on Myspace, within 10 miles of Dania Beach's zip code, and it brought up a few profiles complete with PICTURES. I wanted to see what this thief looked like.

Gotta love Myspace.

I too have been following this thread all day.....This is a terrible thing to happen to the ones who had their cake "stolen", What a dishonest, sneaky, untalented person this is ....I feel for you....she/he may also have put some of you that create beautiful cakes for a living off posting your pictures....this saddens me, cos the honest ones that want to try and reach your standard miss out then on seeing what can be acheived with their talents and sharing the techniques.....

Then during the course of the day I also got to thinking about those poor recipients of her/his cakes!!! they obviously thought they were going to get a wonderful cake from what beautiful pictures they saw....and we all know how important the cakes are at special events, weddings etc, so CAN YOU IMAGINE how they must have felt when they were delivered, (and to late to do anything about it) it is most definately obvious they were not going to be up to the standard of your "stolen" cakes otherwise she/he would'nt have to have stooped so low in the first place, I know for a fact that if I had been given all those photos to choose from I would have been highly satisfied with what I saw and ordered from her/him and expected one of the same standard.....To me, the cake is VERY important and I would have been devistated.

I always, when saving any members pictures on my pc make sure I put it under the name of the person who made it, and then when I try and do the technique I will know who to thank. In my albums on pc I have them titled, My Cakes...and are literally just mine, then another album, CCers cakes.....I could never show a picture of someone elses cake and pass it off as mine, wheres the pride in that.

Before she pulled her "personal" information, I remember reading that she had a home-based bakery business, and no store front, so appointments were needed before showing up. Didn't mention anything about being LICENSED, either. One other thing...she's also listed on onewed.com. I'm also a member, and have contacted them regarding yesterday's discovery and her actions.

Amy

Onewed.com doesn't care. And a lot of people have home based businesses and are not licensed, including a lot of people on CC and recently you even said you were not.

Now I am not going to defend this girl but I have to say I too have seen pictures on some websites of people. There is one in particular here on CC and has posted to this situation that had pictures on their site that were not theirs. These were pictures from places like theknot.com. Is this any worse?

I don't agree that she should have used the pictures without permission but I do think that she was probably just meaning them as reference. Just like when I use to sell wedding gowns. I custom made them to look similar to designer gowns. Well, we used designer gown pictures as a reference for the customer. An "idea".

Like I stated I am not defending her actions but maybe....just maybe....she really did not mean any harm???? We received papers of intent to sue and nasty letters from several designers for using their gown pictures. It was not meant maliciously. We were just using it as a reference guide or a comparison for people to see the similarity of the work in some cases. We were asked to remove the gown pictures and we did. We never meant to steal or harm so I can sort of just a little understand that maybe just maybe she did not mean harm to anyone.

Ok think abou it....Do any of you use a picture that is not yours as a reference to customers? For example somone here was asking questions about a cake they are going to make. It is on the front of one of the wilton books. It is not their picture but they used it to show a customer. This is honestly what I think that has happend here. The pictures she used I believe were used to show the type of work she could do. I heard some say that she did wonderful work and they had seen her work before she was banned here. But maybe someone wanted a castle cake (for example) and she did not have a picture to show them of her work so she used another picture to say hey here is what I can do for you. Not saying it is her work but just something to be able to show the customer.

Do you guys get where I am coming from? Ok your pissed...I get that.. I would be too, but at the same time she was asked to remove the pictures and she did promptly. She was also banned from here which I am sure she is sick about..I would be. So just let it go. She screwed up, don't ruin her life over it.

I see your point, patticakesnc, and thank you for making it, there are always two sides to every coin, and we haven't been able to hear her side. However, most of us who have websites only post our OWN cake pictures in the gallery. Many have a favorite links page so that customers can easily view someone else's gallery in order to choose a cake that is not on your website. I have often printed off a picture off of someone else's website or off of CC to show to a customer as an example, but I always tell them that it is not my cake, but it may be exactly the cake the customer is looking for. But I never put anyone else's pictures in my gallery online or even in my photo albums that I show customers. I think that a seperate "IDEA" album to show customers would be acceptable, as long as you gave credit to each and every artist somewhere on the picture so you are not claiming those pictures as your work. It simply is a matter of courtesy and honesty and respect. Maybe she didn't think of these things and truly didn't mean any harm. I am thinking that from now on - she will.

We have all learnt from this.

It's over, let us move on.

Karen

patticakesnc and adven68... You are both right. I am ashamed for the comments I made. Everyone deserves a second chance and she DID remove the pics promptly.

I think I just had a flashback to my history class regarding the Salem witchcraft trials.

This was a long post...whew
So, why don't I make it a little longer. LOL

I agree with what is being said about ruining this person's business. I think it should be dropped since she did remove this pics but I don't agree that the person didn't know what they were doing. I say this because of a previous poster on this thread posting a response to an email sent to them. If I remember correctly, they said they made a mistake because they meant to post their own similar cake but posted the stolen pic by mistake. That would be a lot of mistaking, don't you think?

I agree with you. This person knew what they were doing, and if they weren't caught, who knows how long they'd continue. For all we know, the rest of the cakes could be plagerized from other sites.I wouldn't go easy on her one bit! Sure she removed it promptly, if you let these people off easy, they'll just do it again to someone else. Don't feel guilty at all.

Ok everyone,

I think we have all ranted enough to get it out of our system.

Lets move on to more positive and inspiring discussions.

The Owner of Florida Birthday Cakes was in communication with member AlamoSweets after this incident and since she was banned, has issued an apology through AlamoSweets. Linda (AlamoSweets) forwarded the message to Jackie and I and so I am posting it here.

Please keep in mind English is not her first language and so try to look beyond the grammar to the heart of what she is saying. Linda has spoken to her on the phone and Maria was constantly crying and is truly sorry for the situation: