Iâd like to chime in only because of the âyou canât do thatâ vibe of some of the commentsâ¦

Only because lsienna has never decorated a cake doesnât mean sheâs overpromising, or overselling in her approach to this event (aside from the legal aspect of it all)⦠If a sculptor, for example, all of a sudden decided to work in fondant and gum paste instead of clay, it would take little to no effort to make the jump into the new medium, and I can guarantee the sculptorâs cakes three months into it would *look* better than those of the local baker whoâs been piping buttercream roses for the last 10 years â granted, the latter are likely to *taste* better though with todayâs mixes it is all questionable⦠She clearly stated âI have lots of experience making models, carpentry, painting, airbrushing etc. just not with cakes.â In the case of such large scale 3-D endeavors cake in itself as edible baked batter is secondary, it is the art, craft and construction behind it that countsâ¦

So⦠two thumbs up from me, go for it lsienna, get the legal stuff covered as priority #1, and make sure to keep us updated on your caking progress!

well...not to pee on your parade, do you know how many thousands of dollars it costs to get legal?...

you don't even have a mixer?..

and never made a cake?...WOW...it's gonna take years...NOT 3 months to get where you think you're wanting to go.


i was a professional artist for 16 years...cake making is a whole different medium...there are so many elements involved in it.

Ok, I've got to be honest....maybe we cake decorators just get a little peeved when people who have never done it just automatically think it's no big deal. I think that idea for a business is great but baking and working with cake, icing, fondant, stacking and all the other mediums and potential disasters that go along with cake decorating are things that take a long time to learn.

Duff makes it look easy.....too easy, in fact. I am all for you learning this craft and making a successfull business out of it but thinking about doing 3D cakes is not the same as actually doing them and I am shocked that this woman, after hearing you honestly tell her you have not even made any 3D cakes before is still offerring you the booth. Her reputation is in the line as much as yours.

This is an offer of a lifetime and had it been offerred to me, I would have jumped all over it....backflips, in fact. That's because I have done it for 3 years (and am still learning new things with each cake) I have my marketing supplies, business cards, website, note pad, pens & hats, lol.....I am an advertising nut!

But most importantly I have the equipment and (some ) experience. I am not trying to pi$$ on your parade - I think it's a fantastic offer and if you can devote several hours per day of the next 3 months practicing, and I mean working HARD like it was a second job, I bet you could pull this off.

And I DO think what she is offerring is worth the $1000 tent. If you have a delicious product that looks great with accompanying advertising items, you will get business. I know she wanted you to make 200-300 cookes/treats but other then your time, the cost can be kept to a minimum and it would be a huge investment into your new business.....providing that it was an operational business.

Just keep in mind, if you have those tasty, excellent looking treats, bring a datebook and be prepared for the orders because to much business can be as bad as not enough, if you're not carefull.

I do wish you the best of luck....Oh, one more thing. That friend who was a homebaker, were you planning on involving her in any way. As a partner or anything?

WOW!

I wish you the best of luck!!! My theory is you can do anything you set your mind to. Please take a look at my pictures, I started decorating just a few months ago.... As you will see in my pictures (number 1 being the sponge bob cake) they do get better with each that you do.

If you would like easy, no fail recipe for cake I have one that works for me every time and it is VERY easy ... Also tastes great that when there wasn't any more cake left, people were asking me to make a bigger cake for a future event. It will work with any flavor of cake and is a base of box mix....

As for the mixer/oven etc. maybe you could ask your friend if you could borrow her kitchen to start with and purchase things as you can (maybe you are able to get everything now - I don't know that - However a good mixer is anywhere from 250 to 400 plus dollars.)

I am totally self taught, I too had experience with other mediums and found fondant a fun medium, however I highly suggest using a 50/50 gum paste fondant mixture and if it is going to be warm using meringue powder in your buttercream (if you use it)

I love baking and a few weeks ago I baked 12 dozen cookies with in a few hours, it was great! I suggest cookies rather than cupcakes because you will have less expense (no papers to put cupcakes in) Use the NO FAIL SUGAR COOKIE Reciepe in the recipe section - it is wonderful (I would only do circles or maybe even squares for your cutters - that way you do not have to "waste" time making the shapes.) However if you wanted to incorporate horses, I believe you can get little sprinkles that are horses - not sure but I think -- A VERY GOOD Site to get cake decorating items is kitchen krafts . com.....

I think you should go for it, but not do it solo, you will need assistance in the decorating sheet cakes, I still do not have the hang of the piping techniques. RI is very easy to make, however, I still am not able to get BC as smooth as I like.

I commend you on your Go - get it attitude and wish I was not such a whimp and could do things such as this... but I am and I have to deal with it.

So Go for it -- You have a lot of work, HARD WORK, coming and you need to get started right away... but you can do it if you set your mind to it.

Also getting legal is important - I don't know where you live, however if you live somewhere, where baking in your home is ok, then get that done, I don't know if it would be different if you baked in a legal kitchen (your friend who already has a business) I was thinking about this my self - If that is ok, then get a business name (if you use your name in it (anywhere) then it will not cost a thing, if you have a ficticious name then it will cost you what ever the going rate is...

I think a good name for your bakery./business would be
Reach for the stars bakery
or
Making Dreams
or
Dreamy Creations
I don't know if any of these are already taken but good luck in all you do .. and Please PM me if you need any help with anything -- I know what it is like to have a Crazy dream
Sorry this was so long!

Isienna........ NOW you are talking ! It sounds like you have a real talent...so build on it........ do NOT let this gals excitement over the name"DUFF" get YOU screwed up for the rest of your cake career.....She is not listening to you when you say you are just a beginner.......She only heard "Ace of Cakes". What might be cool, is to TAKE the tent, and the opportunity to work with this organization, but bring some other people in to help you do the cookies......(They are HARD to do correctly) You said you were working with another lady..... how about asking her to help..... you would need more than one person to run the tent anyway...... Offer to do "A" cake.......DO NOT promise the "masterpiece"...... practice on the one you want to do, IF it turns out YAHOO !!!, if not...... give them something very nice. That way, they are not disappointed, and YOU are not made a fool of before you even get your feet wet in this business......I think with your attitude and artistic talents, you could go far..... GOOD LUCK...... and start RIGHT NOW..... time is short !

Very cool. Heck the lady is donating a tent for you to use. Have her use her influence, and have someone donate a legal kitchen for you to bake in for the event. Once you mention if someone gets sick, and SHE could get sued. You'll either be out, or have your kitchen.

Now assuming this lady is a business person. She will make money on "Your Tent" The thing is, is your cost. Not talking about getting geared up for it. Just financing the event, are you able to do it.

That's the logistical crap. Now, can you actually bake a good tasting cake? Given your said background you might be able to pull it off. The thing you have to take inconsideration here is timing. What will take you a day to do in a year will take you four days to do now. You won't sleep. Even if you have the chance to sleep. Unless you'll be highly medicated all you will think about is the cake not falling over. LOLOL. Sheet cakes, and cupcakes for the event alone in a home oven will take a week to bake.

I say GO FOR IT, but I think timing will kill ya.

Mike

I think this is over your head, at least this year. Sorry! maybe you can get started decorating this year and see what you think. I think you will quickly learn if you are good at it and if you enjoy it. Not everyone is good at it........

Then if it is still your dream, offer to do it next year, or the year after that.

I am normally not the type to discourage anyone with a dream, and in no way is this intended that way... I do, however, think you will be in over your head. That is just my opinion and I'll leave it at that. I do think if you are really determined to do this and you work hard between now and then, that you may be able to pull it off. Even if you get the legal stuff situated between now and then, and plenty of practice in, have you thought about potential clients who may start ordering? Someone said in an earlier post about having "all your eggs in a basket", that is great advice b/c if you can pull off this event, you need to be prepared for what may be to follow... Just listen to the advice on this post b/c many of the people who are giving it really know what they are talking about -you wont find better information anywhere else!! Good luck, keep us posted on what you decide to do. (for the record, I think "downsizing" your involvement is a good idea... you can still do/show your abilities without having to be in over your head.)

All I can say is "WOW". I understand that you have past talents that will help you with a 3D cake. However, CAKE is a totally different medium and to think that cake sculpting AND decorating can be learned in 3 months is...well, a pretty far reach.

Now, I may be wrong and you soak it up like a sponge but I have been decorating cakes for 30 years and even some of my sculpted cakes don't turn out like the ones in my head. Even some disasters (like the time Elmo lost his face and then his head).

It is an AMAZING opportunity and on the legal side, it took me 2 months to get all the legal aspects in place. And this was in a commercial kitchen that already is inspected.

I think the lady that you talked with needs to be informed that you have never done cake decorating before. She heard "Duff" and ran with it.

I wish you luck and hope you can pull this off if you decide to do it. It is a HUGE undertaking and may be more successful if you and the lady can scale it back some. It's like an avalanche, it starts with one small pebble and then before you know it, you are trying to out-run the whole dang mountain.

I've been decorating cakes "seriously" for about 18 months. I'm one of those "newbies" whose naivete led me to do a pirate ship and a replica of a football stadium when I had no previous experience with sculpted cake or even an artistic background. I worked with "numbers" most of my life. Anyway, the pirate ship is probably clients' most favoriate and the stadium is the one I get the most "WOWs" from. After "all my 18 months" of experience, I would probably hesitate to do the stadium cake again. Experience has taught me a lot -- how unstable cake and icing can be as a medium, how temps and humidity can affect fondant and gumpaste, how often you just have to "try" something to see if it works -- and I have to admit it has dampened my enthusiasm a little bit to take on projects that I've never done before. I really do appreciate the value of the lessons experience has taught me, but I do regret a little losing that "naivete" that led me to take on challenges that provided some of my greatest learning experiences.

Personally, I think the "quantity" of work that you're being offered to do will be your biggest challenge. A major sculpted cake that you've not done before plus cookies for 200+ kids in the same week plus organizing everything would probably result in a quality of work that you won't be satisifed with. I would suggest that you choose one or the other to "get your feet wet." And I wish you all the best -- your attitude and enthusiasm may take you out of your "comfort zone," but it will also take you places that most of us only dream about.

Hi Isienna!

Welcome to CC and to the world of cakes!!

I have been doing cakes for 13 years and we would all dream of doing something this big. (Right now my job is mommy though!)

Go ahead and go for what you KNOW you can do. I would do exactly what you said...tell her the truth...heck even if you made it out of rice crispy treats that is still great....you seem to have plenty of artistic experience and many times that is what we do not have. I would say no to the sheet cakes completely..unless she wants to pay for them...or at least for supplies...
Cookies, they are going to be fun...and at least you do not need to decorate them!!!

And as for the sculpture...Duff doesn't use just cake for his...some of them are only rice crispy treats....I would say that with support, practice and time...(which we all need more of!) You just may be able to do this...
I know you will be meeting with her soon and that will be where you can really hash out all of the ideas and details...Even if the sculpture part is just not huge...just really plan it out and it sounds like you will...
So let us know if you need any more help or support...you sound thrilled and excited and there just are not enough of these moments in life....just take your time and really plan this out and just so you know.....if you need help...Duff replies too!! (Not here...on his site...they will email you back to help out too!!!) They have done it for me!!!

I wish you the very very best...and where are you??? Another CCer may love to actually help you pull this off!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wishing you the best and show us all you do....we all love caken!

I have found when someone posts on CC with something like this people are trying to be helpful. I don't think anybody would try to tell you anything they didn't BELIEVE to be true.

#1 Follow your heart... if you absolutely think you can pull this off then go for it.

While some people may think it negative when people say it's "over your head" I don't ... I think it is absolutely caring about how your outcome may be. It's not negativity on this site.. it's absolute total caring how things turn out for you..

with that said .. I wish for you the best... I hope all turns out well for you!!

WOW OH WOW! This post is getting a great deal of attention!

She never ever say she was or did cake just like him!

People are all different! This is her dream and her life! How are we to say what she can and can't do! We all have never seen her work!

Duff does some nice work... it is not all cake!

We have all done free cakes in your life to get where we want and if we added up the cost through out the years we would be goobed smack.... she is doing it all at once and hopefully she will get the business we long for.

No one is begrudging her this business opportunity, just the opposite. Everyone thinks it is really exciting.

Many, however, are just wondering if she is in over her head, what with never having made cake before and now teaching herself all the many aspects about caking in under 6 months.

No one wants to see her fail.

We should be the support group not the naysayers!

We all ask for help... some of us that have ever stacked a cake before and get online help from follow CCer's.... I can even go as far as saying we get step by step instruction....

a form of communicated information that is both command and explanation for how an action, behavior, method, or task is to be begun.

Is that not what this site is about? People helping people.... beginner or not!!

Just a question?

I don't think anyone is trying to be "negative" they are just trying to be "realistic" and give good advice.

This is an awsome opportunity and I think there has been some great advice given here. You need to look at the pro's and con's and really think things through.

If you beleive it's managable for you then I say go for it! It does sound like a lot of work but if you go with cookies you can make those well in advance and freeze them and then focus on the rest.

Only you know what you are capable of. Best wishes to you and I hope things work out with whatever you decide!

Since this cake would be outside....Could you do a dummy 3d cake, and then do some pretty sheetcakes. If it's a horse jumping, the sheetcakes could be grass all around the horse. Id hate to see a pretty cake fall due to the heat.

i'm sure it is very exciting. and i agree.....i don't think people are trying to be negative, just realistic. i'd hate to see you walk into this thinking it's a "piece of cake" no pun intended, only to find out there's a lot more involved than you thought. i think everyone here would love to see you succeed at this. just make sure you know what you're getting into. post some pictures. ask for more advice. get a legal kitchen.....and start practicing, like yesterday. i'm sure if we had no kids, and no other jobs, 3 months doesn't sound too bad if you're devoting 24 7 to it. good luck. and you should let us know where you're at. i'll bet there's at least a half dozen cc members who are close by

Most definitely, I want to see her succeed at her dream nd never meant it as negativity. Just looking on the realistic side. Yes, we are all here if she needs help and advice. But I also remember the times I said yes and then thought "what the heck was I thinking?"

I wouldn't want her to compromise her dream if the end result was not what she was counting on. I agree that she needs to maybe scale back on the plans to give her more time to develop her talent. And at the same time, get her "legal" name out there.

That is just my opinion.

I'm just surprised that the organiser hasn't asked to see proof of ability.

I don't want to be discouraging. If you have tons of free time and can practice most days for the next three months then go for it. But before committing to *anything* try a 3D cake this week. At least then you'll see what your gap is. It might be small, it might be gigantic, but it'll give you an idea as to what you need to work on. I'd get the cookies done as early as you can as well. There are recipes that will make cookies which will last a good few months if well wrapped.

i was just thinking the same thing, bonnie 151.

i mean she may well be a "cake savant". i..first step would be buy a mixer...and find out if she can bake a good tasting cake.

heres an experiance i had....i'd been doing cakes professionally for about 3 years....my son was getting married...they of course found a whimsey cake online that they wanted me to make...ok

did i mention i never made fondant before?...or a whimsey cake...i nearly had a nervous breakdown....

i made 3 full sized practice cakes...one of them the fonant cracked and ripped like crazy...a lot harder than when i saw them do it on tv....

the next one fell apart, and the one after that caved in.

they got their whimsey cake...i made it....took me 15 hours... FIFTEEN HOURS!....

i can make them now....7 years later, with very little stress.

all i'm saying is you just don't know until you try whats gonna happen....it is a lot different than watching duff do it.

I say "Go for it!".

I was at a cake show a while back & the cake that took first place was a 3-D sculpted cake of the Columbus ship "Santa Maria". I've never seen anything so incredible! Not only did that cake take 1st place, but it took BEST OF SHOW. It looked like a wooden model, not a cake! My hubby & I ended up talking to the guy who made it & you know what???? He said that he had NEVER worked with cake before - ever, this was his first time! He had sculpted other things before & decided to try a cake just for fun never thinking he would win (He literally was in tears when they put the ribbon by his cake!). The funniest thing is that when we asked how it was done, he pulled a swiss army knife out of his pocket & said "My dad sent me this from Italy, I use it to make everything"!!!!

Just goes to show what you can do if you already have the talent! Of course, do trial runs & make sure you can do it before making the commitment though. As for time lines on licensing, etc... Money is an issue, but other than that, I think you should be fine. When I decided to start my cake business (Not even knowing how to frost a cake!) I took a basic course & then just practiced day & night at home. Then I made a website, business cards, found a kitchen & got licensed all within just a couple of months & I was ready for business. Good luck!!!

AZCake, that was a great story!!!

Jeez Louise, I can't believe the interest this post has generated. Again, I appreciate all your posts, concerns advice etc. It has been invaluable to me and I have considered everything you guys have said.

I hope I did not offend anyone or come across in any way as being arrogant or cocky thinking I can just barge right into this field and make a big splash without never having had any experience to rely on. I can totally appreciate those of you have worked long and hard at your craft and know it takes alot more than some pansy to come along and call herslef Duff. Hopefully, if you read through this thread, you will now know that simply isn't the case with me at all.

I am very confident in my abilities but there is a big reason for that. I have an awful lot of similar skills to making a 3d cake and a boatload of life experiences I am lucky enough to draw on that will be a huge help to me. I worked in the television and film industries for over 18 years in Boston and Los Angeles, mainly in lighting and camera work but also building and aging sets, and even model making, buildings, trees, landscapes etc. After that I ran my own business doing high end faux finishes, venetian plaster, murals, and various other decorative finishes in peoples homes and businesses. I took some classes but was mainly self taught as you don't go to school to becmome a faux finisher unless you live in Europe. In between those careers, I worked in other creative fields painting by hand giant aerial sky banners; and went to school and worked in 3D computer animation/modeling and textruing work as well as I did a few other things working with my hands such as carpentry, and interior painting.

In the film industry and faux finishing, most every project I ever did, was completely custom, completely new or was never done before. In that line of work, I was constantly in situations in which I had to think on my feet, and literally figure out how to make something work, build something, or create something from nothing relying only on your skills, and the materials with which you get your hands on and try to make it work. In the faux finishing business, I often was asked to do a finish to look a certain way and usually it hasn't been done before while using this particular color or that particular material. I found ways to make it work by researching, going on forums, asking questions, making samples and practicing using my materials until I got just what I needed.

So, I am simply used to figuring things out and making it happen. It is just what I have always done so anything new doesn't scare me, it simply is new challenge that I see as fun and exciting, like puzzle and I get satisfaction figuring it out and finding solutions to problems. That is why I think I could be good at doing the 3D cakes. As far as making 3d cakes as a business, I totally know I can do it, will I fail sometimes? - probably. Will I have back up plans should this happen? - I will try to. Will I always do everyhting right? - hopefully but certainly not every time. The main thing is having the abilitity and willingness to try, knowing that there will be really bad days, but also many more good ones. So that is the way I look at all.

What I hoped to get from all of you is sense of what is possible and what isn't. And through this forum and other research I have done I have come to the conclusion that I am going to stay on course, take it slow, practice, (I have most of my supplies now) get legal, and take my classes I have signed up for learning all I can. Soon, I will meet with this event planner, and talk things over with her. I will let her know what I feel I can reasonably do for her given my current limitations, and leave it at that. What the end result is doesn't matter. She either accepts, or I don't do the event now, and maybe next year instead. Still I have made a good contact who will probably help me in other ways down line. It is a win - win situation. There will be other events, other cakes, other challenges. I have a few projects in mind I hope to try and I will just see how everything plays out. I will certainly have all my ducks in a row and will not jump into anything head first. I never intended to anyway, it jsut that some people here thought I was going to.

For those who asked, I live in Northeast Massachusetts, right on the border of New Hampshire and in order to get legal I need to take a food safety course, and have my kitchen inspected in order to get licensed. Here you can bake out of your own kitchen providing it is set up the way they specify. If anyone is interested in getting involved either with this event or future opportunites, Pm me and we can talk. Down the road, I hope to hire a few people and have a place of business doing specialty cakes, at least that is the current plan, things could change of course but who knows. For now, this is where I start. I will keep you guys updated as things progress.

Thanks so much for the support. I love this forum! We must all help one another in any way we can, be supportive and heed the advice from the more experienced people here.

Regards,
lsienna

Wow, Isienna
I am terribly impressed. I worked in the props and greens portion of the movie industry for a short time...very short time. You were darned if did, darned if you didn't. I so totally believe that you could pull something off.
Thank you for opening my eyes.

3D cake sculpting does have a lot of "thinking on your feet" and back up plans. Heck, even regular cakes have that. And lucky you, can work out of your kitchen.

Go for what you feel you are comfortable with on this event. We are here if you need help or advice. Pam

Thanks for the kind words Mac. I am lucky to be able to work out of my kitchen but really, you should see my kitchen/house. It is extremely tiny with very little room for much of anything. I'll do my best to make it work of course. It's all I can do for now.

Thanks again. Glad tohear you were in the biz too. You know what I mean then I am sure.

Taker care,
Lsienna

Margaret Braun works out of her tiny apartment kitchen and makes AMAZING cakes. They go for over a thousand dollars.

Have you considered asking a very small local decorator in your area to assist you? Having someone to fall back on 'in the event of' could be invaluable since you never know what could happen. Also, they may have more room (or access to a commercial kitchen) that you can use to bake out of.

Either way, best of luck to you!

lsienna....best of luck!! i can't wait to see the pictures!!!