Hi. I have been lurking around for MONTHS and wanted to introduce myself. I am a SAHM originally from Wisconsin but now live in the wine country in Spain. (Been here 18 years!) I absolutely love this site, as does my 5-year-old daughter.
I have been trying to figure out how to do an avatar, and tried to put one of the only sculpted cake I've ever done, which I did for mother's day with my daughter for her school cake contest. We didn't win. Sigh. But all the little girls liked ours best.
Which leads me to a question, for all of you in Europe. Do you make your frostings with Crisco and bright colors for non-Americans? I have found many people to be weirded out by our frosting/food-coloring tendencies? Especially my MIL! 
Anyway, I just want to say thanks to everyone who has been posting tips/photos. Once summer is over and I can put the oven on again, I shall be trying out all the great techniques I've seen here!
Andrea aka Riojamom
Welcome to CakeCentral isabelamerica2000 ... we're glad to have you with us 
As far as your avatar, maybe this will help:
Displays a small graphic image below your details in posts. Only one image can be displayed at a time, its width can be no greater than 110 pixels, the height no greater than 110 pixels, and the file size no more than 6 KB.
If your picture is any bigger than that, it won't load for you.
Welcome aboard!!
Welcome, officially, to CC. Glad you have been finding useful information on here. There's just so much! Hope you dont' stay so quite, now that you've been spotted 
Hope to hear more from you. I always find it interesting to read post form people living in other countries, to see the differences around the world.
leily
I have visited Spain, and I must say it is a beautiful country. My journey began in Madrid and worked my way south to the coast. Are you in a major city?
Welcome to CC!! I can't wait to hear how people in Spain make & decorate cakes!! Fill us in please! My daughter is in 10th grade, school just started yesterday. She is taking Spanish!! So I hope to be learning it right along with her!
Welcome to CC~~
Hi and welcome! (even though I have been here for a shorter time than you...)
I'm Norwegian and cakes with bright colors are still not very usual here. I think it's because of rather strict food manufacturing control there are not many icing colors to be found. Actually, you can only find red, green and yellow in regular stores, and if you want blue color you have to go to the pharmacy.
Cake decorating is not something many people do here, so there are many big eyes when I present my cakes... Good for me, I get lots of orders! And even though people are a little surprised by the bright colors they love it (though my husband always says blue cakes looks poisonous... 
).
Another thing I try to teach my family, friends and customers are to get used to fondant and buttercream frosting. Norwegians are used to chocolat ganache frostings, whipped cream frostings and marzipan covering, and they are not easy to convince to try something new when it comes to cakes... But I will NOT give up!
I have to tell you about the first time I brought a cake to work with all kinds of colors on it. My co-workers asked how I hade done it. I couldn't help myself and said: "It's really easy, I just used oilpaint..." I thought some of them should faint, so I immediately had to explain to them that I had ordered the icing colors from the USA...
Tove
Cheryl, thanks for the info on avatars. I think I am just too lame to do a nice one on my own!
We live in Logroño (150,000 ), which is the capital of La Rioja (a very famous wine region less than two hours from the north coast).
I really don't know what they use to decorate cakes here, I think it is a generic cream piping on the sheet cakes at bakeries (but tastes better than Crisco buttercream, which I really do like a lot! but most Spaniards have found rather gross, even some kids). There is a really good bakery two blocks away that does the most fabulous, beautiful cakes, but with a mousse-like top, or gelatin top, or really thin layer of flavored chocolate top.
Tove, your reply was TOO funny! I can just see those eyes popping and jaws dropping. I would like to learn to do the marzipan covering you mentioned, because your cakes look so beautiful and maybe Spaniards would eat it...we have tons of almonds here although maybe not this year with the drought...
I will be checking out the wedding cake at a wedding next month because I am very curious about that after seeing the beautiful cakes on this site!
Egads, I can't believe people are already back to school! "Buena suerte" to your daughter starting Spanish class! My daugher's doesn't start until Sept. 7th, and they only go mornings until October!
Andrea
Welcome Andrea. That's my sister's name. I'm glad you joined us.
Tove, both you and Andrea sound so cool!
I do have a question about U.S.A. food colorings. It had never occurred to me that it was only used here. So, is the blue food coloring possibly dangerous? Or, how about the others? Doesn't some of the candy companies use them too?
I LOVE marzipan. I also want to learn to work with it and am trying to figure out a cost effective way to do so instead of fondant. Being in Texas, that's a challenge. Any tips you have in the future would be greatly appreciated.
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