First, Hi I'm a newb

I just recently started decorating cakes, mmmm like less than 1/2 a year ago. I started making cupcakes. A co-worker/friend deocrates cakes and is VERY good at it, she's actually the one that started this addiction for me, haha. I call it an addiction b/c now I can't stop!! I made one cake and that turned into 3 cakes and that turned into 5 and now I have friends and family lined up. I LOVE this hobby, don't get me wrong. However, I do this part time. I have a full time job...and as everyone on here knows making cakes takes a longggg time. I've stayed up well past midnight the past TWO weeks...**Sigh**. While I'm loving all of the cakes people are asking me to make and all the experience I'm getting, I'm slowly getting tired. However, I'm finding it reallllllllly hard to turn cakes down! So...how long does this last? When will it start to slow down or get to the point that I hate cakes, lol?? Does it ever? I'm missing my sleep and I'm up to my eyeballs in icing, fondant and cake pans
Do CC'rs ever get tired of making cakes? and if you do it just on the side, as a hobby...how do you turn down cakes? I guess I'm afraid if I turn down a cake, I won't be asked to make another one for them when I'm ready. **shrugs**

okay end of long rambles, lol.

My advice...start charging family,friends for the cakes or at least the ingredients....then at least the sleep you have lost will give you a little spending money...

My advice....SLOW DOWN AND SAY NO!

I've been there, done that. When I first started decorating, over 19 years ago, lots of co-workers and friends asked me to do cakes and I didn't want to say no. So, I didn't and worked 6 nights in my kitchen for about 1 1/2 years. I was sooo burnt out.

For the next 16 1/2 years, I made maybe 1 cake a year. About 2 1/2 years ago, my passion reignited but I'm older and wiser and I don't feel bad about saying no when I can't do it. It's still hard but I can't kill myself.

I'm in the process of getting legal and I will still limit what I do to what I can do.

Don't be afraid to say no. Listen to someone who has been there.

I agree with tracycakes, slow down and say NO. I work full time, too, and I have a limit on how many cakes I can realistically do per week and still fit in my other activities and time with friends. And I do get my sleep, as I have a sleep disorder and know how important sleep is!

Oh man, I know what you mean. It seems like when it rains it pours. I either have 3 people asking me to do something on the same day or I have nothing to do and am seriously getting the itch to bake SOMETHING. I have had to start turning people down because I can't run on next to no sleep. I have stayed up till 2 am and then got up at 6:30 to get the kids ready for school and to go to my full time job. You just can't do that and stay sane. And yeah, you may lose somethings, but your sanity will not be one of them. So, go ahead and say no sometimes. I feel that sanity is a good trade for not having something to do for a couple of weeks.

Good Luck...and have FUN!

dup post AGAIN

Dup post again - I wish this would stop!

I am fairly new at this also -since January. I only do cakes for people that I choose to do them for. People don't ask me to do them - they may hint - ask questions - but I have made it clear that I work full time and I have my yard and house to take care of also and I do this as a HOBBY. I certainly am not going to stay up late to make a cake for someone and not get paid unless I have decided that I am willing to do so.

I know this probably sounds mean and self centered but when I make a cake for someone it is my choosing. If I had a business and I was being paid - that would be different.

And yes it is very tiresome, time consuming, messy and expensive! I love doing it but it is on my terms. I think you need to toughen up and call the shots - this is supposed to be a HOBBY not a chore. If they want a cake that badly and you don't have the time then let them pay to have one made. They have no right to expect you to produce a cake for them when you are doing it for free. Even people with a business say no when they are booked.

So that's my two cents worth......

I get burned out every year right about this time. I have been through Confirmation, Graduation, and June wedding cakes, and I hate the sight of cake. I work full time as well and have a huge problem with saying no. I keep thinking of the times that I was broke and these same people ordered a cake from me and sort of "saved my day". Right now the income is not as big of a deal to me, but it used to be. Retirement is right around the corner for me, so I am holding on until I can leave the full time job and just do caking for a little extra cash. Saying no is an option for me now and my husband would like me to say it more so we can have a little more leisure time together. Right after I get the burn out thing, I recieve my copy of American Cake Decorating or Martha Stewart and I am right back at it. The burn out does not last too long because I too am hooked.

i was thinking the exact samething this weekend!! im not professional,its just a hobby,but all of a sudden it started feeling like a job. saturday, i had just finished my third cake that week for someone, had stayed up until 3 am to finish it,and was so glad to get it over with! i know thats not a lot of cakes compared to what others have to do, but for me, i just felt over whelmed.( i have a hard time saying "no" to people too). after she picked up her cake, i got a call from someone else to ask me if i could do someones wedding cake for 150 people coming up soon. i felt guilty,i dont know why,i shouldnt,but i told her "no" and got some silence on the phone,but she said she understood. that felt so good to say "no"!! it seems like every weekend im making a cake for someone,and the weekends are the only time i get to really clean house and run errands because i work full time,so when i busy making cakes i dont get anything else done,and i hate that! oh, and yesterday someone from my doctors office called me to see if i could do a cake for this coming weekend and i told her "no" too. it gets easier to say the more you say it! "no","no","no"!!!

I've felt that way recently too. I have kids at home and work a full time job. I've made a deal with myself to do 1-2 cakes for other people/month. Any more than that and laundry piles up, I lose my sleep, and it's not fun.

hehe, thanks for all the advice

I guess I'm afraid if I say no now, when I'm really burnt out and tired, that when I feel fine and ready to make a cake...no on will be there for me to make a cake for, they will have forgotten about me b/c I didn't make the last cake they asked for. I don't know, I know it sounds silly!!

Everyone does pay cost, so its not like I'm spending my own money on the cakes. Just my time. Though my time is pretty precious My cousin actually wanted to pay me a LOT for the cake I just made her (the ice cream sundae cake in my photos). She even wrote the check out for wayyyy more than just cost. However, I also felt bad taking it. She's family and I told her I would make it, she didn't really owe me anything.


oh gosh............I just realized, I need a back bone.

LOL

LynnZClaire I feel the same way you do! I always feel guilty taking money from friends and family for cakes.

Do they sell back bones at Global Sugar Art?

I looked at your pics and they are great! I love the way you do the numbers and letters. I've seen others with stuff like that, how is it done? Just roll out fondant into a "snake" and curl it around? And what about the wire to stick it into the cake, what kind do you use?

[quote="LynnZClaire"]I guess I'm afraid if I say no now, when I'm really burnt out and tired, that when I feel fine and ready to make a cake.../quote]

Believe me, no one will forget you. And if these are family and friends, I'm sure they'd totally understand if you said "I would love to make a cake for you! Unfortunately, with my full time job and my family, I can't squeeze it in at this time!"

Everyone is pressed for time these days. They'll get it!