Hello Board,

I tried searching for a thread for my question with no luck.  I am trying to figure out how I determine what to charge per hour for gumpaste/fondant work such as flowers, figures, etc.

I've always struggled with this as I have NO clue how to put a dollar amount to my work?  Note that I do not do this as a business at this point and time but more as a hobby for friends, family, etc.  I've been doing it for several years now and do wedding cakes, etc.  I have a wedding in July wherein the cake has several Hawaiian style flowers; she also asked me to make cookies.  Maybe I'll post both pics of what she'd like and maybe that will help.

i live in a somewhat rural area and have had no luck in obtaining help from other cake bakers as to how they do it -

If you can refer me to a site or thread, I would greatly appreciate same or just get others' input.

thanks CC!!!!

Keep track of your hours and decide how much per hour you want to be paid.  

Well, it's a little hard to say for sure what you should pay yourself per hour. It depends on a lot of different factors. But definitely think about the fact that what you are doing is specialty work, and as such, you should be compensated as a skilled worker. So you want to charge more than minimum wage. We charge $15 per hour for gumpaste and fondant work. Make sure also that in figuring your price, you include materials cost/overhead, profit, AND your wage. If you don't account for all of those things, you could be losing money.

P.S. Those decorated sugar cookies can be a PAIN in the BUTT.  Make sure you don't underestimate the time they will take to do.

AThank you so much for the input!