Opening up another session of the FNCC! Everyone is welcome to share their week, share photos of their work, ask for help or provide help if you can!
Cat
I SO thought I was going to have stuff to share this week but life just keeps falling apart on me. However, I get to be a teaching tool tonight. UGH. So I joined this new networking group and am spotlighting our party planning and cake biz. I go visit and every one is very happy I'm joining. So I go back a few weeks later and everyone is still really happy to see me. In fact, one person was so panicked about her son's birthday that she hijacked me in the middle of the meeting. She said how it was her son's b'day and she had done nothing about it and she SO wanted him to have something for Saturday night and if I could just step in and help her out with the planning and cake then it would be SOOOO wonderful. So I broke every single rule about not taking last minute orders, getting payment up front, etc and dove right in. Always nice to save the day, right? No good deed goes unpunished. After we decided upon Lazer tag (she said she thought it was about $130 at their local place...it wasn't...she didn't even have the name right until I asked her if she meant something else...then she was Oh yeah!) I spent the afternoon getting everything for the cake, setting up the party at the lazer tag, making sure all she had to do was call and give her credit card number and address. 5 minute call, right? This whole time she's all "OMG, I SO love you...don't know what I'd do with out you...' etc. She had a $300 budget and I was able to put it all together for $270 including my fee and the cake price. Alls great, right? Wrong. This morning, not even 12 hours since our last communication, I get the cancellation email. No, they were not cancelling the event, they were cancelling me! She said that she didn't think 2 extra large pizzas was enough for 4 adults and 4 kids. That even tho' I got permission for them to bring in two different types of salads that she felt she needed to order 2 more extra large pizzas so there would be enough food. And it took her an HOUR to do it. So she didn't feel I had saved her any time, she was now way over budget and would have to get a supermarket cake. (like the extra two pizzas ran the cost of a custom cake and coordination fee!). Totally Bi Polar response! Sweety oh you are saving my life yesterday and raving ***** today. So I calmly tell her that I'm very sorry she had to deal with a bad vendor and that she should have only had to have a 5 minute convo with them to finish up the deal but I get it (that she had suddenly panicked over her budget and spending the money...or her husband did) so I will only charge $25 for my work yesterday and $25 for the cancelled cake. She made it very clear how unhappy she was to have to do so...like I was supposed to do the work for free and just eat the price of the stuff for the cake! UGH. A much needed reminder not to be so nice, not to come to anyone's rescue with my business and get them to PAY UP FRONT! Lessons re-learned.
So...no fun cake to show you all tonight. UGH.
However, about 10 minutes after this debacle a long time repeat client emailed me with an HUGE order for her baby's first birthday in August. We started working on the planning and she paypal'd me the deposit right away. Reinforced my faith in repeat business and loyalty.
Sure hope your week was better!
Cat
Cat, that's awful! Sometimes I go over my budget when I do things (like having parties and purchasing cosmetics), but I can't imagine canceling due to my lack of financial savvy. I know that the person I am working with has invested their time, energy and money into what I want done and I can't imagine cheating someone like that. There is no excuse for canceling on the person on the other end last minute like that, you handled it really well.
Repeat customers are my favorite, they can be depended on. Right now pretty much do business only for repeat customers, especially since I do this very part-time. My other job pays more.
I guess I could understand it more if you thought you'd never see that person again but we see each other twice a month in the networking group! I would never ever do that to a vendor. I wouldn't have many bridges left if I burned them like that!
As I said...lesson learned.
Cat
AOh no!!!! I'm so sorry about that, people are rotten. So nice of you to step up like that! It's such a shame when people do stuff like that, but hey now you know right? I Don't have actual cake pictures yet from orders ..but I have a dummy cake I did for my portfolio [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3212290/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
AThats awful Cat, some people just have no problem taking advantage!
This week's cakes
[IMG ALT="Dairy free sponge with dairy free "buttercream"All details are edible."]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3212046/width/350/height/700[/IMG] [IMG ALT="Vanilla sponge with vanilla buttercream. Tigger made out of 50/50 paste, flowerpaste banner"]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3212044/width/350/height/700[/IMG]
We are still reeling in this house over that woman. It's hard to understand the mindset of someone who would do that. It's one thing if she got right back to me and said something like "oh my husband completely nixed this whole idea...thinks it's a waste of money...I'm so sorry! Do I owe you something for your time...supplies?" I would have been more likely to just "oh no worries, how about just the $25 cancellation fee to cover my supplies" and move on. But coming off so mean just flipped the switch on me and I got very polite and all business.
Anyways today is another day! It's pouring rain here so it means I got to sleep in and don't have to go anywhere...the kids baseball has been cancelled. 11am here, just got up, coffee in hand and in my pj's wrapped up in a blanket...pretty awesome! LOL!
Morgan, that demo cake is just GORGEOUS! I'm getting the itch to make one again. I cleared out last seasons cakes to make room for this season before I broke my hand so I have absolutely none. I've been thinking of doing a new one and yours is so beautiful it really inspires me! Are those molded pieces? Just lovely.
Natt, I adore both of your cakes. Both are very well done...very clean. But I'm a beach baby so I love the beach one...are those real or candy shells? Did you make them or are do they come in a set? I love the waves but the numbers are my favorite...I'm going to have to use that sometime this year...maybe on my own birthday cake! LOL!
The Tigger cake...oh my...we are SUCH a Disney family I can't resist. I love that you kept it simple so that the cake board and figure really stand out. Perfect!
I think, if schedule allows, this week I'm going to make a cake just for us. It would make the boys ever so happy! LOL!
Cat
ACat, I'm not surprised you are still reeling! Such blatant disregard for any time you put in for her to just decide to cancel it like that!
Thank you very much! I live by the sea so beach themes are pretty common here! The shells are sugarpaste with a bit of tylo and are made using a shell mould I bought a while ago for a beach wedding cake, and then coloured with powder colours and sprayed with shellac spray. I loved the idea of the numbers being rope but it was for a 'wear blue' party so I changed it to blue and white to fit in with the theme. It worked out well I think though! :-)
Someone please put me out of my misery. I agreed to make cakes for 2 birthdays yesterday. I worked for about 25 hours out of 30 hours to finish them. The steampunk cake needed a bit of cleanup on some of the edges but I just couldn't care. I didn't start the bentwood box cake until nearly 4 am after I finally called it quits on the steampunk one. Even in my tired stupor I managed to get nice clean lines on the bentwood box cake. It was take 2 for that cake and I was really happy at how it turned out this time!
AWow! Everyone was working hard! That white and orange cake is so unique!!
My panic for the week was a pirate ship cake. I underpriced, blurting out a price off the top if my head, because I never thought she'd go for it anyway! Live and learn. It was good practice, tho. I am just starting to branch out into fondant covered cakes.
[IMG ALT=""]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3212560/width/350/height/700[/IMG]
Wow...blown away by these cakes.
Manic: that steampunk cake is crazy good! And the fact that you were working on the box at 4am makes me super tired but super impressed too! I don't take more than one major cake or two minor cakes a week. Due to the hand painting on the box you ended up with two major cakes in one week. Crazy! Hope you are sound asleep now!
Ella...that pirate ship is impressive! Live and learn on the pricing eh? I have SO done that before. In fact, last summer on a wedding cake. UGH. But look at that amazing cake you get to have in your portfolio!
Cat
Thanks Cat! Just read back over your dilemma with that woman, OUCH! And I'm a nutter, I also babysat for 15 hours (9 overlapped with cake time) and then I had to stay up till 2 waiting for kiddo number 2's pick up...really feel like I've been hit by a train. I couldn't say no to the steampunk cake. LOL. I'm so pleased they thought the board was wood; out of all that! LOL. No cakes for 2 weeks, I hope to sleep the whole time.
Love the pirate ship, the "waves" on the beach cake, and the detail on the dummy cake.
Baby sitting too!? Crazy woman. I have a major cake every other week for the next 4 months. Not this week, but next I get started on that schedule. I'm bittersweet this year. Due to my hand we are slower than normal but then again, I think I like slower than normal. It's nice to spend some time just being a mom for our 12 year old.
Cat
Manic - I have on MANY occasions seen 4am for one reason or another, I totally feel for you!! I LOVE steampunk stuff though, I literally dream of being asked to do a steampunk cake so I am jealous of you for that! It turned out great too!!
Ella - I can't believe that the ship cake is the result of your branching out into fondant! You would never know! It's fab!
What a horrible woman Cat.
Loving all the cakes. I am totally addicted to cc.
Here's my entry for mother's day tomorrow. Really hope the flowers don't fall off on the way. It's rhubarb and ginger sponge with roasted rhubarb filling and rhubarb and ginger buttercream. It was my first time using a fruit filling and a dam. First time making ruffle flowers and first time using a turntable. And my first attempt to make something a bit more classy than kids birthday cakes.
Wow! Some really knock-out cakes this week! You guys all did beautiful work this week. Cat, some people are just soooo rude! I bet that lady turned around and used all your ideas to accomplish what she wanted, but felt she didn't need to pay you. I hate when people do that! At least you got a little something out of it!
I've got to make a cake with ruffles around it for next Friday and some cupcakes with the Chanel logo on them. I haven't really done a cake completely in ruffles and she wants it in buttercream, so I'll be working on that this week. I found a tutorial by Cup-a-Dee-Cakes to make the ruffle flower they want on the cake and she puts it in the freezer and attaches frozen. I'm hoping it's really going to work because I haven't done that before. I'm a little nervous, but not too much. I'm hoping to get a practice cake in today that I'll take across the street to one of the neighbors. That probably won't happen until tonight when I quit puppy sitting! This rain doesn't help when puppy sitting because the poor puppy can't spend much time outside so he takes up a lot of my time inside. I'm not going to argue about the rain, though, because we are in desperate need of it. I'm glad to see it coming down fairly solid.
Morgan,that's gorgeous!!! Is it fondant?? It almost looks like buttercream, and I always wonder how to decorate a dummy with buttercream??
Great work - I have cake talent envy!!!
Nancy
All of your cakes are fabulous!! I am working and working at this, and getting better, but by inches. Sigh. Yesterday, I got a SMBC about 75% smooth, and I was so excited, you would have thought I won the lottery!!
Here are my cakes for the week:
First, a 12" round vanilla cake for my husband to take into work for his birthday. I'm doing a wedding cake in May for some friends, so I wanted to practise doing the bottom tier, as I've only ever made fruit cakes that big. It worked really well and vanished in the office to rave reviews :-) It was decorated with dark choc ganache and then a tempered white chocolate flower. I need to work on my piping, though.
Second, a little strawberry cake for at home (done rather hurriedly):
And thirdly, a little fruit cake for my mum's birthday, with gumpaste orchids (her favourite kind of flower):
I've one more cake to do for a friend's son's first birthday on Wednesday but I have completely run out of steam. I've been fighting a viral infection and have pulled a muscle in my neck and am just feeling a bit sorry for myself!
Louglou, would you mind sharing your recipe? That sounds amazing, and my husband loves rhubarb!
LizzieAylett - The recipe was this one for rhubarb cupcakes.
I doubled the recipe and decided to swap the plain flour for self-raising. As a result it made 3 1 inch layers in my 8inch sandwich tins. I used some extra stewed rhubarb as a fruit filling and under sweetened it as my buttercream was so sweet. I was a bit disappointed about the lack of rhubarb flavour. If I did it again I would use more stewed fruit as filling and a less sweet buttercream.
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