Marvelous Molds Contest

Recently, we were asked by Cake Central if we would be a part of a special contest.  We would be shipped some new cake decorating supplies and we would use those to make a cake.  It sounded like fun so we said "YES!"  A day or so later I got a box in the mail from Marvelous Molds.  Now, I really like Marvelous Mold products, I have ordered lots of molds from them in the past.

Watch a short 2 minute video about the new onlays


They sent us a few products from their newest product line; silicone onlays.  Onlays are part stencil, part cutter, part impression mat.  Roll a thin sheet of fondant over the onlay and the silicone ribs cut the fondant into its separate shapes.  Pick out the pieces you don't want on the cake and place the flexible silicone mat against the side of the cake and the pieces stick right on.  The best part about these onlays?  They are all based on Pi, so they line up perfectly on any even-sized diameter cake.

I received a zebra and a harlequin mat.  I was a little disappointed, as those are simpler designs that I can already do well without using the onlays, but I think I made the best of it!  Here's a picture of the cake I made from Cake Central's website:

If you haven't already voted, I would love it if you could stop over at CakeCentral and vote on my cake.  There are several great designs and designers, including the fabulous Erica OBrien!!  The cake with the most votes will be featured in an upcoming issue of Cake Central Magazine!

Full Disclosure:  Marvelous Molds did provide me with a few of their new silicone onlays free of charge as part of the contest, but their exposure here was not part of the agreement and my opinions, as always, are my own.

My Fourth Blogiversary!

Well, this week marks the fourth year my little old blog has been in existence.  In the beginning I didn't know if I would like writing it, or if anyone would even read it.  There's the occasion when I get really busy and it feels like work, but for the most part I really like sharing and communicating with other decorators from around the world.

Participating in the online caking community has been very rewarding.  I have made several very good friends, learned a lot about new cake techniques, and even had my cakes featured on several websites.  This last year alone I have had 2 cakes featured in digital cake publications.

So what does the next year hold?  Well I hope to do some more awesome cakes, learn a few new skills, and maybe even see some more of my cakes published.  And I would love to make some new friends... so more of the same!

And I really want to thank each of you for stopping by and reading my posts and flipping through my tutorials.  There will be more of those coming too!

I was featured in Cake Central Magazine!

I have been holding on to this little secret for several weeks and it has just about burned a hole in me!!  Several weeks ago I received an e-mail from Jackie at Jackie at Cake Central.  They wanted me to submit a cake for publication in Cake Central magazine.  I answered her back so fast I think the e-mail caught on fire!!

The theme I was asked to submit for was "Minimally Decorated with a Splash of Red".  Now, that's a hard theme for any decorator that wants to showcase their skills to the rest of the decorating community.  But I vowed that I would do my best to keep the design simple.

I was really happy with the way this design turned out.  I have read Cake Wrecks too many times and seen too many balloon cakes that turned out looking like something... less sophisticated.

I actually made 2 cakes to submit, and Cake Central put both in the magazine.  I was worried that they wouldn't one cake or the other, so I submitted a second cake.

This was the other cake I submitted.  I had conceived this design a while back, but with different colors.

I only had a couple of weeks from initial request to submission to get these cakes ready.  I wished I had more time to work on them.

How many of you receive Cake Central?  I wished it was still a real live printed magazine, but I'm still glad to be published in a leading industry magazine.

Special Thanks go out to Mike Houston of Houston Studios for taking such great photos to submit to the magazine.

Y'all have a great week!