Why I had to break-up with cake decorating

For any of you that have been following this blog for a while you have heard me talk about, and seen me post my cakes. Last year, I decided to get serious about cake decorating and pursue it as a business. I got business cards, attended conferances and classes, and started taking on a steady stream of orders at a reduced starter price. The last part might have been my down fall.

I research the heck out of running a cake business and felt I was ready to get started. However, I lacked the confidance in my skills to charge full price, so I offered my services for a deep, deep discount. In January, I was gung-ho, and took on enough orders to carry me thought until April. I was so stoked! But then an odd thing happened. A week before each order was due, I found myself getting nervous, anxious and irritable. I was unable to take care of my house during the week before the order due date. I also found ,as much as I might try to schedule things outside of family time, it was always seeping into those hours.

In addition to the family intrustion, money was becoming a huge factor. Each time I had an order due I would have to do a fairly large outlay of money in supplies. In most cases the supply cost far exceeded the cost I was charging for the cake. So it was almost as if I was paying the customer for the cost of letting me do a cake for them. This started creating additional resentment and anger towards the craft.

I found with each order my resentment grew. I was sacrificing time with my family and it was costing me money in the process. Ok, I was learning but was it worth it? I was starting to feel like it wasn’t. But I was resistant to giving it up, I didn’t want to be a quitter.

By the end of Febuary I started to realize I was not in love with cake decorating like I had been just a fewmonths prior. I wanted to devote more time to my family, and had started wanting to expand the reach of my blog. My interests were changing and I found that I no longer wanted to decorate cakes anymore. After a long conversation with a trusted friend she stressed the idea that I must narrow my focus and pick where I wanted to go. Then I finally made the desion that I would no longer take on any cake orders and let the idea of a cake business fade into the background.

The other twist to this story was once I shared this with my family, they were surprisingly excited about my decision. They felt the resentment, anxity and neglect that was brought on by this venture. They wanted to be supportive of me and said nothing. But in reality they secretly wanted me to stop doing cake decorating. I had no idea this had such a big obvious impact on my family, but there it was clear as day. My kids were only little once and I was exchanging time with them for a business that I didn’t even enjoy anymore.

I might decide to try and start a cake business one day when I have more time. When my children are older. When I’m not working full-time. But for now I have decided to keep it as an occasional hobby and something to bring me joy. Not stress.

So what is my reason for telling you this story? To reinforce the idea that it is ok to change your mind. Sometime if it’s for the right reasons, it’s ok to be a quitter.

 

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Tea and Cake Tuesday

Lady luck was on my side with this cake.It was quite a challenge to bring all the elements together but the over all look turned out to be a lot of fun. The cake had sweet raspberry filling sandwiched between a layer of moist vanilla cake and decadent chocolate cake. It was iced in a rich chocolate ganache. (Which you might have seen me make on a recent Periscope) Then it was covered in marshmallow fondant. My friend had her house decked out in casino themes décor including oversized dice and playing cards. It looked awesome and the cake fit right in.

If you are at the Blackjack table or home playing bridge, here is a selection of teas from Debbie Bergman from Enjoy Tea With Me , to go with our casino themed cake.

When I think of poker, or casino, I think jazz music and fancy/old time drinks. So I am going to have two teas again,  Jazzy Jasmine and Amaretto

 

Jazzy Jasmine

Ingredients: Green tea, jasmine blossoms.

 

Amaretto in Tea Triangles

Ingredients: Rooibos tea, almond pieces, papaya pieces, natural flavors. Contains nuts.

For more information or to purchase these or other teas contact Debbie at My Steeped Tea Party.com/EnjoyTeaWithMe

 

Tea and Cake Tuesday

I have some exciting news for Tea and Cake Tuesday. Debbie Bergman is here from Enjoy Tea with Me, an indepentant consultant with Steeped Tea . Each Tea and Cake Tuesday where I feature a newly made cake, she will suggest an imaginative, well-crafted tea selection to go with the cake theme. I am so excited to bring you her selections and learn about some new tea varieties. You can find her at My Steeped Tea Party.com/enjoyteawithme

As you can see the cake above is a Star Wars theme that I made for a friends son’s birthday party. I am really happy with how the BB-8 droid came out seeing as it was quite challenging for my skill level.

To go with the Star Wars theme Debbie selected two teas to represent the Dark and Light Side (Pretty creative huh?)

Iron Goddess Oolong is a pure oolong tea, with great balanced taste.

Dark Chocolate Chai – is a sweet mixture that would go good with cake. 😉

 

 

 

Social Media Support

I have to write this post about a phenomena I have been experiencing over the last several weeks. When you start anything new there is a learning curve to it. There is a period of time that is exciting and scary. The uncertainty of your skills seems overwhelming one minute and exhilarating the next. I have been feeling this recently with the new adventures in blogging, Beachbody coaching and cake decorating. These have been so much fun and exciting to learn about, but they have also created a bit of anxiety and fear. Fear? Yes, it is the fear of not knowing what I am doing. It is also this same fear that makes the learning process so much fun.

Ok, let me back up a little. For a long time I was stagnant, not really moving forward. Only existing. I think this is kind of a numbness you fall into after having kids. Your days are busy, tiring and full of love and growth. But in caring for others, you often forget about you and your needs. Not only did I forget about my needs and forgot about myself pretty much entirely.

Then I had an awakening. This awakening was brought about by the words of a friend. Her words helped me to overcome my fear and start this blog. The words and teaching of another friend encouraged me to venture into the art of cake design. The encouragement of yet another friend helped me try the 21 day fix. These things have brought so much happiness and fulfillment into my life. But I would never have done any without the encouragement of these friends.

Picture from quotesvalley.com

 

So back to this phenomenon I have been talking about. Well, since I am progressing into the next stage of learning in these new ventures. I have felt a great amount of fear in my own abilities. To help me deal with this fear I have reached out to these communities through social media. I can not put into words the wonderful, unexpected and genuine support I have received. I mean most of these people know nothing about me. They have no reason to want to help or encourage me. To them, I am only a screen name and some pictures. Their kind words and encouragement have not only helped me move through my fears, it has also reminded me that there are good people in the world.

We often hear about how social media is disconnecting people, making them one-dimensional, shallow and vapid. I have experience just the opposite. I have felt goodness, kind heartedness and genuine caring. When I posted my fears on social media, I never expected such an overwhelming amount of support and encouragement. It was amazing how people took the time out of their day to say some kind words, sympathize and relay their story.  I am forever touched and grateful for the interaction of people such as Joyce with Toxic Sweet Shop, Jessica Winnett from Scope Mamas, my Beachbody up-line, Melissa Ely, Fit Theme Queen,  Kathleen with The Blogger’s Lifestyle.  I am really blessed to have come across these people.

So if you are feeling fear, trepidation and anxiety in starting a new venture. Reach out to those around you that have been there. In most cases, they have been there and can offer great information. You might find, as I have, that their encouragement is just what you needed to hear to move forward.

Tea and Cake Tuesday

This is probably the only week this year where drinking hot tea is actually ok in South Florida. Here the temps have dipped into the 50’s. A rarity, but nice weather to enjoy tea and cake in.

Made this cake for my cousins birthday. Did not really have a plan just wanted to try something I had seen in a cake video from  Sharon Zambito. Was pretty happy with how easy and unfussy this one was.

 Also, really enjoying this tea right now. Maybe because Valentine’s day is on the horizon but I love the hint of strawberries and cocoa. Have to try this one as an iced tea. Think it would be wonderful.

 

Eating the alphabet

This is in response to the Daily Post Phot Challenge “Alphabet.” I’m sure this challenge made you think of alphabet soup. It totally did for me. This picture was one I took at a local restaurant. The bright bold colors and the rustic style really appealed to me…and yes the food was fantastic.

Alphabet

Tea and Cake Tuesday

For Tea and Cake Tuesday, I will share with you my Christmas Eve cake. This is the first cake I (kind of) designed myself. Also it was the biggest one I had ever done so it presented quite a challenge for me time wise and transportation wise. It was a great experiment and I learned so much. Looking towards next year remember to keep challenging yourself.

Tea and Cake Tuesday

This is a cake I made for a friend a few weeks ago. It was my first attempt at a carved cake and first attempt at the fondant inlay technique. I learned so much from this. Really enjoyed doing it. Just a reminder to never stop learning.

Also with the holiday season upon us I’m really into mint teas. They are also very soothing to the stomach. ***Since I have really fallen in love with tea lately, I thought I should post a link here if you would like to purchase some for yourself.

Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link, I may make a very, very small  profit. I will only put links to products I use myself, review, or believe could be useful. These affiliate links do not change my personal opinions for or against the products reviewed.  There is no additional cost to you by clicking on an affiliate link.

 

Tea and Cake Tuesday

Last week I was doing some cake decorating and had to change the cake design midstream. Sometimes things happen for a reason because the cake ended up being sold and the proceeds went to support a Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk Team. I was really happy about being able to contribute to this cause and very please with how the cake came out.

Don’t forget October is Breast Cancer Awareness month so be sure to get a screening, support a breast cancer charity, and wear pink. For more information or to find a walk in your area visit cancer.org.

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any cakier…

Dresses made of cake decorating materials, edible dresses…yes, dresses, clothing. I know it sounds weird and even a little inappropriate but they were oh so beautiful. Amazing. I could not attend the actually fashion show. The tickets we’re just to pricey but they dispayed the creations the next day and they we’re just stunning. I so enjoyed my time at the cake fair and actually got an  opportunity to see some of the cake industries biggest stars like Ron Ben-Israel and Collette Peters. I also got to meet some of my own cake idols I stalk on Periscope like Liz Marek.  I learned so much and was so glad for the opportunity to go. Anyway enough talk here are some pictures.