Aug 11, 2008

More cakes classes and completed projects

Okay, here it is...finally. I've been waiting to add this entry so that I could put all these pictures into one post. These are the completed class projects from another set of cake classes that Ashley and I decided to take as well as the 'homework' that we were asked to present giving 5 of the concepts that we'd learned in the previous 4 classes (the last class, #5, was about cookies). Prior to this series of classes, all of the cake decorating classes we'd taken were from one source and even though we had discussed that we were interested in taking some more advanced classes, we hadn't yet made the commitment to do so. While on vacation recently, I read some posts from a fellow blogger, Stephanie of Frosted Garden http://frostedgarden.blogspot.com/. Via her blog, I learned that she was planning to teach a series of cake decorating classes. We emailed back and forth for a bit and finally, Ashley and I decided to sign up for and take her classes. We were looking foward to getting additional perspectives on how others go about decorating cakes, cookies, etc and to learning something new. We did both. Stephanie is a remarkable young lady who has become very successful as a cake decorator (cupcakes and cookies, too) and is totally self taught which meant that she really was able to share a lot of information with Ashley and I about more than just technique; she was able to share a lot of the trials and tribulations that she'd experienced since beginning her career as a cake decorator. Stephanie's classes were very well attended and were a lot of work, for both her and her husband. And yes, her husband is much more than just an observer, he is a very big part of her completed projects. Rodney helped Stephanie with a couple of her classes by instructing us on how to do some of the things that he does when helping her design and make some of her beautiful cakes. I get the idea that he does a lot of the fondant work and I also hear that he can make some amazingly detailed cookie cutters (and sells them BTW). Stephanie (and Rodney) covered a lot of techniques in a short period of time and did it very well, especially given the time constraints. The end of each class found us all rushing to finish our project of the evening, but rest assured that each and every time we were able to take our completed project home to share with family and loved ones. Stephanie was great, Ashley and I both learned a lot and made a lot of new friends. Thank you Stephanie and Rodney.