Tag Archives: Pictures

The first time I got an itch to decorate cakes for a living happened back in 2004.  I was the host for my little sister’s wedding shower.  I enlisted the help of my very best friend, Kristy and her very talented mother-in-law, Sharon.  My sister’s wedding was to have very colorful Gerbera daisies, so I borrowed that theme and we used the daisies to create a very stunning cake.  Kristy remembers me uttering something about really liking what I was doing and that it would be fun to do that someday.

Over the next year, I made a few cakes for various family events, but nothing big.  Then came my son’s first birthday party.  This being my first child, I wanted a BIG party!  He liked farm animals at the time, so I made a cow and a pig cake, sunflower cupcakes and LOTS of farm-themed cookies.  Then came more family events, my son’s 2nd birthday cake, my nephew’s first birthday cake and my youngest son’s first birthday cake.

Somewhere during all that, I decided that I needed some further exploration to determine if this was something I could (1) do better, (2) keep having fun at, and (3) learn more about.  So, I invested in the Wilton School of Cake Decorating classes taught through Michaels.  I LOVED the classes so much that I finally decided that this is something I could/should/want/need to do for a living!

Now, in the great state of Illinois, you can’t just run a food business out of your home.  In order to be a licensed food business (with the Health Department’s blessing) you need to bake and decorate in a kitchen separate from your living space…ie: commercial kitchen or a garage kitchen.  Since we don’t have the room or the want to add onto our house, we need to search for some commercial kitchen rental space.  This is where I’ll be taking it kind of slow.  I’m a stay-at-home-Mommy to two beautiful boys.  My oldest will be entering pre-school this year, with the youngest following in a year or so.  I adore staying home with them, so we’ll be moving ahead slowly!  We could easily say this is my “Two-Year Plan”.  And in the meantime, I’ll be doing all the necessary research (product development, pre-marketing, pricing, etc.)  Oh yeah, and PRACTICE!!!  I also hope that I will be able to further my eduction and perhaps take an internship in another successful cakery!