How I turned my pipe dream into my piping dream
Back at the beginning of all this pandemic shit (pardon my French but I think we all know curse words are very much in order these days), I was like WTF do I do with all my time stuck at home? At first I did a crapload of puzzles, but once I got sick of that, I was like now what? So I made a big decision. Life is too short and I’m finally going to conquer my pipe dream. Cake decorating!
First, let me say when I made this decision, I had ZERO experience or training in cake decorating. Don’t believe me? This was the cake I made a few years ago.
I know it looks like maybe I was on acid or something, but I was not. This was me actually trying. I was like how hard can it be to make fondant and recreate the adorable Peppa Pig cake I saw on Pinterest? Umm, hard. Very hard. I call this cake “Peppa Pig Melting in the Eternal Flames of Hell.”
Then in July of 2020 (see, I told you there’d be curse words), I had some people over to our backyard for my friend’s birthday and I decided to dip my toe in the water again. Tadaaa!
Not exactly amazing, but at least Peppa’s not hanging out with Satan again. At the time I was seriously impressed with myself for making homemade frosting. I found the recipe online from this awesome woman named ChelSweets, and that’s when I had this HUGE epiphany. Wait, I can do this!
So I spent the next few weeks watching videos. I didn’t buy a single ingredient. I didn’t bake a single cake. I just watched. I fell down the rabbit hole and let myself keep falling. I watched ChelSweets, NeuroticMom, the Flour Girl, Preppy Kitchen, and I learned SO MUCH. YouTube and Instagram were basically like free cake decorating school with super nice teachers who want to share all their knowledge and tricks with you.
In less than six months, I went from this…
To this!!
I shit you not. The same person who made Melting Peppa made these cakes. I’d like to say I’m getting better every day, but some days I get worse, and some cakes turn out looking like crap. But that’s okay because then I just eat the cake and feel better. And then I can’t fit in my pants and I feel worse. So then I make another cake and feel better. And then I eat it and feel worse. It’s a vicious cycle but somebody’s got to do it.
Anyways, a few of you keep asking me what are my go-to tools, which I think is HIGHlarious because I’m so new to this, but here are a few of my favorites so far. SO FAR because I’m just at the beginning of my journey. All of these pictures are clickable and will take you straight to where you can buy them. (P.S. I am an Amazon Associate and I can earn from qualifying purchases!!)
This awesome turntable corners like it’s on rails and will help you get smooth coats of icing
I love these because the base screws off and makes them easier to store
The handle on this cake scraper makes it so much easier to hold
This gel dye actually drips so you can control how much you use and they stay super clean
Wilton sent me these and they REALLY work! Wrap them around your pans and the cakes bake flat
This was a nice little starter kit of piping tips. And then you can just keep adding to your collection
I mean how gorgeous are these?! I’m still getting the hang of them but they’re so beautiful
Adorable, awesome, colorful, fun sprinkles! The only hard part is deciding which ones to get
Seriously, you guys, life is too short to put your pipe dreams on hold. I mean you could wake up tomorrow and get hit by a bus. And as you lie there smushed in the asphalt, wouldn’t you feel better knowing you at least started to do what you always wanted to do?
So what are you waiting for?! There are a million videos online that can teach you how to decorate cakes, how to paint, how to do electrical work, how to start a business, how to start a blog, or how to convince your friends to start baking and bring you lots of treats. I know it seems daunting, but you don’t learn it all in one day. You take one little baby step and then another, and eventually you realize you’re doing it. You are fulfilling your pipe dream.
If you don’t want to eat the cakes yourself, I can send you my address!
You are at it again! A few years ago, I read your A**holes” book and liked it so much that I wrote you. Imagine my surprise when you wrote back! “How cool is THAT????”, I thought!!!
Then I bought and “Epidural”, and loved THAT one too!
Now the newest one is on my ordering acct with Amazon, and I can hardly wait to read that one. I don’t even HAVE kids, but your (mis)adventures with yours keep me laughing nonetheless! I hope you are on the bestseller’s list because if you are not (which frankly I would not believe), you certainly SHOULD be.
I have told my friends about the books, and have given copies to several.
Kudos once again, Karen!
i
Your cakes are AMAZING! They look professional. Nice work!
Don’t suffer with eating the cake. I am willing to take the burden off of you. Send me cake!!
I definitely think you should give the peppa cake another go since you have acquired such awesome skills since! I bet you would do better! And it would be fun to see where you started vs where you are now on the SAME cake!!