I Can Bake with a Little Help from my Friends

My Red Velvet Creations circa 2009

My lame, straight to cake-wrecks http://www.cakewrecks.com/attempt yesterday at baking red velvet cupcakes for Valentine's Day convinced me once and for all that I am not a baker. Not a scratch baker, that is, because I'm incapable of following a baking recipe exactly as it needs to be followed.  However, thanks to baking mixes and the talented teachers at Kake Kreations http://www.kakekreations.com/, (please see photo at right) I'm actually pretty good at putting together something delicious and beautiful. Thank you too Betty and Duncan.
 

A very important part of baking and decorating success are the tools and decorations that are available from Wilton http://www.wilton.com/, who have hundreds and hundreds of pans, molds, papers, cutters, embellishments, and more - something for everyone who bakes, from scratch or not.  Recently I found this vintage 1960's Wilton ideas book at a flea market, full of wonderful retro images, that I'm going to send to my friends Nancy and Gretchen at Wilton.  Maybe I'll see it when I make a pilgrimage to their headquarters outside of Chicago.

Not to show off, but here are a few more of my cake creations with the help from Kake Kreations and Wilton: 

1st Class Cake

Brush Embroidery Technique

Pretty Good, Huh?

And in the afterglow of Valentine's Day, here's a little hand-painted, decoupaged, and embellished heart-shaped box I made for a show at Zinnia's http://www.zinnia.biz/zinnia.biz/home.html in South Pasadena.  The show is on until the end of the month so do stop by if you have a chance.  P.S.  There's a pretty little pink glass heart necklace in the box too - very sweet I think.

My Red Velvet Creations circa 2009

My lame, straight to cake-wrecks http://www.cakewrecks.com/attempt yesterday at baking red velvet cupcakes for Valentine's Day convinced me once and for all that I am not a baker. Not a scratch baker, that is, because I'm incapable of following a baking recipe exactly as it needs to be followed.  However, thanks to baking mixes and the talented teachers at Kake Kreations http://www.kakekreations.com/, (please see photo at right) I'm actually pretty good at putting together something delicious and beautiful. Thank you too Betty and Duncan.
 

A very important part of baking and decorating success are the tools and decorations that are available from Wilton http://www.wilton.com/, who have hundreds and hundreds of pans, molds, papers, cutters, embellishments, and more - something for everyone who bakes, from scratch or not.  Recently I found this vintage 1960's Wilton ideas book at a flea market, full of wonderful retro images, that I'm going to send to my friends Nancy and Gretchen at Wilton.  Maybe I'll see it when I make a pilgrimage to their headquarters outside of Chicago.

Not to show off, but here are a few more of my cake creations with the help from Kake Kreations and Wilton: 

1st Class Cake

Brush Embroidery Technique

Pretty Good, Huh?

And in the afterglow of Valentine's Day, here's a little hand-painted, decoupaged, and embellished heart-shaped box I made for a show at Zinnia's http://www.zinnia.biz/zinnia.biz/home.html in South Pasadena.  The show is on until the end of the month so do stop by if you have a chance.  P.S.  There's a pretty little pink glass heart necklace in the box too - very sweet I think.