DIY Storage Solutions

One thing I have become obsessed with since starting cake decorating is storage solutions. Just don't look in my baking cupboard, it's a mess in there!!

Aside from buying all the necessary flower cutters and moulding tools required for my kit, it quickley became apparent I would need a way to store all these newly purchased goodies. Now all these ideas could possibly be used for other crafty pursuits - such as painting, scrapbooking, kids craft stuff or even makeup, jewellery or hair accessories!

Top of my list is my newly-acquired fishing tackle box. I have been looking for one for yonks that was plain coloured and not too manly, I jazzed it up a bit with some silver sparkley letters with the name of my small business, with the thinking that if I have to drop off a cake anywhere I can take this filled with any "emergency" equipment I may need. A tool box is also a good option - evidenced by the plethora of them that have appeared in my cake decorating classes!

Next is my tool holder. I actually purchased this one off Trademe as I was in a hurry to find something to store my tools in. I have just picked up some material to make my own one, as I already need something that is a bit longer with more little pockets to store stuff in!

Never underestimate the simple shoebox. These came in so handy with transporting my pieces to the show held recently. Boot boxes are great, if you don't have any at home just ask at a shoe shop - they should be able to hand some over to you for free (hopefully!)

Snaplock bags - perfect for storing all sorts of goodies. I use them to hold my various flower cutters, all labelled, then I store those in a larger one. This method takes up less space in your kit which is always nice!

Clip containers are great for holding messy items, such as gel colours which can make a mess even if you think they are securely screwed closed!

This wire holder is such an awesome invention!! It stops your wires getting bent and it also makes it so much easier to get them out one at a time. You can purchase one here.

I discovered this tray full of little plastic containers the other day at Spotlight. Perfect for storing my dusting powders in, but they could also be used for beads or glitter. 

This stackable plastic containers are great, because of their shape they take up a lot less space. This one stores my kremelta, cornflour and icing sugar. 

I hope all of those give you guys some ideas of how to store your crafty goodies!

Prizes Galore!

Wow it has been a long weekend!! I arrived at the place where the competition was being held on Saturday morning and was dragged over to the competition work by the woman who teaches the classes I'm in. She directed me towards my floral spray, then my wedding cake, then my fondant entry...a certificate for each!!

Floral Spray - 73 points, Bronze Award

Wedding Cake - 78 points, Bronze Award

Fondant Section - 81 points, Silver Award!!

I was pretty happy with that!! My wedding cake was 2 points away from getting a silver, I needed a slightly bigger board but as I was up until 3am the night before finishing it, it would have been impossible to find a new board at that time!! My spray was slightly too large, I was trying to use all the flowers I had made as they took so much time. The whole weekend was a great experience and I can't wait to do it again!! Next time I will definitely start preparing earlier though, it takes so much time to make everything!

Hope it has been a great weekend for everyone. 

Competition Entries

These are the entries I put into the competition today. I'm pretty happy with how they came out! The wedding cake came out just as I planned which was great. The floral spray and the pettnice  (fondant) entry kind of came out of the blue, but they worked out and I'm pretty proud of what I've done in a short amount of time! 

They were getting marked this afternoon so I can go along tomorrow morning and see how I went. There was some gorgeous entries so it might be tough in a few catergories!

Have a great weekend guys, I'm looking forward to a decent sleep after many hours working on these!

Cakes times 2

I had to post these pictures of the cakes made for my parents recently. They have their birthdays within a couple of days of each other so we celebrated them in the middle.

My Dad is really into tramping so I wanted to make him a mountain cake with snow, a glacier and a lake like the photos he brings home from his trips. For my Mum I wanted to make a simple, classic cake - her favourite colour is red and I included these shoes I learnt to make the other week at class.

The tramping cake is banana flavoured, the red cake is carrot flavoured. I say flavoured, because they don't contain fruit or nuts. My tutor recommends not using real fruit or nuts in a cake as a classmate made a banana cake for a wedding and the fruit fermented, causing the cake to explode when the bride cut it....not pretty. I'm so happy with how they turned out!! We cut the red cake and tried some, it was pretty good and fed about 12 people with some left over so that worked out well!!

I have also been busy making my competition cakes. I have one week left!! So next weekend I will have some new photos to put up. I''m so excited to see what everyone else comes up with!