WINNER!!
Dena (#1258) who said: Hi Mel! I believe that I am a professional cake decorator hiding in an amatuer’s body just waiting to bust out! I would love some tools of the trade to boost my skill level. I just love your website. It has helped me in so many ways to prepare new and exciting foods for my family. Thank you for all your help!
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Usually, January isn’t my favorite of the 12 months. Just not a lot to look forward to, if you ask me, with the holidays over and spring still months away (at least in my neck of the woods). But this year, I’m actually excited for the dreary, blustery month…because…for the next two weeks, sprinkled amongst the new, fantastic recipes I have to share, I will be hosting giveaway upon giveaway. Oh yes! And I can’t tell you how excited I am to give away some of my favorite things. I purposely avoided the blog giveaway craziness and fun over the last few holiday weeks in order to selfishly save the giveaways for now!
A moment of heartfelt sappiness: I really, really adore all of you. I know, you are rolling your eyes, but it is true. I wouldn’t have the continual energy and motivation to keep up this here food blog if it wasn’t for all of your comments and support. It keeps me moving in my lazy state, so seriously…thank you! These giveaways are for you! So may the force be with you and your entry(s).
Tomorrow I promise you a new, delicious recipe. Promise! But today I want to give away something I’ve been so very excited to put together.
I am by no means a professional cake decorator, but I have somehow developed a tradition of taking birthday requests from my kids and decorating things like snakes, sharks, bats, monsters…you know, boy cakes. I gladly took on the challenge last year to decorate two more girly cakes for my sweet neighbors:
Completely self-taught (and it kind of shows, I know!), I have a habit of pulling all-nighters to finish the cakes (like I said, I’m not a professional and have to redo things, like, 20 times to get them right sometimes), but I have loved learning little techniques.
What makes my life easier? This Wilton Tool Caddy that my fabulous cousin (and long ago roommate!), Camille, gave me years ago when we went to an amateur cake decorating class together (um, I was the only one that left class each session with frosting stuck in my hair).
I have loved this caddy and have gradually added supplies to it over the last ten years as I’ve ventured out trying new cake styles. Besides my loving husband who graciously stays up late with me every time I take on a cake project, this caddy is my #1 partner in crime when it comes to cake decorating. We’re tight, me and my caddy.
I want to give away ONE of these awesome tool caddies (yes, they kind of look like an old school plastic makeup carrier I had when I was, like, 13, but oh well) filled with many of the same things I have in mine – my favorite gel colors, no less than 15 of my favorite tips, decorating bags, couplers, and lots of other goodies, including an offset spatula or three. I’ll put it all together and ship it off to you lickety split!
To enter, just leave a comment on THIS post telling me what kind of cake decorator you are (professional, slap on some canned frosting to a cake mix kinda person, experimenter extraordinaire) – whatever the case may be! I’ll announce a winner before the next giveaway goes up, probably in a day or two.
{Giveaway and details and opinions all sponsored by me (a.k.a. Mel’s Kitchen Cafe), like it or not!}
I am definatly an amatuer ,but I love to create something different!
So amateur!!
I am ok at the cake making and terrible and nicely getting the frosting on!
If you ask my kiddos, I’m all prefessional! What can I say, they love me!! But in all reality, I’m just a girl who loves cake and liks to make them look as yummy and fun as they can.
I am a “wanna-be” cake decorator. Sprinkles have been my go-to decorating item for as long as I can remember.
Certainly not a pro..however, I do make my own frosting and I have decorated some pretty cool cakes for my kids’ birthdays through the years.
Im a creator of frosting madness. Would totally love tools to help my mess
I am definitely an amateur, and I would love to take a class. You inspire me in so many ways, thank you! I usually beg my husband to finish the birthday cakes to make them look like they’re supposed to, he’s way more artistic than I am!
I have 4 frosting tips to my name. I made some ice cream cone cupcakes for my little girls slip ‘n slide birthday party and they turned out not looking like ice cream cones, but still cute
Awesome giveaway thanks!
Mel,
I follow in your footsteps, great expectations , biting off more than I should.
I am in the intermediate category, I know just enough to take on too much! No box cake mixes or canned frosting for me!
I love decorated cakes and would love that caddy, it (I think) would allow me to climb new mountains in the cake decorating world.
Thank you, for the opportunity to win and for your wonderful recipes.
experimenter extraordinaire-I love that term. That is totally me. I am a make my own frosting, experimenting with fondant kinda baker/decorator. My daughter wants to be a pastry chef so she and I love to play in the kitchen.
I experiment. I do not like store bought frosting…gross! I will try to make something fun and special if my kids request it. I have made a butterfly, Mickey Mouse (with black frosting), and a basketball jersey. The butterfly was the cutest because my friend helped me make it.
By the way…I still have my make-up tool box aka Caboodle from when I was 13 (20+years later). I keep my finger nail polish and the pedicure supplies in it.
I’m a novice to be sure. I originally only did box cake mix with store bought icing, but in the past year I’ve expanded just a little bit. I actually made my own pineapple upside down mini bundt cakes, and used a piping bag to give my mother’s cupcakes something special. I would love to experiment further though…
I have been paid to make a cake or two before but I am still very critical of the cakes I make. So I often practice as much as I can!
I can make fancy cakes, but lately with how crazy/busy it is-I have been okay with the tub of frosting and fun sprinkles.
i would love to be better – my kids are entering the ages of cute cakes and i really need to start practicing!
I’m a classic, no frills type. Slap some buttercream on it and call it done, let’s just eat it now, type. But I’d love to learn more skills!
I am an amateur, but I’ve recently started experimenting with fondant and I am loving it! Thank you so much for your blog! It was the inspiration to start a neighborhood dessert group and it has been awesome! Thanks a million!
I dabble but my husband took up the hobby during his post grad education and is pretty good. He’s a regular cake boss!
I am so not good yet. But I would like to be!
Somewhere there are pictures of my Darth Vader cake I made for a 4 or 5 year old little boy and they are not pretty. I (try) and make fun cakes whenever they are asked for, sometimes with good results.
Thank you, Melanie, for this site, for keeping it going strong during hard times and pregnancies, and especially for the new ideas and favorite recipes you’ve provided!!
I love making cakes for my boys on their birthdays, and find it fun and challenging to see what I can come up with, but I’m in no way a professional! I’d love this caddy! It’d be awesome!
I’m definitely an amateur and usually resort to canned frosting. I would love to start experimenting more with a real cake decorating kit!
I’m like you, not a professional, and completely self-taught, but I turn out some pretty cool cakes for my children’s birthdays. Five years ago, I started working with fondant and gum paste and that has opened up a whole new world! Your cakes look great!
I am “just have fun with it” cake decorator. I have tried will some success and some failures. but I always have fun. this give away would improve me abilities! ALOT!!!!
thanks for putting my name in the hat….
Lorene
I’m a very sad cake decorator!!
I try…but….my poor granddaughter watched YouTube videos for weeks before her birthday on beautiful cupcake decorating…and she ended up with purple blobs. But she was happy with Grammies Purple Blobs and that is what counts!!!!!
i’m an experimenter but i feel like my sister and i have come up with some pretty cool cakes designs. my mom was pretty creative when we were growing up so she was a big part our inspirations.
I have been trying my hand at cookies lately. Harder than it looks but I am getting better.
I’m a hopeful amateur–I am pretty bad at it (my last attempt ended prematurely as I watched ruffles slide right off the skirt of the Belle cake I was attempting for my little girl). Thanks for doing such a fun giveaway to spice up the dreariness!
I am exactly like you! I have done a bowling ball and pins, little einsteins rocket, Mickey mouse, very hungry caterpillar, and many others, all by request. I love it. No where near professional but they have turned out cute!
I am an experimenter and a slap the frosting on kinda person.I’m a mixture.I do a little of both.Thank you for the giveaway!
Definitely an amateur. Mostly I stick with cupcakes. Harder to mess up!
I’m not a total amature at cake decorating, but I’m definitely not a Pro either. My daughter is turning 4 in April and wants a princess cake. I’m a little nervous and could definately use all the help I could get!
I took the wilton classes a couple of years ago, but I haven’t made more than a cake or two since…
I am actually on my road to starting to learn. Definately I have used the frosting out of a can and decorate as cute as I can for the kiddos. But I will be taking a class here with a good friend of mine to learn something more professional. Having a niece that just turned a year has reignited my love for celebrating life!
Total amateur, but I do my best! I usually have frosting stuck in my hair!
I’m a total amateur, make it up as I go without spending an arm and a leg, type of cake decorator. I was watching cake boss with my almost five year old last year and she requested a castle cake like the one that buddy made on the show. My turned out like the leaning castle of Pisa. At least she was happy to see a pink cake with her favorite princesses on it.
Amateur, but working on it!
I would have to say that I am an experimenter. I definitely do not use store bought frosting but I am still learning the in’s and out’s of decorating!
I taught myself from the Wilton cake book 1. I do well enough to decorate cakes for my 4 kids’ birthdays. I’d LOVE to have a box made to hold all of my decorating supplies.
I’m def. not a professional, but I do enjoy cake decorating. I’m a self taught experimentalist!
I’m a beginner and would love the right tools to learn more!
I’m not a cake baker at all; my mom wanted to make my kids’ birthday cakes for all of these years. But it’s something I really want to try!
Not too good, but like to try. Always wanted to take classes but never able to. I’ve had fun with the few attempts I’ve tried.
I definitely experiment- sometimes with amazing results, sometimes disasterous. At least you can (almost) always eat mistakes! I would love to take a cake decorating course and be more consistant.
I am NOT a professional. But I dont skimp when it comes to good ingredients. NEVER canned frosting.
Big time amateur. But I am a mother of three great kids and love seeing their faces when they see their birthday cakes. They don’t see the mistakes, only a special cake for a special day. Makes everything worth it.
I am a slightly-better-than-beginner cake decorator. Hence the word “slightly”. I have never bought a cake for my kids birthdays. I have done PAC-man, spider-man, flowers, layer cakes, sheet cakes, cupcakes, decorated cookies….they aren’t professional but they are usually darn tasty! I would rather have a delicious cake any day that isn’t so great to look at than one that is gorgeous and tastes awful.
I experiment and I like to just slap the frosting on. Thank you for the giveaway!
I also am a self taught cake decorator who takes requests from 3 little boys. But it is fun if not professional looking! And the boys always love it!
An experimenting amateur.
I’ve recently started experimenting with cake decorating. I made a rose cake and it turned out pretty darn good! Your cakes look great!
I have ventured away from canned frosting, and now make my own, but that’s as adventurous as I get when it comes to decorating cakes. But I’d love to learn! And yes, that totally looks like a Kaboodle! (or was it with a ‘c’?)
I’m an experimenter extraordinaire, I love try different things, sometimes it work!
I made my first layer cake last Mother’s Day. I am a beginner definitely. Love your site!
I love to experiment and would love to learn more!!
Beginner decorator but no store frosting here.
I am an experimentor and my 14 year old daughter is the creative one. I am hoping that we can continue to have big adventures (mostly dirtying every dish in the ktichen) together.
I am a self taught amateur like you! candiscakes.net shows my experiments, some are great and some are pretty flawed.
I am one of the worst cake decorators out there. I either go to the bakery to buy one or ask my daughter to make one. she has progressed way past mom’s abilities
I am a nonprofessional from scratch baker. Over the years I have made many birthday cakes including Belle from Beauty and the Beast, a hamster, a Missouri Tiger and Cookie Monster. Now, I make cakes for the grand kids.
I’m a horrible cake decorator! I try so hard, but for some reason they just don’t turn out very pretty. I definitely need some help!
Total Beginner!
I’m pretty much the canned frosting on a cake mix kind of girl – but that doesn’t mean I don’t have dreams.
I am a creative experimenter who needs to practice making the right kind of frosting for the job at hand! Thanks for the give away!
I’ll have you know that I have one of those old make-up carriers and still use it…even though the lock mechanism has been broken for years.
As for decorating, I’m an amateur. I use my cookie press to fill my deviled eggs and everyone comments on how nice they look. As for cakes, I did have a ‘starter’ kit of Wilton decorating stuff some years back, and was just starting to learn the craft. However, a relative “borrowed” the kit, and that’s the last I saw of it.
Happy New Year everyone!
Hi, I`d say I`m an amateur, but my youngest daughter is well on her way to becoming a professional. She wants to have her own bakery when she grows up. It would be really nice to have for h er to experiment with!
I like to do a little of both! It really depends on who the cake is for and how long I have to make it lol…. But I really do hope this is something I win!!!
I am a middle of the road cake decorator! Sometimes below average and some times a little above.
I am a wedding cake decorator….in my dreams, but reality is frosting from a can on a one layer cake or cupcakes.
self-taught cake decorator–you can learn all kinds of stuff on you-tube. check out my blog for a few things ive done. thanks for the giveaway, mel!
I’m definitely no expert, but I love to experiment, and I would love to win this to give me the tools to do more!
I’m the kind of cake decorator that buys hers at the bakery!
Beginner but hoping to improve the more I practice… Just like I tell my kiddos, practice makes perfect:)
I love your blog & try your recipes often. I am very amateur. I try and make a creative cake for each bday. So far I have made a monkey, Barbie princess, truck, crown cake, mermaid cake, butterfly, Rudolph cake, horse, dinosaur, and puppy cake. I could really use some tips and equipment. I should really learn some skills instead of faking it.
I currently don’t make cakes – I’m a pro at ordering them from someone who knows how! But where there’s a will, there’s a way – and I’m willing to start and learn!
I love to experiment with decorating tips from food blogs pictures !
i am an experimenter. i enjoy trying new things, not hard things, but fun things that will make a cake a little special for my kiddos.
It looks like a kaboodle! How fun
And I am an extremely amateur cake decorator. As in, I can’t do anything. I can do cupcakes and cookies, but cakes?? no way!
I’m an experimenter. A friend, who is a professional, once taught me some of her skills, which was just enough information for me to attempt the cakes my kids request, but not enough to make them look exactly how they want it!
Melanie, I love your food blog. You are amazing!
Amateur, but definitely improving after 13 years of cake designing & decorating. Love to work with ‘from scratch’ recipes. I started with my son’s b-day cakes as he requested something new each year (from construction & pirate ships to Angry Birds this year.)
Love your site. It’s a go-to favorite for me as I have ‘borrowed’ many of your recipes (and tutorials), and they have become part of our menu rotation.
Happy New Year!
Shar
Nonexistent- I have always bought our birthday cakes or had my cute neighbor bake them for me, but I’d love to give it a try on my own.
I’m a newbie decorator for sure! I’ve only just discovered my love for baking in the last year so I’ve got lots of fun, experimental times ahead of me! I’m looking forward to it though and this tool caddy would definitely help me to get things started!
I am a experimenter extraordinaire. You are much better than I am, but mine do end up being cute and my kids are always pleased!
Thank you, you are too sweet!
I am just like you! I took the Wilton course one at my local craft store, and now I take orders from my two sons! My cakes look home decorated, but I really enjoy doing it and this set of wonder would be awesome!
I’m an amateur for sure! I love to bake, and I got a petit four pan as well as a decorating set for Christmas. I’m so ready to try them out! This caddy would be great so the stuff I already have won’t be spread all throughout drawers and the pantry!
I try to let my kids decide what kind of cake they want. I like trying to figure out a way to make it for them. I’m not always the best but so far they don’t complain and they love what I put together.
I am a cake experinter! I made my first fondant wedding cake with my sil in October! We didn’t have very many fancy tools and would love to win this! I love your blog!
I am a complete beginner. I have never even used a piping bag. I don’t think I have even ever made a two-layer cake because I didn’t have an offset spatula to spread the frosting. I would love this tool kit to get started.
Canned Frosting? Yuck!! Gag!! I do everything from scratch but I don’t decorate worth a crap! I could use help!!
experimenter and frosting from the can goes straight to the cake
As a mom with a 1-year-old and a 1 month old, we have had one birthday, so I am very amateur. I’m a make-it-from-scratch kind of girl but haven’t ventured into animals/objects just yet, although I look forward to trying someday, but probably when my children are old enough to appreciate it a little more.
I would love a kit like this.
I’m an anti-canned frosting amateur.
I enjoy experimenting and decorating cakes but I’m by no means a professional!
Very amateur. I wish I was better but it is so much work. It would be fun to try though.
I’m definately a mix kind of girl. If the cake is for someone in the family it gets canned frosting; but if it is for me (and I generally would rather have pie than cake for my day), I will make a better frosting cause I detest the canned stuff! If I win this I will be gifting it to my DIL who is next to professional…she does a great job! That girl is talented I tell you! She will love having all her stuff in one place and organized.
I’m not much of a cake decorator, but I would love to get better. I tell my kids I make cakes that taste good not ones that are pretty.
I took the same cake decorating class you did. I loved it and was alright at it. My family must think I’m professional bc they ask me to do birthday cakes all the time. I need a refresher coarse AND that tool caddy!!
thanks for the give aways.
I am an amateur that is however improving over the years and I love doing cakes for family and friends!
I am a NOVICE and that is putting it mildly. I would love a set of proper tools to improve my skills for my 5 yr old daughter and my 3 yr old son so I could make their cakes because I LOVE to an really cute birthday parties for them. Thanks and HSPPY NEW YEAR!!