Heaven Lee Cakes

So, after much thought I decided that I was going to deactivate my FACEBOOK account once again.  It's very hard to keep track of the few people that I actually spoke to and trying to respond and comment on 200+ status, new photos and comments just didn't seem real to me.

I Love the "FACE TO FACE" interaction with people,  I want to see their eyes and facial expressions when I speak to them. I don't want to sit in a dark room trying to interpret a comment left by some random person that I don't know and maybe will never meet in my life.

I want to have real conversations with people, don't want to "TWEET" my very boring daily minutia nor do I want to start thinking that I'm "THAT" important that people need to know about my bathroom riturals! lol

I have taken my personal page down and may just keep it that way until I get my "new" business underway ( and I mean, I found something for my son to do from home that if we can work out the kinks may be somewhat profitable and as the MOM, he has to pay me a % , LOLZ!)

It never ceases to amaze me how we think that our little lives matter, how we talk so loud on our cell phones when we are in small, confined spaces.  I so want to tell people that do this, that I'm NOT interested in the results of their latest PAP smear of PROSTRATE check up! lol or how they had to do the WALK OF SHAME from the house of the latest  HOOK UP!  BARF....no no no no no!

I may be boring or old school when I make sure that I use my cell phone in emergencies only, or getting in and out of the car or when I'm home.  I too at first, had my cell phone surgically implanted to the side of my head, after all ...it was pink and cute.  Then it stopped being so cute and was just another electronic lease I had around my neck.

I believe it's time to  "DISCONNECT" for a while, I nominate for myself SUNDAYS.  It's a time that I'm slowly weaning myself from "THE GR ID" even to watching minimal Television.  My goal is to give myself a ful 24 hours of complete and utter elecltronic disconnect and a full 24 hours of me time, where I can meditate, mediate and concentrate on the things that I can do to make myself a better person.

Well, the classes that I had scheduled to teach have all been cancelled and the Cricut Cake Class has been cancelled also.  I had wanted to teach the Cricut Cake class in 2 parts because I believe that before you can fly you must learn to stand upright,

Not everyone feels the same;  After speaking with Linda, who developed the idea of using the electronic paper cutter to cut gumpaste, the problem that most people are having is that they don't condition the gumpaste enough.

Also, they spend close to $400.00 dollars on a piece of electronic equipment that they don't know how to use,  I didn't think it was fair to hold a 2 or 3 hour class and spend the time going back and forth explaining what all the buttons do. 

My idea was to hold a class that was all about taking the Cricut Cake out of the box, explore the functions and options of the machine and also learn how to care and clean it.,  I believe that we could've spent a good 2 to 3 hours doing that.  Also, learning how to work with the cartridge booklets would've been something that the students would appreciate,

I then had scheduled a 2nd class to make and work with the gumpaste and to start cutting designs for the cakes, actually decorating cakes if the students so desired. 

In my last class they were not informed to bring a cake, even though that was part of the supply list I provided the venue,  Sigh

So, now they are selling the Cricut Cake Electronic cutters and I hope for their customers sake they do have some working knowldege of the machine! 

I wish them luck!

I have been asked to teach classes in a cake supply shop in Plantation, Ruthie’s Sugar Art or

www.cakesuppliesdepot.com

the reason I’m super excited is because I’ve heard that they only hire “THE BEST” in the business.

The first class will be held August 3rd and it will be a class that will show you how to make those beautiful cake diamonds that are all the rage.

You can make a cake like this, totally edible and showcase your sugar skills.

Of course we will be starting small and not so dramatic, but you can take your skills to the next level too. We will be working with ISOMAL because of the Florida Humidity, but you will get the recipes for using granulated sugar also. A great skill set for amateur and professional alike.

I love the use of the edible gems in this style of cake too!

Here are some photos representative of the cakes that will be done in class, (Not my cakes)

Simple Baby Bag

The next classes on offer will be several cake sculpting classes like

Sleeping Baby Cake

2-D Corset

Clown Fish Cake

Cute Sculped Doggie

And of course we will be doing Cricut Cake Classes too…Be on the look out for the Calendar update, starting Tuesdays in September.

Well, even though we have closed our doors for now…I still love my CAKE TOYS! And yes!!! I was up on April 14th at Midnight for the Debut of the Cricut Cake on Home Shopping Network. I was a mad woman that night and hoping that it was actually on a flex pay program so I could justify ordering it.

I was more excited than a kid in a candy store, and as soon as it came on , it wasn’t more than 5 minutes later I was on the phone ordering my CRICUT CAKE!

I have been in close E-mail contact with Linda, who actually developed the technique to use Electronic paper cutters with gum paste and was very excited to hear that she will be giving classes on using the Electronic Paper Cutters, Learning the software to use with the machines:

www.surecutsalot.com

www.makethecut.com

www.inkscape.com

You can actually go to the websites and download a sample of the software so you can see how easy they are to use. Inkscape is actually free and if you have Sure Cuts a Lot v 1 you need to turn your jpeg photos into vectors to work with v1.

The software is actually more exciting for me to learn because I am such a techno geek and absolutely love to learn new things. I will be driving to Jackson, MS sometime in May for the classes because I feel that there are just too many people out there trying to steal Linda's thunder and I'd rather learn from the horse's mouth than the horse's rear end!!! lol

I have a lot of Facebook friends that are already using their cricut cake for their orders and I am so jealous of them for the moment; Makes me want to just bake for the heck of it and break out my CRICUT CAKE.

Unfortunately for me, it’s not legally possible for me to bake and sell food from my home in the state of Florida. Many people just disregard this fact and end up putting people’s health in jeopardy every day, as a lot of home bakers don’t follow the basic rules of sanitation.

But that’s a post for another day, today is all about my love affair with the CRICUT CAKE. If you have a FACEBOOK page and are interested in finding out more on CRICUT CAKE , you can just add “THE OFFICIAL CRICUT CAKE PAGE”

http://www.facebook.com/#!/CricutCake

to your friends list. There is also a CRICUT CAKE FORUM here:

http://www.cricut.com/messageboard/tt.aspx?forumid=289

If you follow the link I posted it will take you directly to the CRICUT CAKE FORUM.  I hope you enjoyed my short post, but I have a store to finish closing and a lot more to pack.

See ya'll on the SWEET SIDE!

A lot of people have asked me if I teach classes.  There is a movement out there to have Personal Chefs come to your home to teach a class on everything from French Cooking to Cake Decorating.

Thank GOODNESS, people still love to eat and they love to be creative.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE teaching...but I will be perfectly honest with you, I don't like going into people's homes because I am by myself and I don't like to put myself into any potentially dangerous situations, but I do have a location that I teach out of.

You can contact Kristina at Fiesta Cake in Hollywood, Florida for a schedule of classes and as soon as she has them posted on her Web Site I will post a link here.

I am going to share some photos of some classes that I have taught, so you can see how fun they are.  I love teaching small groups because it's just so nice to share with others who are interested in sharing your passion.

Here are some photos of the cookie stenciling class we did close to last Valentine's Day.  We had an 8 year old boy who's work was so excellent that for a minute I thought he was taking one of MY cookies! lol

Here are some photos of our cupcake class.  The cupcake class was even more fun because the students were really creative!

I am so excited to share this new technique!  Easy gems in the microwave?  No way!  YES WAY!!!  On my weekend away I took this class with Kathy Scott and even though I was not able to buy the molds I was ( after many burns!!! OUCHIE!!!)  able to make my gems and learn this technique that takes the cakes to another level.

Unfortunately, the weather in Miami doesn't cooperate as it's so hot and humid in the MIA...( insert sobs here.)  I love the way the look as I am a "BLINGER" from waaaaaaaaaay back. lol

I can't wait to make a display cake for the ICES day of Sharing in PLANTATION taking place in March!

This was made using a 2 pc mold and adding the rainbow glitter to the purple gem.

And these are just the clear gems using the mold that was included in the starter mold box.

So, I finally decide to take the proverbial "BULL" by the horns and grab my bag of ISOMALT that's been gathering dust in one of my storage drawers since I got back from OCALA in October ( some time thereabouts)  and decided that I am a big girl and need to stop getting intimidated by the process.  I took 2 cups of the ISOMALT and 8 TABLESPOONS of hot water ( I heated the water in the microwave, and it saved me some clean up time at the end. I put the sugar encrusted PASTRY BRUSH and CANDY THERMOMETER into the warm/hot water and clean up was a breeze!)

I poured the clearn ISOMALT into the silicone cupcake shape I had gotten from WILTON and so hate them.  (They don't make any papers to fit them...)

I have been using them to play with my hot sugar.  I had left over from the Kathy Scott Kit in the blue and purple so I added more hot sugar and in about 30 minutes they set wonderfully.  Enough that I can pop them out of the silicone molds and cool further.

I put a drop of orange color in the diamond shaped one, before it got to cool to stirl.  My little silicone spoon was still coated with green sugar so I didn't want to mix the colors.  When I get to use the Orange I will melt it and mix it better.   So off to wrap my little beauties and let you guys guess what I"m going to be making with my sugar.

If you "PEEK" into the green plastic storage container you can get a  hint...lol

Well, even though I am in the middle of major close down/renovations I am a die hard caker.  I saw the Cricut Expression on a TV informercial and fell in love with it, lusted after it and desired it with all my heart...knowing that I  could somehow make it work for my bakery even if I just did stencils like they did on the informercial.

Cricut caking has been a quiet movement that has been creating a buzz all over the cake world and I am so happy to have found that I'm not as crazy as I thought I was when I found out other cakers were thinking the same thing and there was someone out there that actually took the time to put the techniques onto some DVD's that of course I have purchased, but has made PROVO CRAFT take notice and come out with a Cricut Cake Machine!  An electronic cutter fully food safe! 

I've not had the pleasure to have completely decorated a cake with my Cricut, but I have done a few tentative things.

I have even signed up for some SCRAPBOOKING classes over in Pinecrest to become more and more familiar with all the features of the Cricut, I mean...it doesn't make any sense to have a "RELATIONSHIP" with something or someone without knowing more about them and how to "PUSH ALL OF THEIR BUTTONS!" lol

Here are some pics of cakes that I have embelished with my Cricut Cut out letters.

These cakes were made for CAKES ACROSS AMERICA.  A company that finds you a baker to bake, decorate and deliver a cake for you when you can't be there to do it yourself.

Here are the actual letters on the cake

I'm very excited to expand my skills with this new tool.  My next class is January 28 and I'm about to learn how to use the Software that manipulates scanned images into "cut" files to use with the Cricut!

A few weeks ago, one of my clients asked me to make her daughter’s First Birthday Cake.

I was excited when she told me what the theme of her party was. She was going for a Girlie Cow Girl theme and I told her I had just the very thing to take her cake there.

I had gotten a set of Baby Cowboy Boot cutters that I was keen to try, and thought they would make a great addition to the cake.

Here are step by step instructions on making the little boots and a photo of the finished cake at the very end.

Enjoy!

This is what you need to start. Your “MIS IN PLACE” should include the cutters, a stitching wheel, and some cardboard rolls cut to size. About 4” is a good size to work with, when making this little cowboy boot. Also, make sure that you have made enough paste of whatever color you will be using as it’s sometimes hard to match your batches.

The cutter is available through:

www.cakesbyximena.com

She makes the most adorable shoes and they have now released a baby shoe instructional video with at least a dozen versions of a baby shoe and how to make them with the different cutters that she has available.

This is what my little cowboy boot looked like after I made it for the tutorial. It wasn’t really dry yet, but I just couldn’t wait to show it off.

You start out by rolling your paste out to a thickness of 1 or down to about 3 on your pasta machine.

Here is a photo of the ATLAS PASTA MACHINE

It has the crank, and a vice to hold the PASTA machine onto your work surface.

After you roll your GUMPASTE or your 50/50 mix ( ½ fondant + ½ Gumpaste) to a nice workable thickness, you place your cutters onto the paste always making sure that when you are cutting shoes you have your LEFT and your RIGHT.

After you pull the excess paste off the cutter, you will make sure you keep it in an airtight container because you will be using it again.

To make your Cowboy Boots more realistic looking, you will mark them with your stitching wheel, all around.

This just adds more detail to your items and shows that you are very detailed in your work.

There are 2 ways to dry your pieces. You can drape the shaft of the boot over your cardboard rolls and “glue” them together with royal icing, or…

You can fuse both halves of the shaft together with a little gum clue and insert the cardboard paper roll inside to keep them upright.

This method is excellent when you are in a hurry and your paste is rolled out a little thicker than usual, as rolling it out thicker will make it sturdier, but slower to dry.

Here is a view of the Boot Shaft with the Cardboard tube inserted, upright.

When the boot shaft is dried, you can paint it to make it look more realistic

When the boot shaft is dried and painted, you can then proceed to make the accents, the toe, the back heel and the boot straps.

Here I show you which cutter cuts what.

You will then add the boot toe, heel and straps and when they dry, you will finally place the sole. Taking your gum glue you will run the glue around the rim of the dried “BOOT” and place it on the freshly cut sole.

Here is the boot, painted and dried.

Here is the Cake that I made the Cowboy boots

The Lifetime Channel is now casting an exciting new show that features MIAMI BRIDES getting married in NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2009 or JANUARY, FEBRUARY or MARCH 2010.

This very fun show gives you the chance to compare notes with OTHER brides-before-during-and after your big day!  We will introduce you to other Brides who you can compare notes with and talk about your wedding (Every Bride's favorite topic)  What the planning has been like, how stressed out you are, how excited you are, all the things that you encounter when planning a wedding, etc.  Then, you'll get to attend each other's wedding to see how it all turns out!

AND

Brides have the chance to:

WIN AN EXCITING 5 STAR HONEYMOON ( or first year anniversary trip!)

We are looking for ALL types of weddings:

Traditional, over the top, u nusual venues or event spaces, married on a cliff, at the zoo, while sky diving, fairytale, on a bota, very small & intimate, themed...

ANY and ALL types of weddings.

It can be your first, second, third or thirteenth wedding.  Any and all ages welcomed!

If you'd like to be considered for the show, please email or call immediately at:

4WeddingsMiami@gmail.com or 212-505-77775

We need to consider our brides soon, so please drop us a line ASAP!

Mara Tirado is a fan of

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There will be a HUGE cake convention in New York City in January from January 2-4 of 2010.  I would LOVE to attend but will be going to Orlando for 5 days in January to take a series of classes in January so I can't do both.  Sigh....