Those are works of art...hardly amateur! Beautiful..and congrats on the new kitchen!

Omg!!!! Glorious!

I insist on being an amateur. Things don't always go according to the vision in my head, and if I only make them for free for my family and friends and I mess up, no worries, I'll give you your free back! ;-) It takes off all the pressure.

Plus, it works with my DIY/cheap-but-want-the-cool-stuff aesthetic.

please tell me you buy all of those little dodads, butterflies, leaves, little people etc...

hey, I'm gonna have a real stove - a range w/oven. gee, I do hope it works! haven't had one in about 15 yrs or so.

Hi Mod. I suggest you do a spell check and edit before you post in the future. You accidentally typed the words "amateur cake decorator" when you should have typed "amazingly talented cake decorator." ;) Please post a pic of the pullout when it's done so I can ogle your doodads.

I collect place card holders so I made sure to have shallow drawer space in the peninsula facing the DR to store them. They don't all fit after all my planning, but it's better than how I was storing them pre-reno.

Desertsteph--I make them all! Well, I didn't make the butterflies. Those came from Michaels. But I typically make everything myself, and love gumpaste modeling.

Breezy--Ooh, pictures, please! I am charmed by anything miniature, and place card holders fall into that category. I haven't started collecting them myself, but I feel the pull. First I have to figure out where to store my cake stands now that we've pulled down the soffit where the used to reside.

Let me know when u start giving "free" cake decorating lessons. Mister and I attempted to make a barbie cake for our niece. The one where Barbie stands in the center of the cake and the cake is her skirt. Oh GEEZ, after about two hours of piping on all those skirt stars we agreed to never make a cake again...well a cake that required more than the spin on the stand with a frosting spatula.

I so admire those that have the patience to do this type of beautiful work.

'Desertsteph--I make them all! ... I typically make everything myself, and love gumpaste modeling. '

OH MY WORD!

OMG those are incredible, adorable, amazing!!! But where or where is the pull-out spice rack?

I second everything breezygirl just said! Those cakes are gorgeous! You, my dear, are no amateur!! I want to see your sprinkle collection too!!

I don't know that I'm doing anything wacky in my kitchen. I saved that for my scrapbooking room. lol

Mod, your cakes are charming, inventive, whimsical and humorous, and very, very pretty. So, I'll stick up for you calling yourself an "amateur". An amateur is someone who does it for the love of the art rather than for filthy lucre. It seems that the word, nowadays, is often used interchangeably with dilettante or dabbler, it needn't be so. An amateur, like you, can be someone whose skills are sufficient on their own and who needs no cash incentive to use them.

To answer your question, I don't think your sprinkles pullout is whacky! I have sprinkles in my spice rack, as well as some dyes, and I very rarely decorate anything but the occasional cut cookie. Since you have enough sprinkles to fill every corner of your house, I see nothing whacky about creating an organizational space for them. So, from that point of view, I will deny the whacky, but say that I had a door moved, cabinetry installed, and chased glass inserts all over to find a way to get them delivered without having them crated...for cheap, closeout stemware by the dozens. And half a dozen inherited semi-antique pilsner glasses that are very fine and impossible to use because the very fine paint comes off. SO worth it!!! So nice not to have to box up the stemware and wash it both before and after using. The ten dozen stems plus six dozen tumblers are very happy. ;)

Oh my gosh, those cakes are amazingly gorgeous! I used to do some truly "amateur" work, and I know how much work went into some of my little attempts, which couldn't begin to hold a candle to yours. You should be the next Cake Boss!! Lovely!

Gorgeous! You have some very lucky friends and family to be receiving those works of art. Looking forward to seeing your kitchen.

Those are neat, and I understand about wanting to keep a hobby a hobby.

I also love baking as a hobby, and I have a lot of fun and can do what I want without having to worry about making it look like someone else wants.

And then there is the aspect that people really could not afford to pay what I'd want to charge if I was doing it to make money.

Technically, "amateur" vs "professional" refers to if you are making money doing it or not, NOT about the quality of the work done. I've known so many people who are very skilled craftspeople, doing way better work than people who do it for a profession. Mostly because those doing it for fun can take the time to be persnickety, while professionals usually have to keep an eye on the clock.

it might be better to use the terms Apprentice, Journeyman and Master - and you are a Master at making those cakes!

I do a lot of DIY because I've run into way too many professionals that never made it past Journeyman on the skill level.

And I can fully understand the desire for a drawer for sprinkles!

You don't let anyone eat those, do you?
do you coat them with something like gingerbread ornaments so they last forever?
Is the cake inside as amazing as the outside -- if you were to allow someone to eat them!

Wow.
I just picked up a spice pull-out thingy at a reuse center. I barely cook and definitely don't bake (not a chemist here), but now I might buy some pretty sprinkles just to look good! :)

Lovely.

Wow! So much better than those cakes just presented on the tv show "Next Great Baker." You are really talented.

My kitchen shall have a place to keep my DH vitamin's. I hope that going from 6 kitchen cabinets to 26 kitchen cabinets (kitchen extension) I will have a place for everything and everything in its place, maybe even with the zoning system GWers like so much. Right now, it seems to me that only my scissors has a designated place in our little kitchen. Still planning.... but need to finalize this month and I have decision paralysis.

I can't stop looking at these cakes. They're amazing!!

WOW! You are a true artist! (Wanna be friends? . . . :) Those rival anything I've seen on Ace of Cakes!

So for your 8 year old's Egyptology birthday, I assume there was an awesome cake - can I see it? I ask because my just-turned 9 year old is also fascinated by ancient Egypt.

Amateur? I think not! I keep looking at them wondering if everything is made with a food product. Like all the tiny table settings on those incredible little tables. Are these photos taken professionally. The backgrounds are so unique.

Hey, my 65th birthday is next month. Could you make me a "Medicare" cake? Ha!

Well, it will have to be in my next kitchen, but at some future date, I would like to have....a vitamin and prescriptive medicine drawer, sectioned into His and Hers.

DH currently has thirteen bottles lined up across the counter, where it can be seen the moment you walk in the front door. At least I hide my ten bottles in a cabinet in the DR so they're less obtrusive, LOL!

Mod- you are an artist and your medium is cakes. Truly talented (and very very very meticulously patient).

What I got in my kitchen for myself was a lot of counter space (a lot given what I came from but maybe not a lot for others). To the left of the range is 5 1/2' of counter and then my prep sink which is where I prep and I love every inch of it. To the right of the range is 7' of counter space where I bake and I love every inch of it. We had to push the kitchen/DR wall out 4' to get the room to get the extra space for the counters and I didn't care how much it cost.

Those are beautiful! How did you learn to do all that? From books or were you an apprentice to another 'amateur'? :)

Wow, wow, WOW! Your artistry is amazing, your cakes breathtaking! And I love that you used the word "jimmies". Nobody knows what I mean when I say that. (And you MUST have some silver and gold dragees, I'm sure.)

In my kitchen I shall have... a place for everything and everything in its place. And a special 30" bank of drawers just for my 5-y-o DD's art supplies. My 3 older kids (mostly grown) think she's spoiled rotten (which I suppose she is), but this art storage is really out of self defense!

Antique books. I need to have my little friends clustered about me so I can bring them out to play. Ditto my recipe books, including my historic cooking subdivision of books. And gotta have a table right next to them all, so I don't put off the hauling out of the books for reference when I need info _right now._ So of course, that's the "antique" section of the room, very different from the balance of the space.

I wish I'd had sufficient space for a cabinet dedicated to flower arranging also. Instead, I've parceled the stuff out into a number of spots within the kitchen--"frogs" and marbles inside same drawer with rubber bands and batteries; some vases on top of glass-fronted cabs, some vases wedged into odd spots at top of other cabs. Wooden bases underneath display pieces in china cabs. And still, sigh, some vases hidden throughout the house.

To each his/her own, yes?

Glad to know there are other maniacs "out there."

Mod.....don't be surprised if Georgetown Cupcakes comes calling!! Your cakes are art! I remember making a doll cake once for DD b'day.....turned out ok but I couldn't get the hang of the pastry bag and frosting kept oozing out the top and all over my arm. After that, cake decorating for the kids' b'days consisted of me taking one of the themed party paper plates and cutting out the animal, princesss, cowboy, whatever...and plopping it on the cake...haha!

Lavender-Lass: My grandmother was a professional cake decorator, and though she died when I was 10, I learned some of the basics from her. I've mostly been self taught, though. Books, the forums at cakecentral.com, and lots of trial and error!

I made my first cake about 7 years ago on a whim, inspired by a gorgeous cake on the front of Martha Stewart Weddings. I was so proud!! And looking back now, it was sooooo awful! When my youngest daughter turned one last year, I decided it was time for a do-over. This is the difference that practice makes!

And that's how the cake on the right looked AFTER it tumbled flat on the ground while I was trying to take photos. It was even better before! Redemption!

Fouramblues--A bank of drawers for art supplies sounds magnificent! I wish I had room to include one in our plan now that you've given me the idea!

Jkom51--that's another brilliant idea. I'm going to have to remember it for our eventual bathroom remodel. No more room in the kitchen, unfortunately!

Joyce--yep, everything is edible. I'm pretty passionate about only using edible items on cakes. Of course the picture above is an exception--I used actual ric-rac on the strawberry calico cake. But generally everything you see is edible, down to the miniature forks and knives on the tea party cupcakes.

And thanks for the kind words about the photography, too. That's another one of my hobbies. Although I do blog about them, so though I'm not a professional photographer, I do use the photos in a semi-professional way.

Purplepansies--I'll link to the dessert table post for the Egyptology party below.

No pictures of the sprinkle rack, unfortunately, because that will be Phase II of the kitchen remodel, scheduled for May. We just finished up Phase I on Thursday, and have a functional and awesome (if mis-matched) kitchen again!

The old cabinets were that cheap honey oak cheap builder grade stuff, so I decided to paint them turquoise and have some fun with them for the next few months. Maybe I'll let my girls paint a mural on the back of the island.

Here is a link that might be useful: Egyptology Birthday Party

Oh.... And to answer your question....the wackiest thing I wanted in my kitchen.....well, it was actuaally in the adjacent laundry room, also being remodeled. I wanted to NOT see any cords, hoses, outlets, etc related to the W/D. In fact, they were installed late yesterday by one of the workers and the outlet was clearly visible. DH thinks I am totally nuts, but I asked worker who arrived this morning to relay message to lead guy arriving later....we left for a few hours and when we got home it was moved and the hole patched! For 27 years I had to look at an ugly laundry tub with a hose from the washer draped on one side and the copper tube from the humidifier draped on the other. Then when we had too many overflows, a plumber hung a PVC pipe on the wall next to the tub and routed the washer hose into it. Not to mention the outlet where W/D were plugged in. It was all an eyesore I looked at everyday and had to go with the remodel!

OMG- LOVE the cakes!!! That must be really fun to do although I'm sure it's work as well!

Beautiful job on those cakes. Now if you lived in Iowa you could enter them in the Iowa State Fair in August.

Besides great food competitions, we have the butter cow, you know, too. Below I posted the link to the history of the butter cow sculptors over the more than 100 years.

My kitchen "I shall have" was soapstone. I have it now and we did the installation ourselves. There were a few other "I shall Have-s" such as the Hubbardton Forge semi flush light fixture that I adore and my herringbone backsplash that I seem to always post when I get a chance...like now:)

Thanks for sharing your cake pictures. I like the first cake you did 7 years ago, there is a real charm about it that is lovely. I really mean that.

Here is a link that might be useful: Iowa State Fair Butter Cow

You are completely mad - but in a very cool way! :)

I would be so happy to do even one flower. You go, girl.

We renovated because of damage, so I didn't have a dream. But during the process, my "I shall have" was a real vent, venting to the exterior. And I have it! Love it.

and Buddy is the Cake Boss?

Those are gorgeous!

At the beginning of 9th grade our daughter made a new friend just arrived from England, which resulted in some new vocab words. She calls those multi-colored sprinkles "hundreds and thousands." It took us a while to figure out what she was talking about, but we got it straight - sprinkles.

modthyrth, you truely have a gift. Your cakes are stunning!

There is a Miss Marple story, "The Tuesday Night Club," in which she figures out that an overheard "hundreds and thousands" doesn't refer to an inheritance but to, well, sprinkles.

oh my God. you ROCK.
and i suck.

I never got past decorating with frosting. I'd love to try gum paste and fondant someday (when I have more time and gumption, lol). I would use the word hobbyist or devotee to describe your artwork. Amateur sounds like a beginner somehow, which you clearly aren't...
I took cake decorating classes when I was pregnant with son #2. By the time he arrived, I had not enough time to coninue since the older one was 17 mos. A cake used to take me hours upon hours because I am a bit of a perfectionist. I suppose I'd get faster with more practice. I guess my excuses are now lame since my baby is 8.5! It was more fun in our old kitchen because I had the space to do it and this one, pre-reno was small and awkward. I suppose I should put the new one through its paces. You have given me a nudge to continue because I really appreciate what you have done. I may never be as good, but it is fun to try ;) I do not have artistic talent for drawing or painting, but somehow, with frosting, I can fake it better, lol.....

Wow! those are beautiful cakes!

Mod - Zowie!!! I impressive!!
Breezy - I had to laugh about spell check! I fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.
On that note - We all have heard the expression - "There is more than one way to skin a cat" - well it has nothing to do with felines but a catfish!!!
Take care and keep sending beautiful pictures!

OH. MY. WORD.

Absolutely EXQUISITE! I love the teapot with all the little tables! I love miniatures, so I am having a "cute attack" over those.

You are extremely talented!

Those are some really beautiful works of art! You have talent for cake decorating for sure.

I'm still finishing my kitchen/mainfloor/basement remodel and I hate to say that so far my two favourite things have nothing to do with the kitchen...maybe because I can't use my kitchen yet! So far I love the anti-slip finish on my hardwood stairs and the blinds that are inside the glass panes of my back door (no cords for kids to choke on and no blind banging around every time you open and close the door!!).

I'm quirky like that. I hope I find some more unexpected gems in my kitchen once it's done!

OMG - your creations are so beautiful, and your writing is as whimsical..and the visions of your kids getting in on the act, I see a children's adventure book written all over it!

My must have? Trash cans! Recycling over the years has turned my kitchen into a garbage patch. Instead of a corner lazy Susan for pots, I chose a 3-bin trash turnstile.

I'll take sprinkles any day over trash. :-)

Thanks, guys! I needed a smile on this very, very bad day, and your kind words couldn't have come at a better time.

I had a little more confectionery fun this weekend. Threw a little party to celebrate my friend passing her T.C.R.G.s (a three day, extremely rigorous exam to become a certified Irish step dancing teacher). The knot-work swan on the cake is the Bracken School of Irish Dancing's logo, and the dress cookies are replicas of the solo and class dresses Kirsty wore through her years of competition.

It's almost time to order the rest of my cabinets including the SPRINKLE CABINET! Yay! Another thing to be happy about!

Oh my, the step dancing creation takes the, um, cake!
Those dress and dancing leg/shoe cookies, are amazing!

Everything you've shown us shows patience, and love.