Last night was class 2 of my decorating class. This time it wasn't so bad. We brought in our own icing and practiced making stars, lines, dots and writing out Happy Birthday on plastic covered pictures of what we were practing. Sort of like tracing. I made a mean star. Circles were okay, gotta learn how to not get that little tip on the center of it. My writing stinks. Maybe practice makes perfect? Next week we take in already baked cupcakes and we'll be making clowns and roses. Looking forward to learning to make a rose. The instructor still licked her fingers all night long and I can't help but wish she would wax her mustache. There is one girl in the class who came with her mother; very immature, yelling out things, giggling uncontrollably, just really acting strange and I honestly thought she was a mentally challenged teenager. Come to find out, she is 10 yrs old. All along she's just been acting like a 10 yr old girl. But she sure does look older. Another woman, her husband died 18 mths ago. I didnt know this and had no way of knowing ... anyway and when she cut the cake last week, I sang, "The Bride Cuts and Cake"....... oye vey! She then sang, "The Widow Cuts the Cake".......I wanted to crawl into a hole. Well, she wasn't there last night because she was too sad; yesterday would have been her husband's birthday. Another woman who has taken this course before and never went onto Course II. She is the class know-it-all. She's getting on my last nerve I tell ya. The woman next to me, if the instructor touches her things, moves them in any way, she freaks and it messes her up. So now the instructor knows not to touch her things. The woman opened up her Decorating Kit and her spatula wasnt in a plastic bag and her brush didin't have a cap on it, she had the instructor return it and get her one that "someone hadn't already used". I would have switched with her but I had already stuck my spatula into the icing. She was being so anal about everything, more so than me and I couldn't help but cackle when she found a hair in her icing an it was her own. hahahaha! Interesting night~

Maureen, I took all three classes two years ago because I wanted to learn how to make my own wedding cake! It took me about 9 months to do all the classes because they offered them a different times and had to have a certain amount of people signed up. It was A LOT of fun, but a lot of work (I work a full time job too), so going to class after work and having all the supplies or project materials ready was a bit of a pain. You won't believe how much you will learn by taking those classes and you'll never look at a "professionally" decorated cake the same again. :-) In the end, I was able to make my wedding cake and saved hundreds of dollars! It was beautiful, plus it tasted better than anything I could buy!

I think they would be easier to cut frozen. I would try it, if not defrost slightly and cut. Cakes and breads can be refrozen no problem.

Hi, thanks for your replies. gellchom - The party is only small (approx 30 people) but I like your cupcake idea. rob333 - I would prefer to do one cake if I can but have thought that two polar cakes would have to be used if I can't come up with a relevent idea. The only thing is, as I am making them myself, my time (without my son being around) is limited and would be quite stretched if doing two cakes (it is a surprise party). donna_loomis - I regret to say that unfortunatly my father and youngest son do not have the classic 'grandad-grandson' relationship as he still works full-time and although thier relationship is close, they do not spend enough time together to have a shared activity. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks