Creative Designs For Cakes

Creating an Amazing Wedding Cake

2011-12-01T11:59:00.000-08:00

Using the Cameo and designer icing sheets from Icing Images, you can easily create a beautiful, one-of-a-kind wedding cake or special occasion cake. I will take you through the process, step by step.

First, what is the inspiration for your cake. When I meet with my brides I ask them to bring in pictures of cakes they like, design inspiration from their wedding announcement and colors they are using. For this tutorial I am using this cake as my design inspiration.

This is a basic 4 tier cake with 2 separators. I could make this cake with just 4 tiers.

I can add separators between the layers so this cake cake will look more like the inspiration cake. Adding separators between the tiers will give added height to the cake.

Styrofoam separators are great for adding extra height to a cake without adding extra weight.

Now that the shape of the cake has been determined it is time to start the design process. I am going to use Icing Image icing sheets and print them with designs from the iiprint collection.

Select the pattern style or color choice you would like to work with. For this I cake I choose a red and gold pallet. The base color of the cake is a light ivory.

There are hundreds of color and design choices in the iiprint collection. Select the design you want to work with and print them onto white icing sheets.

The bottom tier of the inspiration cake has a 3 layer, ruffled border. I can easily make a ruffled border from gum paste or fondant, but not so easily from an icing sheet. The icing sheet will crack if you try to gather it, but I was able to get the illusion of a ruffled border with the icing sheets. A simple scalloped design will work and I will use the Cameo to cut out the designs.

I cut several gold and red scallop pieces. Cut a 1" slit along the top of the scallop.

Add shortening along the top edge where the slits have been cut. Use regular shortening like Crisco as your adhesive. A small, soft brush works well for applying the shortening to the backside of the icing sheet.

Apply the scallop to the side of the cake. Icing Image icing sheets are flexible, so they can bend. Overlap the slits that were cut to create a bit of a ruffle. Continue around the cake keeping the ruffles in a straight line.

Overlap the ruffle slightly where they meet.

Start a new row with a contrasting color. Place it slightly higher then the first row. Overlap the second ruffle where the first ruffles join. You will need to cut slits into the top edge of this row of scallops just like the first row. You can easily adjust the placement of the second row of ruffles by over lapping the cuts.

Continue around the cake.

When you begin a new row, off-set the bottom of the scallop. This helps with the illusion of gathers.

Continue adding the scallops around the cake.

The last scallop needs to be trimmed to fit evenly long the top edge of this tier. Cut about 1/2" from the top edge of the last scallop.

Add the last scallop to the top edge of the tier. Make sure the ruffles line up.

Now that the bottom tier is finished, it is time to work on the other designs for this cake. I chose several designs that I thought would work together. These designs are a bit different from the inspiration cake. I included a basic border to this set of design ideas.

Cut out the designs for each tier from the printed icing sheets. Using the Silhouette Studio program you can easily size each design to be the exact size you need. The Cameo does an excellent job cutting the smallest, most intricate design. All the designs including the border pieces can be cut ahead of time.

First add the border pieces.

Now start adding the rest of the designs. Carefully remove the cut design from the backing page. Gently brush the back of the design with shortening. It will easily stick to the side of the cake and will be easy to move into place. When the design is in the correct place, use a soft, clean brush and gently brush over the design. Begin with the center front of the cake. Apply each design for each tier lining them up.

When all of the center designs are in the correct position, begin adding the other designs. Apply the design on the right side of the center design and then on the left side. Work from the center front around to the backside of the cake. When you get to the back you may need to adjust the spacing. Do this for each tier.

In a very short time you will have all the cut designs applied to the cake. A bead border is added to the curved separator. The inspiration cake had fondant drapes, swags and roses on the bottom tier. This seemed a bit much for this cake design. A fondant swag and fondant medallion are added to the bottom tier to finish the top edge.

A ribbon is added to the bottom of the cake board. Gum paste roses are added as a cake topper.

This beautiful wedding cake was quick and easy to decorate. Using the Silhouette Cameo, Icing Image icing sheets and the iiprint designs you can also decorate an amazing wedding cake.

New Etsy Shop

2011-11-29T09:10:00.000-08:00

I have just opened up an Etsy Shop. I will be listing my Pre-Cut Wedding Cake Designs there. You will be able to order your pre-cut designs through my Etsy shop. Here are a few of the designs that are ready to sell. You can also view my designs at DeseretDesigns.

Wedding Cake for Heather

2011-11-28T09:53:00.000-08:00

I created this beautiful wedding cake for a dear friend. Heather was my daughters 5th grade teacher in the early 1990's. Jeff was deployed to the first Gulf War and Jessie was really missing her daddy. Heather was so kind to Jessie and helped her through this time. She is a great teacher and has been a positive influence on so many of our kids. Jessie became a teacher and I think it is because of the great teachers she had, like Heather.

Heather married Gilbert Warner in the Navoo Temple.

Pre-Cut Wedding Cake Designs

2011-11-12T15:48:00.000-08:00

This is my newest project, pre-cut designs for wedding cakes. I am working on several designs that are suitable for wedding cakes. The designs are cut from Icing Image designer icing sheets. Each design set is for a 4 tier cake, sized to fit a 16". 13" 10" and 7" cake. The designs can be used for smaller cakes or arranged any way you like. Along with the pictured designs, I am adding extra scroll filler pieces. You will be able to see each design on a cake. This is an example of what I will be offering.

Several colors will be available. The designs are easy to apply to a fondant covered cake and detailed instructions will be given. Ordering information will be available in the near future and include all color choices and prices.

You Can Use Make the Cut With the New Cameo!!!

2011-11-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

There is a great tutorial here for using Make the Cut with the new Cameo.

http://underacherrytree.blogspot.com/2011/10/silhouette-cameo-review-4-how-to-cut-to.html

Thanks to Under a Cherry Tree for sharing this information.

New Silhouette Cameo Cake

2011-10-27T05:50:00.000-07:00

We have the new Cameo ready for shipping. Here's what you get:

This is what comes with your Cameo:

Silhouette Studio® software for Windows XP/Vista/7 and Mac® OS X 10.5.8 and higher
51 exclusive cuttable designs
Power cable, USB cable
12" cutting mat
Cutting blade
$10 gift card to the Silhouette Online Store
Basic Instruction Guide

The Cameo Cake package contains the following:

Creative Designs Cake Decorating Method Instructional Guide
Instructional DVD
CD of ready to use designs
Tylose powder
Sample of Icing Image icing sheets
Blade Holder and blade for gum paste
Food safe cutting mats

If you have the Silhouette SD or the Silhouette Cameo, you have a great machine for cake decorating. The new Cameo with the cake package is $325.00 plus shipping. We do ship internationally.

AND

The New Silhouette Cameo

2011-10-25T16:32:00.000-07:00

Our shipment of Cameos has arrived and we will begin shipping them out. There are a couple of the Silhouette SDs left, so hurry if you wanted the smaller machine. The biggest advantage of the Silhouette SD is it can be used with Make the Cut. So far, you can not use the Cameo with Make the Cut, but it may be added as a cutter in the future.

Meet Miss Silhouette Cameo, or Cammie for short. She is the newest addition to our family and loves to hang out and play. She has 2 older sisters, Molly, a yellow lab, and Lexie, a golden retriever.

Cammie is an American Eskimo puppy.

Here is the Link to the Live Demo

2011-10-14T05:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/17806110

Live Demo for Cakeswebake

2011-10-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the live demo for cakeswebake. I had planned on showing several great techniques, but time was a real issue! I do hope that I answered everyones questions, and it was great fun to have several great items to give away. Thanks to Agbay for the great leveler and to Icing Images for the designer icing sheets and the year subscription to iiprints. I really ran out of time to show the demo cake. I had a minor computer glitch, but I was able to get my designs back into the program, cut them out and put them on the cake in just a few minutes. This is the Halloween cake from tonights demo.

The cakes were decorated using the print and cut feature of the Silhouette. I saved some random clip art pictures I found on the internet and opened them in the Silhouette Studio program. I printed the images onto a white icing sheet from Icing Images. I then put the icing sheet into the Silhouette and the Silhouette cut out the images. The border was a design from iiprints. I printed the candy corn design onto a white icing sheet and cut out a simple border. The cake took about 5 minutes to cut out the designs and apply to the cake.

The wide borders for this cake were also fromn the iiprints from Icing Images. There is a great collection of deisgns for any occasion. There is no end to what you can create using this great program. The borders on this cake are very simple and this cake was very quick to decorate. I added a thin solid border around the bottom of each tier. It was cut from a solid blue designer sheet. The loopy bow on the top of the cake was printed gum paste. I printed on both sides of the gum paste, cut the gum paste into strips and glued them onto a wire.

Live Demo on Cakeswebake

2011-09-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

Join me on October 10th for a live demo. I have several techniques I will share during this demo and I will be answering your questions. Email me your question at jefflindamcclure@bellsouth.net. Be sure to include your contact information. As I answer questions, I will put your name in a container. At the end of the demo I will pull out random names to win great prizes. So, send me your questions and you may be a winner!!

Visit the cakeswebake web site for information about viewing the live demo.

http://www.cakeswebake.com/

Time: October 10, 2011 from 8pm to 9:30pm

Location: CakesWeBake.com Ustream Channel

Organized By: Theresa Happe

Event Description:

You are invited to attend the live demonstration by Linda McClure who will introduce electronic cutters, talk a bit about designing, materials you can cut, etc, and then do a demonstration of cutting, doing both print and cut and cutting solid color designs out of both gum paste and icing sheets. She'll decorate a Halloween cake as part of the demo, using the designs she cuts out.

Time posted is Eastern Standard Time. The event will be recorded for viewing later.

When the event starts, you will click on the Ustream button on the top left of the page. Once there, you can log in with facebook, twitter or ustream to chat.

Questions posted in advance will be answered during the demo.

See more details and RSVP on Cake Decorating Community - Cakes We Bake:

http://www.cakeswebake.com/events/event/show?id=4635016%3AEvent%3A722058&xgi=0EcVr6p4jgXq2x&xg_source=msg_invite_event

Check out the up-dated pictures on my web site

2011-09-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

I have been working on my web site and have added several pictures. I found some on an old computer. Visit my web site at http://www.deseretdesigns.com/ to see my cakes and to order your Silhouette Cake machine!

Silhouette Cake + Icing Images = Endless Design Possibilities

2011-09-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

I have been working with the new icing sheets from Icing Images. I have tried all of the brands of icing sheets and have had success cutting them. What attracted me to the Icing Image brand was the superior quality. I was surprised at how well I was able to cut them with my Silhouette. I love the print and cut feature of the Silhouette. The pictures I printed on the Icing Image icing sheets were very clear and crisp. When I cut the image I got a very clean and accurate cut. The new colored sheets are amazing. The colors are deep, rich and vibrant. There is a good selection of colors right now, and more will be added. The colored sheets come in a 12" x 12" sheet, which make them perfect for the new wide format Silhouette that will be coming soon. I have found that cutting the sheets to 6" x 12" works great.

To be successful with using these icing sheets there are a few things you need to know.

First, do not remove the icing sheet from the clear backing page. You will apply the icing sheet to your mat with the icing sheet attached to the backing page. If you cut your icing sheet in half, or any size you need, be careful to not separate it from the backing page.

You can use the carrier sheet that came with your Silhouette, or you can use a plastic cutting mat. Whatever you use, make sure it is not too thick to go under the wheels of the Silhouette. Use scotch tape to attach the icing sheet to the carrier sheet.

You can make your own carrier sheet by cutting a chopping mat to fit the opening of the Silhouette. Make a mark where the wheels are, draw a line down the mat and across the top. Use the carrier sheet that came with the Silhouette as a guide.

Now that your icing sheet is firmly attached to the carrier sheet and loaded into the Silhouette, you are ready to cut your design. Before you begin cutting, make sure the icing sheet is clearing the rollers on the Silhouette. The great thing about the Silhouette is not having to use cartridges for your designs. You use your own computer, and your own designs. Open the Silhouette Studio program and open the design you would like to cut. This example is a full page, with a border, side designs and a message. I am able to cut all the design elements to decorate a cake with one icing sheet.

Import your design into the Silhouette Studio program.

Right now this is a picture image. It needs to be changed to an outline that the Silhouette will recognize. You need to learn how to use this program, but the process is fairly easy. Make sure you design is the size you need. You can change the size of the design by clicking on the corner and pulling the design out to make it larger, or pulling it inward to make it smaller. Click on the design to move it around the screen. When it is in the correct position. you are ready to continue.

Click on the TRACE WINDOW on the top of the screen. This window on the side will open.

This is where you will change the image from a picture image to a cut image. Click on SELECT TRACE AREA, move your cursor to the upper left corner of the design, click and hold while dragging a box around the entire design. The design becomes yellow. Make sure that HIGH PASS FILTER is not checked, and you may need to increase the threshold. When the entire image is yellow, click TRACE. If you want just an outline then you would click TRACE OUTER EDGE.

Click on the image and drag it to the side.

The red outline is what the Silhouette will cut. You can delete the original image and now work with the outline of the image. With your icing sheet loaded into the Silhouette, you are ready to cut this out. The important setting for cutting is the pressure. Your setting depends on what you will be cutting. I have found that if I set my media to CARDSTOCK and my thickness to 20-25, I can get perfect cuts with the colored icing sheets. I have found that the colored icing sheets are just a bit thicker and firmer then the white icing sheets. They require more pressure. If you are cutting a white icing sheet, you may need to set the pressure (thickness) to 10 - 15. You need to make practice cuts with your Silhouette to get your setting just right. When everything looks good then click on CUT PAGE and the Silhouette will cut your project.

This was a white icing sheet printed with a design from iiprint.

You can do more than cut a solid color icing sheet. You can use the Silhouette Studio program to customize you design. Open the REGISTRATION MARKS window and check SHOW REGISTRATION MARKS.

You will be doing a print and cut with this design using the FILL PATTERN option.

Click on the FILL PATTERN button and the window will open with designs to choose from. Click on your design and make sure it has a select box around it. Click on a design in the pattern box. The design you selected will fill up your outlined design.

There are more options for working with the pattern. In ADVANCED OPTIONS you can change the design.

You can make the pattern larger or smaller with the SCALE PATTERN option. Your design is ready to send to the printer and then cut out just as you would any print and cut.

More Design Options

There are several things you can do with icing sheets for interesting and unique effects. Take a light colored icing sheet and print a design on top of it. In the Silhouette Studio program I started with one very small black dot, multiplied it and then printed a page of dots onto a light pink icing sheet. I went from a solid colored icing sheet to one with a design. I took a light yellow sheet and filled it with small red stars. I started with a star, got the outline and then I changed the color from the fill color window. I multiplied the stars to fill the page and then printed them onto my solid colored icing sheet. You can do this with any design.

The basic design is selected. Get the outline of the design and delete the black image.

With the image selected (the box is around it) go to the FILL COLOR WINDOW and select the color you want the image to be.

Size the design to be the size you need and use the duplicate feature to add as many of the designs to the page as you need. Put your colored icing sheet into the printer and print the design from the Silhouette Studio program onto the icing sheet.

This is an example of colored icing sheets with designs printed on them.

You can also print designs onto your white icing sheets. You can scan a piece of scrapbook paper into your computer and print it onto the icing sheet. This gives you a lot of design opetins. The inspriation for the Silly Monkey cake came from a scrapbook paper.

You can also print a digital scrapbook page. Icing Images offers a one year or a lifetime subscription to the iiDesigns Pattern Printing. There are many designs to choose from and you print these designs from the web site to your printer.

You will be able to print beautiful, vibrant prints, abstract geometric designs, childrens designs and much more. These designs can be sized, rotated and printed on small, legal and large Premium Icing Sheets.

Your design inspiration comes from everywhere. You will be able to find just the right over-all page design to go with the clip art to decorate your cake with.

You can create any cake you desire with my techniques and Icing Image icing sheets. The best part of this technique is you can cut your designs out days ahead of when you need to put them on your cake. This saves so much time on the day you decorate. Be sure to store your cut-out designs in an airtight bag so they will not dry out. I like to remove the excess icing sheet and leave the cut-out designs on the plastic backing page. I stack the designs on top of each other and store them in an airtight bag.

With my designs pre-cut it takes very little time to create a cake master piece!

There is so much you can do with your Icing Image icing sheets. If you need a few more ideas you may want to read an article I wrote called "Fun With Icing Sheets"

I have worked with several brands of icing sheets. Each product is great, but I have found that Icing Images is the best to use with the electronic cutters. The colored sheets are the closest to the consistancy of gum paste, are easy to cut and look amazing on cakes. When I say I "prefer Icing Image icing sheets:, I really mean it!

A Few New Cakes

2011-09-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

NEW SILHOUETTE MACHINE!!!!!!

2011-07-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

Guess what? Silhouette has come out with a new electronic cutter. It is very similar to the Silhouette SD, but you can cut a 12" wide area. Here is a clip about the Silhouette Cameo from youtube. It will not be out until this fall and I am sure it will do the same great job the Silhouette we now use does. It is just wider. Don't worry if you are using the Silhouette SD, I have never found the 8" wide cutting area to be a disadvantage. The icing sheets I use fit very nicely in the Silhouette and the gum paste I roll out for designs is usually 6" wide. I will let you know if the 12" version is really a better deal for cake decorators, and if we will be selling it. A lot depends on the final cost of the machine. My goal is to offer the best machine at the best price.

New Cakes

2011-06-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of cakes I made for the up-coming ICES convention.

This is an ivory cake with chocolate brown damask designs. The designs were cut from the chocolate icing sheets from Icing Images.

Lime green fondant covered cake with black gum paste scroll work. The flowers are silk.

Light blue fondant covered cake with white gum paste leaves and floral cut-outs. The flowers on top are roses made from gum paste.

Whooo's getting married?

2011-06-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

Jess and Justin, that's who!

This is the wedding shower cake for Jess. She is getting married to my youngest son, Justin, in July. Jess loves owls and had these owls on her bridal shower invitations. I had her email me the digital image so I could use my Silhouette print and cut feature to create this very cute cake. I printed a couple of icing sheets from Icing Images with the background design from the invitation. I printed the owls on the icing sheets and the Silhouette cut the owls. The borders and letters were also cut with the Silhouette. I love the Silhouette! It is by far the best machine on the market for this technique.

The invitation said: "Jess and Justin sittin' in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G!!!

(That's OK 'cause they're getting married!)

I was just asked about using icing sheets with the Silhouette. Any icing sheet you use with the Silhouette needs to be trimmed to go inbetween the rollers. You do not want the rollers to go over the icing sheets or the icing sheet will break or tear.

New Option for the Silhouette

2011-05-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Check this Out! http://forum.make-the-cut.com/discussion/15971/silhouette-sd-beta-plug-in-available/p1
If you use the Silhouette this update will be very helpful.

The designs on this damask wedding cake were created using Make the Cut. I also used the icing sheets from PhotoFrost. They have a new black sheet. It cut very nicely and was easy to work with. This cake took a total of 3 hours to cover in fondant, stack, cut out the designs and apply to the cake.

Great Deal on Cake Decorating Package

2011-05-11T05:56:00.000-07:00

If you would like to get started with my great cake decorating method, I have a deal for you! I am sellling the equiptment from my classes at a bargain price. I have this great cake decorating package listed on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200615448540&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

This package includes ALL of my DVDs, a Cricut Create and computer. The class set which includes cutting mats and Tylose powder. The starting price is $250 and the buy it now price is $300. A great deal for the entire package. The computer has the MTC program and a picture program. This Cricut will work with the MTC program. I have several sets, so contact me at jefflindamcclure@bellsouth.net if you would like to purchase this package.

This Deer Cake was made using icing sheets from PhotoFrost. They have a new chocolate icing sheet that is very nice to work with.

Fun With Icing Sheets

2011-04-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

Icing Sheets: A New Way to Decorate

I generally use gum paste with my electronic cutter. It is relatively easy to make and very inexpensive. My recipe is very sturdy and even delicate, intricate pieces are easy to handle and put on a cake. You can go to youtube and enter Linda McClure in the search box and you will be directed to several short videos. I show how to make gum paste, roll it out, and how to get a great cut using an electronic cutter. I have a video showing how to print designs on gum paste. I generally keep pre-made sheets of gum paste on hand and ready to use when I need them.

At a recent cake show I decided to use icing sheets to demonstrate the Silhouettes abilities. It was so convenient to have a product ready to use. There are several companies that make icing sheets. I have tried all of the different brands and have found that Icing Images work extremely well with the electronic cutters. Icing Images has a line of thicker icing sheets. In fact, Icing Images is working to improve on their product to make it work even better for the electronic cutter. They will be carrying colors other than white. Even though gum paste is very inexpensive to make, I find the convenience of ready made icing sheets out weighs the cost.
You can order your icing sheets form http://www.icingimages.com/

This is a short description of the product from their web site.

"About Icing Sheets

Icing Sheets are an actual layer of icing that bonds with the icing on the cake, and come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Our Icing Sheets are made of sugar, taste great, and will last up to a year on the shelf when properly sealed. Refrigeration is not required. All of our Icing Sheet products are FDA approved and Kosher.

Icing Images offers House brand sheets, Lucks brand sheets, and Premium brand sheets. The Premuim brand offers the largest printing surface, and is the thickest, followed by the Lucks brand.

Icing Images offers the best prices and unparalleled customer support for all of its products. We are always happy to provide a free phone consultation to help you with selecting the right imaging system and supplies to meet your needs.”

Traditionally, you would print an image on an icing sheet and apply it to a buttercream cake. The sheet merged with the frosting and you had a very personal cake with very little effort. When I first learned about icing sheets, I was hooked! It made decorating cakes so much easier. Add an icing sheet picture to the top of a cake, a nice border and the cake was done. This helped me keep my cost down so I could offer my great tasting cakes at a very reasonable price.

In time, my wedding cakes were the center of my business and I stopped making novelty cakes. I would occasionally print an icing sheet for a groom’s cake, but that was the extent that I was using icing sheets.

Icing sheets are not limited to having a picture printed on them on put on the top of a cake. I will show you several ideas using icing sheets in a different manner. Icing sheets can be used to decorate all-over your cake.

Even if you don’t have an Edible Printer System and an electronic cutter, you can still use icing sheets to decorate a cake. You will find several tools in the craft and scrapbooking section at the craft store. When deciding if a tool is safe to use with your icing sheet, ask yourself this. Can I wash and sanitize this tool. Is it made from a food safe material. There are several tools cake decorators use everyday that were not made specifically for cake decorating, but work well and are safe to use.

Don’t think of your icing sheet as something you print a picture on and stick on the top of your cake. Think of your icing sheet as a blank canvas. Your goal is to decorate the icing sheet and then treat it like you would a piece of scrapbook paper. Food color takes the place of paint and edible food markers take the place of sharpie markers. You can paint, draw designs, use stamps and even emboss the icing sheet. Go from dull to fabulous with pixie dust! Paint the icing sheet with some gum glue, sprinkle on some bright, shiny petal dust, let the icing dry a bit and you will be able to cut out beautiful, colorful designs. Each technique gives the icing sheet a scrapbook like quality. The scrapbook section of the craft store will become your new favorite place to shop. I have said for a long time, if you can cut it out of paper, I can cut it out of sugar. Now you can decorate your sugar just like you would paper.

Coloring the icing sheet
The best food coloring to use with icing sheets are gel or paste colors. Put a small amount of color in a flat dish and work with it like you would paint. Your goal is to get an even covering of color on the icing sheet. This can be accomplished with a sponge brush, a regular soft bristle brush or you can sponge on the color with a natural sea sponge. These techniques are similar to faux finishing.

This example was accomplished with a soft bristle brush. I used straight gel coloring and brushed the color on in one direction.

These next examples were created using a sea sponge. If you find that your color is too thick, thin it down with some Everclear alcohol. You can also use Vodka. The alcohol will dry very quickly, but try not to get the color too thin. Your icing sheet will get very weak if it has too much moisture added to it. When doing a faux finish use your imagination. You can sponge on a single color, or you can sponge on several colors. Don’t feel like you are limited to a sponge. You can wad up plastic wrap and use it to dab on color. You can also use a stiff paint brush and stipple on the color. To do this you load up the end of the brush with color and randomly touch the surface of the icing sheet. This can also be accomplished with multiple colors. Do a little research into faux painting and see how easy it is to get impressive results. You can easily create a beautiful icing sheet for your cake designs.

For best results, remove the icing sheet from the baking paper. Let it sit for a bit to dry out some. It will be much easier to handle, but don’t let it sit out so long that it cracks up. After you have decorated the icing sheet, it can be stored in the bag it came in until you need to use it. Make sure the bag is sealed tight, or the icing sheet may dry out and crack up when you try to cut out designs.

You can create some very lovely and interesting designs with some very basic craft supplies. You will need a ruler, x-acto knife, decorative edge scissors and a paper punch. Wilton now has craft punches you can use with icing sheets.

This first example is with a plain white icing sheet. Using the ruler as a guide, cut off 2 “ from the bottom of the icing sheet.

Use the decorative edge craft scissors to cut a border design. There are many different styles of craft scissors and each one will give a different design. This is a basic scallop design.

Use the paper punch and punch out your design. There are many different designs, and the punches come in all sizes.

The border cut with the craft scissors and a flower design made with the punch. The same design shown cut out of the different finished icing sheets.

You can add designs to your icing sheet with rubber stamps. There are rubber stamps with every design you can think of. You can add the design all-over the icing sheet and then cut out your designs, or you can cut

around the individual designs. You can stamp strips of cut icing sheets to make border designs for your cake.

You stamp the icing sheet just like you would a sheet of paper. Practice this technique on a piece of plain paper before you stamp your icing sheet. For best results, use a gel color. Apply the color to a dense piece of foam. Make sure you have plenty of color on the foam pad. Push your stamp into the color and lift straight up. Check the bottom of the stamp. You do not want the color to be dripping off. Place the stamp on the icing sheet and carefully push straight down. Do not move the stamp around on the icing sheet or the color will smear. Lift the stamp straight up and you will have a clean, clear image. Apply the designs on the icing sheet where you need them. Every design you can imagine is available in rubber stamps. Get creative and you will be able to create very unique designs for your cake.

You can embellish your plain white icing sheet with other food coloring items. Try some colored super pearl for a nice shine, or fairy or pixie dust. If it can be used in cake decorating you can safely use it on an icing sheet. You can even add a fine sanding sugar. These come in a variety of colors. Paint a thin coat of gum glue to the icing sheet then sprinkle the product onto the icing sheet. Let it dry and set up a bit before cutting out your design. Experiment with the different coloring products we use in cake decorating. You can even air brush the fine powders onto an icing sheet.

When you airbrush your icing sheet use the airbrush color used for cake decorating. Apply several thin, even coats until you get the look you desire. Let the icing sheet dry some between coats. Do not over saturate the icing sheet or it will melt. You can achieve some great results with an airbrush.

I have shown several ideas for decorating a plain white icing sheet. Icing Images has come out with icing sheets in different colors. They have a chocolate sheet that is amazing to work with. Here is an example of a cake I made using the chocolate icing sheet. The intricate detail is amazing, and the sheets were a breeze to cut. I did not need to remove them from the backing sheet. I simple taped the icing sheet to my carrier sheet and cut the design with my Silhouette. You can see this technique is greater detail here.

You can add some texture to your icing sheets with an embossing folder. You place a square of the icing sheet into the embossing folder and apply pressure. This can be done with a machine called the Sizzix Sidekick machine. Or you can put your icing image in the embossing folder and run it through your Kitchen Aide pasta machine. Make sure the opening on the pasta machine is set to the widest opening. You can even just use your hand and press down on the embossing folder. Put pressure all-over the surface and the design will press into the icing sheet.

There is an endless number of embossing folders. They come in every design and size. Using embossing folders will give your cake a very unique look. You can emboss several sections, apply the embossed icing sheet sections to the side of your buttercream cake and pipe a simple border between the sections. Add color with the airbrush, dusting powers or gel colors. For best results color your icing sheet before you emboss it. Here are two examples of embossing folders.

This is an example of an icing sheet that has been airbrushed and embossed.

Children are so creative. Let them show off their art work in a decorated cake. Give them an icing sheet the size you need for your cake. They can color their pictures with edible markers. Apply their picture to the cake and finish with a piped border. A child can design their own birthday cake or a cake for any occasion. Young or older, your child or grandchild will love to be the cake artist!

When looking for tools to use for decorating your icing sheets, don’t forget the hardware store. Some of my favorite cake decorating tools come from the home improvement store. Look in the paint section for the tools used in faux finishing. Make sure the tool can be washed and sanitized. It may not have been originally designed for cake decorating, but you can find inexpensive tools that will expand your creativity.

You do not have to decorate a cake you made. You can decorate store bought treats. Cookies, Reese Cups, Moon Pies or Little Debbie snack cakes. Store bought or home made cupcakes look great with extra decorations you add.

Icing sheets are great fun to work with. Whether you are decorating a wedding cake, your childs birthday cake or store bought cookies, you will find them easy and economical to use. Your best source for icing sheets is from Icing Images.

Sugar Flowers, Who Needs Them?

2011-04-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

JUST KIDDING!!!! I love to make sugar flowers, but I use silk flowers for my demo cakes. I hate it when the sugar flowers break when we are traveling. This bright green cake was decorated using an icing sheet. I airbrushed the icing sheet black before cutting it out. Here is a tip for airbrushing black. I first used black airbrush color and found the color was not very strong, it took several coats of color to get a good, solid black. All of this color weakened the icing sheet and it took a very long time to dry enough to use. I then used the black color I use to re-fill my color cartridges for my edible printer. It is also a food color, but the color is very intense. I applied two light coats to the icing sheet and the results were perfect! I let the icing sheet dry for a few minutes and it was ready for me to cut the designs. When using Photo Frost icing sheets for the tiny, intricate cuts you need to remove it from the backing paper. Apply shortening to a piece of card stock paper and then attach the icing sheet to the cardstock. If you are using the Silhouette to cut out your designs you will need to trim about 1/2" from each side of the cardstock. Just score through the icing sheet with an x-acto knife, not cut the cardstock. You feed the cardstock into the machine and cut out your designs. No need to apply it to a carrier sheet. There is enough shortening on the back of the design so it will easily stick to a fondant covered cake.

If you want to put the designs on a buttercream cake, you may want to chill the cake so the icing will firm up. I put my designs on the side of the cake and use a fondant smoother to apply a bit of pressure to the design. This will help the design stick to the cake and the side of the cake will stay smooth.

New Technique For Icing Sheets

2011-04-05T18:24:00.000-07:00

I have been working with icing sheets lately and have been having great success with them. Icing Images has a new chocolate sheet that cuts very easily. As you can see in this example, the designs are very intricate.

Working with these icing sheets was quite easy. I did not remove the icing sheet from the backing sheet that the icing sheet came on. I used the Silhouette, so I had to trim about 3/4" from the edge of the icing sheet so the rollers on the Silhouette would not go over the icing sheet. Use an xacto knife and a ruler to measure the distance from the edge. Lightly score the icing sheet and pull the cut piece away. It is important that the rollers clear the icing sheet. I taped the icing sheet to the Silhouette carrier sheet and loaded it into the Silhouette. You need to do a practice cut to get the blade depth set. The knife needs to barely stick out of the end of the blade housing. In the controller window I found that using the cardstock paper as my paper type was a good weight to choose. When my design was finished being cut out, I removed the excess with a long quilt pin. A T pin or corsage pin will also work. I would slide the pin just under the icing sheet to loosen it from its backing page. I also used the pin to pick out the excess pieces in the center of the design. Carefully remove your cut design from the backing paper.

Attaching the designs to a cake can be done in several ways, depending on the type of cake you have. If you want to put the designs on a buttercream cake, you may want to chill the cake so the icing will firm up. I put my designs on the side of the cake and use my fondant smoother to apply a bit of pressure to the design. This will help the design stick to the cake and the side of the cake will stay smooth.

If you are attaching the designs to a fondant cake I would suggest you use shortening. If you apply water to the back of the design, it could smear color on the cake. Shortening will not do this. Use a soft brush and lightly brush some shortening where the design will go. Remove the design from the backing page and carefully put it on the cake. Use a small (about 3/4") clean, soft brush to brush over the design on the cake. This will help it stick to the side. When all the designs are on the side of the cake, work in the excess shortening with the soft brush. This will keep the cake from having shiny spots and have a consistent look.

You can also apply shortening to the back of the cut out design and then apply it to the cake. Use the small soft brush to brush over the design to help it stick to the cake.

If you need to reposition the design, carefully remove it and then put it in the correct spot.

Print and Cut Up-Date

Print and Cut is one of my favorite features of the Silhouette. The software program that comes with the Silhouette is excellent for this application. In the past I taught that the icing sheet needs to be removed from its baking paper and then applied to a piece of cardstock paper using shortening as an adhesive. This has worked well and was not to difficult to do. When I discovered that I could cut very intricate designs with the Icing Image sheets without removing them from the backing paper, I decided to try the same technique for print and cut.

I am showing this process step by step using the Silhouette Studio program.

Open the Silhouette Studio program. Make sure that LETTER and PORTRAIT are selected.

Open the window for the registration marks and make sure that SHOW REG MARKS is checked.

You will need to make some changes to the right and left registration marks. Change the setting to 0.800 for both the right and left setting.

Go to FILE and open up a folder with the image you would like to print. Select and import the image.

Trace the outline. Now put your icing sheet into the printer and print the design. You will need to remove a small amount of the icing sheet from each side. Be sure you do not cut into the registration marks. Lightly cut away 5/8" from each side. If your registration marks printed in the correct spot, then you will have only removed enough of the icing sheets to miss the rollers.

Open the SILHOUETTE CUT SETTINGS window. Select PRINT PAPER-light, speed and thickness both set to 10 and make sure CARRIER SHEET is checked. When all of the setting are correct click on SEND TO SILHOUETTE.

Your image is printed so this option can be skipped.

Follow the instructions and click on CONTINUE.

Click on DETECT REGISTRATION MARKS.

Click on CUT PAGE and the Silhouette will cut out your image. If you have followed these steps, set the blade to the correct depth then you should get a good, clean cut.

Carefully peal away the excess. You can store your design on the backing paper, or carefully remove it to apply to your cake. Gently brush some shortening to the back to stick to the side of your cake.

I have found that when I use icing sheets from Icing Images I do not need to change the regestration marks or trim the sides of the icing sheet. The rollers will go over the edge of the icing sheet with no problems. The image cuts perfectly and can be applied directly to the cake with a small brushing of shortening on the back of the image.

LINDA MCCLURE PROMOTES CRICUT CAKE!!

2011-04-04T06:34:00.000-07:00

Is this an April fools joke?

In December of 2009 I was asked by Provo Craft to come to Utah to film a promotion for the new Cricut Cake machine. I agreed because I was still hoping PC was going to be working with me to promote my new method of cake decorating. We filmed this segment at Carrie Biggers shop. I had spent time with her several weeks earlier teaching her and her staff this technique.

This was the first time I had seen the new machine and my first thought was "all they did was change the color!". There were very few improvements made, and the changes were the ones I suggested.

If you look at any official Provo Craft advertisement of the Cricut Cake you will see that I have been edited out. I am sure they wish they had never asked me to do this in the first place!

No, I do not endorse the Cricut Cake in any way. I cannot and will not recommend that machine to anyone who wants to use electronic cutters for cake decorating. They threw me under the bus and now claim I had nothing to do with inventing the technique of using electronic cutters for cake decorating. Now the goal of Provo Craft is to make sure you cannot use any other program like Make the Cut with the Cricut. If you get a Cricut you will have to buy their expensive cartridges for designs.

Here is the video that was filmed, before I was cut out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ypINioSgWI&feature=related

Here I am at CHA 2010 with the launch of the Cricut Cake. I did leave after 3 days of this. I knew, without a doubt what was going on. I could not be apart of this any longer. Each time Jinger Adams told the crowd that I came to Provo Craft and asked them if they could make a machine to cut gum paste, I wanted to scream "It's all a big, fat lie!!!" Walking away from a bad situation was the best thing I could have done and it has worked out well for me. I am not limited to what I can do and I am not tied down to a machine that will limit your creativity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WjMQIFev4Y

Information for using MTC

2011-03-18T13:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to the MTC forum. Several questions are answered here about cutting machines. The MTC forum is a great place to get answers on using your electronic cutter.
http://forum.make-the-cut.com/discussion/13688/mtc-facts-and-questions

Isn't this interesting?

2011-03-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

Here is an article I just ran across on line. As you know, I am patent pending on my technique of using electronic cutters for cake decorating. I presented my idea to Provo Craft and they basically pirated my idea to make the cricut cake machine. You can read the story of all of that further down in this blog.

I used the cricut create ( the smaller cricut machine) in the classes I taught. The machine did a great job and I taught people how to create their own designs for cake decorating using Make the Cut. Make the Cut is a great program and you are able to use your cricut and are not required to buy expensive cartridges. If you have a cricut, I say learn how to use the machine to its fullest potential. If you want to up-grade to a machine that is superior, then you may want to consider a Silhouette. You never need to buy expensive cartridges and the print and cut feature is fantastic for cake decorators.

Make The Cut Settles Cricut Software Lawsuit With Provo Craft

By Nancy Nally on March 11, 2011

Documents filed in US District court on Wednesday reveal that Make The Cut has reached a settlement with Provo Craft in the lawsuit over 3rd party Cricut software created by Make The Cut. Provo Craft had sued Make The Cut in April 2010 alleging that Make the Cut’s 3rd party software for Cricut machines illegally circumvented copyright protection on Provo Craft’s products and violated copyright on the company’s Cricut Design Studio software code.

Provo Craft had appeared particularly to be targeting in the suit the recently introduced “back-up” feature in the Make The Cut software, which allowed users to create back-ups of their Cricut cartridges. (The feature was only available to users for a two week period in March 2010 before being pulled from distribution as a result of the litigation.)

Terms of the settlement were stipulated to the court in joint documents filed by the companies Wednesday with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, which had been hearing the case. Under the settlement, Make The Cut is permanently and immediately disallowed from selling software that is compatible in any way with Cricut machines. The company is also required to destroy all copies of the software’s Cricut-related source code.

For the existing software, Make The Cut also is required to take measures within 30 days to disable the 600 copies that were sold of the software with the cartridge back-up feature. Make The Cut is ordered to render these copies of the software completely non-functional until these users update their software to a copy that eliminates the back-up function.

Provo Craft also recently filed suit against another 3rd party Cricut software creator, Craft Edge, in an attempt to stop distribution of their Sure Cuts A Lot product.

Update: Neither party is receiving any financial award in the settlement.

New videos on YOUTUBE

2011-03-08T20:34:00.000-08:00

We finished the new video class package. I decided to put 2 clips from the video on youtube. The first is a demonstration of the print and cut feature of the Silhouette. You can view it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNISY5d_qCg

I have a clip on youtube showing the print on gum paste method but I thought I would put another demonstration of this technique. This is such a great technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XqcEz4kHJ4

The video class package is on sale and if you are interested you can order it from our web site.

http://www.deseretdesigns.com/custom_1.html

I tried to put as much information as I could into this project. The information is as up to date as possible. The book and video files that accompanies this project take you through the designs process. After you learn the basics of design you will be able to create any design you need for your cake projects. This is great news for everyone who uses an electronic cutter, but especially for cricut owners. You do not need to invest in expensive cartridges, but you can now create your own designs.

I decorate a basic cake with several of the designs I showed you how to create in the video files. I then decorate a 5 tier wedding cake showing several techniques that you will be able incorporate in your own cake decorating. I include a CD that has over 200 designs in a jpeg format and also ready to cut in the Make the Cut format.

As much as I enjoyed all the traveling and meeting so many people, it is not possible to continue teaching classes. My goal is to share this great method with as many of you as possible and the best way for me to do this is through the video class. Thank you for the great support and encouragement.

Cake for Hunters

2011-02-22T19:12:00.000-08:00

I have made several camo cakes as wedding cakes or grooms cakes. This is a very easy cake to make. I scanned a piece of camo paper and printed it on a frosting sheet. I chose a design that reminded me of grass for the side of the bottom and top tier. The middle tier was just a band of the printed frosting sheet. The top is from Colorado Carla, a plastic deer and foilage from Hobby Lobby help complete the look. This is a very easy cake to decorate. I used Photo Frosts frosting sheets and they cut very well.

The cake was covered in a dark avocado green. The designs were cut and applied to the sides. I put the frosting sheets on a piece of cardstock. I use apply shortening to the back of the frosting sheet and stick it onto the card stock. I cut the designs out, and when I remove the designs there is enough shortening on the back of the design to stick to the side of the cake. I give greater detail in the section on getting the perfect cut.

New instructional DVD in final editing

2011-02-16T19:26:00.000-08:00

I finished the DVD that covers the entire class I taught. I take you through the entire process of creating your own designs and pratical applications of the techniques. I also have a section on making sugar flowers using the Silhouette. The set will have 5 discs and include a book. One of the discs will have a collection of over 200 designs ready to use. We will have everything ready for sale at the Austin cake show.

Close Out on DVDs! New Low Prices!!!!

2011-01-10T17:53:00.001-08:00

Check out my web site at http://creativedesignscakes.comcreativedesignscakescom/ to order all of my DVDs at a reduced price.

As you know, I have 3 DVDs that feature the Cricut machine for cake decorating. I have discovered that the Silhouette is by far the superior machine for cutting gum paste. I LOVE the print and cut feature! I am selling the rest of my cricut dvds at a reduced price. They are full of great information, so if you want to improve your ability to get great cuts with the cricut, now is the time to get the dvds.

There is such a great demand for me to travel to teach this technique. I have loved every minute I have spent with each of my students. Jeff took a sabbatical from teaching last year so we were able to travel to the cake shows and teach classes through the US and Canada. He is back to the classroom so our traveling will be limited. I still want to share my method with as many people who want to learn this new technique, so I decided to put my entire class on DVD! I will show you everything I have developed up to this time. Included will be instructions on making gum paste, how to prepare it for cutting, creating your own designs, working with the Cricut Design Studio program for unique designs and much more. You will get the book that follows the DVD, a CD with a great new collection of designs and much more. I will be sharing several cakes decorated with this method so you will see what you will be able to do

I plan on having this ready by the end of February.

Making Gum Paste

2010-11-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

I learned how to make gum paste years ago. I tried several recipes but the one I liked best was Rosemary Watsons. I learned alot of my basic flower making from her and have tweaked her recipe to work for me. When I first developed the cutting gum paste with electronic cutters method, my recipe worked the best. I have shared this recipe with many people and several are sharing it as their own. This is what I teach in class and use for my own cake decorating projects.

Gum Paste

½ cup cold water

2 tablespoons Knox gelatin

1/3 cup white corn syrup

2 tablespoons shortening

2 lbs powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons Tylose

Small sauce pan ½ full of water, put on medium heat

½ metal measuring cup with water, pour into a 2 cup glass measuring cup with open handle

Add 2 tablespoons Knox gelatin and stir until well mixed

Set timer for 5 minutes-no longer then 15 minutes

Melt at least 2 tablespoons shortening into a glass measuring cup

1/3 cup of white corn syrup

Put gelatin into sauce pan-cook until melted and you see swirls

Add corn syrup and cook until no longer stringy

Add 2 tablespoons of shortening-stir

Pour into bowl, add 2 pounds of powdered sugar

Mix with bread dough hooks until well mixed

Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of tylose powder into mixture, mix for another 2-3 minutes. Scrape into a plastic bag coated with shortening, let rest overnight

When you are finished making your gum paste it is best to let it rest over night. It can be left out for several days, but if it is not going to be used right away, you can store it in the freezer or refrigerator.

When you are ready to use the gum paste you will notice that it is very firm. You will need to use a sharp knife to cut off a section of the gum paste. Put it in the microwave for a few seconds, usually 5-10 seconds is long enough to warm it up enough to soften it. It should be the consistency of a marshmallow.

You need to condition the gum paste. Work in a small amount of shortening into the gum paste and work it in your hands. Pull it and stretch it out. Run it through the pasta machine and wad it back up again. If it feels too soft add a little bit of corn starch. If the gum paste firms up while conditioning it you can put it back in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up. When you feel like the gum paste has been conditioned enough then you are ready to roll it out.

You really need a pasta machine for the best results. Most pasta machines will roll out a piece of gum paste 6” wide and as long as you need it to be. If you have a fondant sheeter you can roll your gum paste wider than 6”, but you really don’t need it to be wider than 12”.

Most issues with my method are gum paste issues. You need a firm gum paste to start with. It needs to be well conditioned and for best results it needs to be rolled out with a pasta machine. I really like my kitchen aid mixer with the pasta attachment. I find I get the best cutting results when I roll out the gum paste to a #6 or #7. This is something you will practice with and you will determine what works best for you. Before you put the gum paste through the pasta machine you need to take your softened, conditioned piece of gum paste and roll it out using a rolling pin the desired width and thin enough to put through the pasta machine. With a little practice you will be able to roll a 6” wide pieces of gum paste as long as you need it.

When the gum paste is as thin as you need it to be, put it on a plastic mat and trim it to about 12” in length. As you fill your mats with your rolled out gum paste stack them on top of each other. When you have rolled out as many as you need, store the mats in a 2 ½ gallon baggie. For the best cutting results, let your gum paste rest over night. In fact, you can let your baggies sit out for several days before you use the gum paste. Keep the baggies sealed so the gum paste doesn’t dry out. You can even store your gum paste sheets in the freezer until you are ready for them. I can’t stress enough to not rush this part of the process. The gum paste needs to firm up, but not dry out.

The hard part of this process is over! When you are ready to cut out your design all you need to do is apply the gum paste to the mat. If you are having problems with your gum paste sliding around the mat when you are cutting out your design, it could be that the mat is too slick. I have found that my older, well used mats work the best. If I have a new mat I will scratch up the surface with some sand paper. This will give the mat some “tooth” and the gum paste will stick to the mat better.

You need to apply a thin coat of shortening to the mat. A pastry brush works well for this process. You can use a paper towel with shortening on it if you don’t have a pastry brush. You only need a light coat of shortening. Too much and the gum paste may just slide around the mat during cutting. Don’t put the gum paste too close to the sides of the mat. Watch where the roller will go and don’t get the gum paste in that area. Use a soft paper towel to smooth the gum paste onto the mat. If there is any shortening on the gum paste then you can work it into the surface of the gum paste. The paper towel will help to polish the surface of the gum paste.

Now that the gum paste is on the mat you are ready to cut out your designs. With experience you will learn how to tell if the gum paste is ready to be cut. If it is too soft it will just drag around the mat and tear. If the gum paste is too dry then it will crack. Your goal is to get clean, precise cuts. If you have followed my suggestions and allowed the gum paste to firm up at least over night, you are on the way to successful cuts. Use the deep cut blade for the Cricut and set the blade pressure to #5. Set the pressure on the machine to 3 bars or medium pressure.

You can apply your decorations to your cake as soon as you cut them out. You may have enough shortening on the back of the decoration to stick it onto your cake. If it doesn’t stick then you can apply some more shortening with a small paint brush.

You can make your decorations ahead of time and store them in the large baggie on a cake board. They will be fine for a couple of days left out but if you want to store them longer then put them in the freezer. When you take the decorations out of the freezer they will get soft as they come to room temperature. Let the decorations firm up some before trying to put them on the cake. I have had good luck with spraying the backside of the decoration with vegetable spray. All you need is a very light spray and the decoration will stay in place. Use a soft brush to lightly brush the top of the decoration. This will help the decoration stick to the cake and help clean up any shortening on or around the decoration.

For more information and a great video tutorial view these youtube videos. They are found under “working with gum paste”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7tVl_Y_EeY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpq_bXhD3c4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhl50MMcyU0&feature=related

The Perfect Cut

2010-10-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

In the DVD "Creative Designs: Silhouette" that comes with the Silhouette Cake machine, I show how to make the perfect gum paste, roll it out, store it and then get a very nice cut. Some people still have a difficult time getting a clean, smooth cut. Also, getting a soft, fresh gum paste to cut cleanly. Here are a few more tips to help cut your designs successfully.

First of all, the knife you use only needs to extend out the end of the blade housing unit the depth of the gum paste. The replacement blades that fit the Silhouette housing unit are the Cricut Cake Blades or the deep cut blade. Notice that the Cricut Cake blade is slightly longer then the deep cut blade. If you need more of the knife blade to stick out then try the Cricut Cake blade.

The blade only needs to extend out of the housing the depth of the gum paste. This is true for any brand of cutter you use. You want to just cut the gum paste, not make deep cuts into the mat. This comes with some practice. Work with some gum paste rolled out the depth you would normally use and try different depth settings on the blade housing. You may also need to adjust the pressure setting. This can be a little tricky with the Silhouette. It was made to cut paper, not gum paste, so use some common sense for the settings. In the controller window I usually select a thick medium, such as card stock. I also usually select a heavy pressure. Again, getting the correct setting takes a few practice cuts. Once you feel you have the correct setting, make a note of it for future projects.

This blade holder is set to cut a frosting sheet. The knife is barely sticking out of the end of the housing.

This blade holder is set to cut a thicker piece of gum paste. You can see the knife sticking out of the end of the housing. Again, the depth of the knife would be adjusted to the depth of the gum paste. This knife is the Cricut Cake knife, and because it is slightly longer, it can extend a bit farther. Notice that this blade holder has a second O ring. I found that I needed to raise the blade holder up a bit in the machine when using the Cricut Cake knife.

Traditionally I roll my gum paste to a #7 or 8 with my Kitchen Aid pasta roller. I apply shortening to my mat and then put my gum paste on the mat. I use a paper towel to wipe away any excess shortening, smooth out any air pockets on the gum paste and polish the top of the gum paste. I don't want to rub the gum past so hard that it tears, but with enough pressure to help it stick to the mat. If you find that your gum paste is sliding around on the mat when you are cutting out designs you may want to try adding some "tooth" or scratch marks to the mat. Gum paste tends to slide around on a smooth mat. An older, well used mat works the best because of all the cut marks in it. These cut marks give the gum paste something to grab onto. You can achieve the same results with a new mat by scratching the surface with some 80 grit sandpaper. By lightly scratching the surface of the cutting mat you are taking away the smooth surface and the gum paste has something to hold onto and not move around.

If you are still having a difficult time getting the perfect cut, then you may want to try the paper method. I attach my gum paste or frosting sheet to card stock paper of the print and cut method. I get great results with my cut images and it just seemed logical that I would get the same great results cutting gum paste designs with the gum paste attached to paper.

First, the paper must be a heavy weight paper, such as card stock. I also use legal size manila folders and cut them to fit my machine. This is an area that as a cake decorator we use common sense. The majority of our food comes to use in some kind of paper container. Be sure you use clean paper, especially paper that does not have writing on it.

The gum paste is attached to the paper the same way you would apply it to your cutting mat. You need to apply the shortening to the paper in the area the gum paste will be put. Another method is to apply the shortening to the backside of the gum paste. I like this method because I am know that I am covering all of the gum paste surface.

I treat frosting sheets and gum paste the same way. The only difference is the depth of the blade. The knife only needs to stick out far enough to cut through the gum paste or frosting sheet. With this technique the goal is to cut my design but not cut through the paper. Practice to get the blade depth setting that gives you the correct cut.

Here are 2 frosting sheets that have a design printed on them. Use a printer with edible coloring. I have found that the Canon printer works the best with my method. When you apply a frosting sheet or gum paste to a piece of paper and try to run it through an Epson printer, the Epson sees it as a paper jam. My larger Epson photo printer works, but the smaller Epson does not. You can print just a frosting sheet, but not a frosting sheet attached to a piece of card stock.

The supplies you need are 1) soft bristle brush, 2 )shortening, 3) card stock or heavy paper, and a soft paper towel to smooth and attach the gum paste or frosting sheet.

The frosting sheet or gum paste attached to the paper.

The paper is placed under the rollers.

When you apply the gum paste or frosting sheet to the card stock, make sure it will clear the rollers.

Cut out the design and remove the excess gum paste. You can save the design on the card stock until you need to put it on the cake. I will cut out all my designs leaving them on the card stock, stack them on top of each other and store them in the freezer. When I need them, I take them out of the freezer and in a few minutes they are ready to apply to a cake. My gum paste recipe is very firm, so the designs are easy to handle. I have found with this technique I can use a softer gum paste and get the same great results.

A frosting sheet that has a design printed onto it. I treat the frosting sheets the same way I treat a piece of gum paste. When the design is cut out, I store it on the card stock until I need to use it.

Using the paper method has several advantages. First, you will get very clean cuts. You will be able to cut very intricate designs. You can store your designs on the card stock. This is handy because you do not need to remove the designs from a cutting mat and put them on another mat. Because you are using the paper as your carrier sheet, you do not need to worry with cutting mats.

If you are using a Cricut Create, trim the paper to the same width of the cutting mat. Be sure that the gum paste is applied to the mat so the rollers will not roll over the gum paste. If you are using a bigger Cricut machine, you can tape the paper with the gum paste attached to a carrier mat. Make practice cuts to get the best results. In my class the students use the Cricut create machine. I have found that if the pressure is set on medium and the blade housing is set on 4 we get the best results. The same applies to the other Cricut machines.

If you are using the Silhouette Cake machine and the Make the Cut program a few settings in the print preference window need to be changed.

In the Specify user Size window, select the length at 10.75 and do not check the carrier sheet. Whatever paper size you use, make sure you select a size just a bit shorter then the actual size of the paper. The paper is acting as your carrier sheet.

Practice with this technique. Your goal is to set the knife depth to just cut through the gum paste and not the paper. You will be able to cut very intricate designs in any size with this technique.

Silhouette Earns Top Honors

2010-09-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

The Silhouette Cake machine has earned top honors for electronic cutters used in cake decorating. The machine was awarded a first place ribbon, trophy and gold medal. In a competition with the other electronic cutting machine, the Silhouette Cake machine consistently placed first in every category.

Size: The Silhouette is light weight and takes up very little work space, the competitor is big and bulky.

Ease of use: The Silhouette only has 3 buttons, the competitor has several and can be very confusing trying to figure out what each one does.

Cost effective: The Silhouette was the favorite in this category. The only thing required for designs is a computer. The competitor requires costly cartridges with most of the designs not what the cake decorator needed.

Print and Cut feature: The Silhouette was alone in this category. In fact, this is the category that put the Silhouette ahead of the competitor. The print and cut feature allows the decorator to print any design on to gum paste or a frosting sheet and the Silhouette will cut the design outline.

Customer service: The Silhouette service is outstanding, from the the company that sell the Silhouette Cake

to the Silhouette corporate headquarters.

Jessica said "I love my Silhouette. It cuts great and I can make amazing cakes using the print and cut feature."

Jeni said "I love not having to spend all my money on expensive cartridges. I use my Silhouette for cake decorating and scrap booking."

There you have it. An award winning machine with all the features to help you make amazing cakes.

Linda McClure, the inventor of the cricut cake machine and developer of the Silhouette Cake machine said, "I am so happy for the Silhouette Cake machine. This award means so much to me. Our goal is to share this great technique with the cake decorating world. The Silhouette Cake machine will change the way we decorate cakes in the future."

Changes with the Make the Cut program

2010-08-31T14:32:00.000-07:00

If you have taken a class with me you know that I use the Make the Cut program. I have used another program, but I decided to go with Make the Cut. It works great with all the electronic cutters. I teach you how to create your own designs for your cakes using Make the Cut. This is great because you never need to buy cartridges for designs. You create your own unique designs for each cake you make.
Recently, the Make the Program was updated. It is still very easy to use, but a few of the icons were moved. I am putting a link to a page to show the old program and the changes.
http://creativedesignsclasses.com/photo.html

Teaching a class for Spanish speaking ladies

2010-08-27T13:13:00.001-07:00

One of the best experiences I had was the opportunity to teach a class for a group of Spanish speaking ladies. I do not speak Spanish so this was going to be a challenge. Maria Kovacs was the transulator and she did a fantastic job. A couple of times she would start speaking English to the group and turn to me and speak Spanish!

The ninas ( that is girl in Spanish) did very well and we were able to cover a lot of information. They were very motivated to learn this new method and are excited to be some of the first people to be using it in their Latin American countries.

ICES 2010 Convention

2010-08-27T11:57:00.001-07:00

Linda, Dee, Suzie and Jeff st the ICES banquet

I know that the serious cake people know what ICES is. It is an international organization for professional and non-professional cake decorators and lovers of all things cake. I have been a member for many years and actually got my start in cake decorating because of ICES. Jeff and I were able to go to San Diego, Ca. this year for the convention. We had a vendor's booth and I did a demo.

The area where all the vendors were was great. Everything you would want as a cake decorator was there. Not only were the products we love and use all the time present, but there were some great new products on display. I have met several of the vendors at previous cake shows so it was great to see these friends again. I wish them all great success with their businesses.

One of my more interesting experiences was the demo I gave. I was told that I could not say the word Cricut. This was going to be a challenge because I invented my method using a Cricut. It seems the cricut folks were unhappy with the competition.

Speaking of Cricut's competition, we had a great time telling people about the Silhouette. This machine can do things the Cricut will never be able to do. I only had an hour for my demo, but I was able to show some of the great things you can do with it. The print and cut feature of the Silhouette is great.

Several of the Louisiana ICES members were able to attend the convention. There was a lovely banquet Saturday evening. I was amazed at how well the waiters were able to get food to almost 2000 people! It was a fun evening and we enjoyed the company of the people who sat at our table.

2010-08-20T08:11:00.001-07:00

One Year Anniversary!

The July ICES meeting was the one year anniversary of the first public demonstration of the Cricut Expression cutting gum paste. I first presented this new technique to the Louisiana ICES in July 2009. Everyone was amazed and excited with the new cake decorating possibilities. We had just started selling the first Creative Designs DVD and at the time had no idea that this technique would soon go global.

In the October 2009 issue of the ICES magazine the first printed article was published about the Cricut. At the end of October the first demonstration of using the Cricut for cake decorating was presented to Provo Craft. The people attending were amazed at what I was able to do with sugar and a Cricut.

At this years July ICES meeting I was able to give a Cricut Cake machine to Ms Lillie. Tickets were passed out and she had the winning number. Congratulations Ms Lillie, I hope you enjoy your new toy!

OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW!!!

Considering all that I have been through with Provo Craft, I still tell people that the Cricut is a great machine. Any one of the Cricuts will do a great job cutting gum paste if you use my method. I use the Cricut Create in the classes I teach, but any electronic cutter with a mat and blade will work.

What is new? By chance I discovered one of the other electronic cutters. Last year someone emailed me and asked if the Silhouette would work. I told them I thought so, but decided to try it for myself. I ordered one from ebay and was able to cut some designs using the Make the Cut program. I emailed the person and told her that yes, the Silhouette would work. I put the Silhouette aside and continued to use my Cricut and also the Gazelle.

In the meantime, I had discovered how to use my printer to print on gum paste. I was able to print gum paste sheets just like I would a frosting sheet. Now I can cut out designs with printed images. I began watching youtube videos to learn more about the different electronic cutting machines and found a video about the print and cut feature of the Silhouette. This sparked my interest, so I got the Silhouette and began experimenting. It didn't take long to figure out how to cut out gum paste images with the Silhouette. This was great! I could scan any image, print it on gum paste and the Silhouette would cut it out.

I now had a new respect for the Silhouette. I also discovered that it did a great job cutting out my regular decorations. I was delighted to find that I had a machine that performed as well or even better then the Cricut and it was able to do something that the Cricut cannot do. I knew the print and cut feature would be something that cake decorators would love.

I worked with the Silhouette, found a cutting blade that worked great and decided to contact the Silhouette people to show them what I was doing with their machine. I was careful to not let what happened with Provo Craft happen again. I am protected legally because this method is patent pending. I met with the folks from Silhouette and they were interested in what I was doing. Silhouette is a great company and I hope we will be able to work together to come out with great new products that cake decorators really want and will use.

At the July ICES meeting we also had a drawing for a Silhouette. The winning ticket belonged to Ms Geneva. Congratulations! I hope you love using the Silhouette as much as I do.

In the mean time, I have a blade, an instructional DVD and can sell the machines. Jeff will be putting this on http://www.creativedesignscakes.com/ web site.

So, Out with the old Cricut and in with the new Silhouette!!

2010-08-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

MEET ETHAN

Quite a few people have asked me how I came up with the idea to use an electronic cutter to cut decorations for cake. This is where Ethan comes in. Almost 2 years ago, Jessie, my oldest daughter was expecting her third child. I had been with her with the first two, so I planned on being with her for number three. Her husband had been transferred to Omaha with his job, so Jeff and I had to make a two day trip from Louisiana to be with her when the baby arrived.

When we stopped the first night Jeff took Molly, our yellow lab puppy, out for a little walk. I turned on the TV to see if there was anything interesting to watch. The TV turned on to a station that was playing an infomercial. I had no interest in what was being advertised so I started to change the channel. I couldn't get the remote to change the channel, but while I was punching the different buttons, I started watching the show that was on. The ladies were cutting out some paper decorations with a machine called a Cricut. I knew Jessie had one of those machines and creates beautiful scrapbook albums. When the design was finished cutting, the lady removed it from the mat and showed a beautiful scroll design. As a cake decorator, my first thought was "Wouldn't that be beautiful on a wedding cake?" Now my full attention was on the TV show. I tried to see how the machine was cutting out the paper and wondered if it could cut gum paste.

The next morning I called Jessie and asked her if she thought her Cricut would cut gum paste. She said she did not think it would. I told her that I wanted to try with her small Cricut and if I ruined her machine I would buy her the new Expression. She readily agreed, thinking she was going to get a new machine out of the deal.

When we arrived at her house I gave her a hug, patted her belly and told Ethan we would see him in a few days and then asked her where her Cricut was. She had some powdered gum paste mix, so we made it and then began our first trial cut. It wasn't very successful, but I saw the potential. With a little bit more trial and error I got some letters to cut out and they looked pretty good.

Ethan was born and we spent Thanksgiving with Jessie and her family. I bought an Expression at Wal Mart for $188.00 and a couple of cartridges that looked like they had designs I could use on cakes. I had several wedding cakes coming up so I was able to really put this new technique to the test. The cakes I made were beautiful and I knew this was going to change the way cakes would be decorated in the future.

So if it were not for traveling to welcome Ethan into the world, I would not have seen the infomercial that sparked my interest in the Cricut. Thank you Ethan.

"The Real Story" behind the Cricut Cake machine

2010-07-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome to all my friends who have followed me through all the drama associated with inventing and developing the Creative Designs method of cake decorating. As you know, I presented my method to Provo Craft and they pirated the idea, developed the Cricut Cake machine and gave me no credit. Other then a few minor changes, the Cricut Cake and the Expressions are the SAME machine.

If you would like to read the story you can read it below.

My name is Linda McClure and I am a cake decorator. I am always looking for new techniques to add to my cake designs. I invented/developed a new technique using an electronic paper cutting machine to cut gum paste designs and my cakes were soon looking amazing. I was able to create beautiful, one-of-a-kind designs with very little effort. I figured out how to modify a Cricut machine to cut gum paste. At first I figured that someone else must have already figured this out so I did a very thorough, intense search on the internet looking for information. I found nothing, not even a picture of a cake that was made using the Cricut. I spent a lot of time working on this method, and soon had my technique perfected.

I began getting inquiries from different cake decorators who saw my cakes on my web site. They asked how I achieved the stunning results with my cakes. It would be too difficult to explain in an email and a friend suggested I make a video teaching this new technique. This was the beginning of the “Creative Designs” series.

I went to an ICES meeting in April 2009 in Louisiana. One of the demonstrators was not able to come so I filled in for her at the last minute. I did a very informative demonstration about cake boards. I brought along a dummy cake decorated using the Cricut and said I would reveal the technique at the next meeting in July. This would give me time to finish the video and put together a demonstration with the Cricut. At the time I did not realize the importance of this demonstration. To the best of my knowledge, this was the first time the Cricut was demonstrated in public cutting gum paste.

Early in 2009 we tried contacting Provo Craft (the company that made the Cricut) to tell them what we were doing. I thought they would be interested in this new technique and I had several ideas to market this concept to cake decorators. We called and emailed them. but never got any response. There are several other companies who make a similar machine, so I thought we might try to work with one of them. I spoke with an attorney about the video and asked if it would be a problem using the Cricut in the video. He said it was a tool, just like a screw driver and I was showing how to use a tool. He recommended that we patent the process. When I found out it would cost me at least $10,000, I decided that it was something that I would not be able to afford to do.

My next problem was how to market the DVDs. I needed to reach the cake decorating world. My son, Justin, was home from college for the summer and decided to market the DVDs for me. He went on several cake forums telling people about this cutting edge cake decorating technique and soon we were selling several DVDs everyday. We also started selling them in other countries. I got a call from a guy in Australia and he told me they used a system called Click and Cut. My technique worked perfectly and he was going to be teaching the people there how to use it.

The one cake forum that talked a lot about this was Cake Central. He went on as grandmacupcake09 and answered peoples questions. I guess he said something wrong and was barred from the web site. He told me that he had put a link to my web site so people would know where to go for more information. It wasn’t long before those who bought my DVD were freely sharing the information with everyone else. That was the end of grandmacupcake.

In July of 2009 I presented this new technique to the Louisiana ICES. I know that many of the members present realized that this was going to change the way we decorate cakes in the future.

I taught Becky and Martha (Sweet Southern Ladies) this technique and they were able to use it in their Ultimate Cake Challenge. I also taught Jennifer Atwood (from Atwood’s Bakery) and she used the technique in her Ultimate Cake Challenge. I even taught Carrie Biggers (Carries Cakes) and she was on the team with Norm Davis and used this method for their Ultimate Cake Challenge.

In late July McKay Brown from Provo Craft emailed me to tell me he had heard about what I was doing from someone at a craft show. He thought my cakes were amazing and ordered a DVD from me. I told him I would be interested in presenting this concept to Provo Craft, but did not get a response back. I did send him the DVD.

My attorney was able to contact some of the people in the marketing department and talk to them. They looked at my web site and saw what I was doing. I had also put a short video of some of the cake I had made using the Cricut. He arranged a conference call with the Provo Craft people, and I told them that if they noticed an increase in sells of the Cricut, it was because of me. They were very interested in what I had to say. I finally got their attention. I told them that my method was going to change the way we decorated cakes. They were very anxious to meet with me, and I scheduled a time that my attorney, husband and I could go to Provo. We asked for a non compete, non discloser agreement to be signed before I showed them everything I had developed. They agreed, so we went to Provo at the end of Oct 2009.

When we got there my attorney asked to meet with their legal guys to sign the non discloser agreement we had agreed on. He was told that we would sign the agreements in the afternoon. I am not sure if they did not have the agreements ready, but my attorney came with one ready to sign. We trusted the company to act ethically and believed we would sign the non compete/non discloser agreement that afternoon. So far, I had no reason to not trust Provo Craft.

I brought everything with me and gave a very impressive demonstration, showing everything I had come up with. The people at Provo Craft were amazed, and had no idea that their machine could be used for cake decorating. There were at least 50 people in the room and everything I did was filmed and photographed. After lunch, I met with the product development people and told them everything about the modifications needed for the machine and gave suggestions for a few improvements. I explained about making the markers food safe and told them that new designs would be needed for cake decorators. I let them know that this was something I was to be a part of. If they did not want to work with me to develop a new product, then I could take my ideas somewhere else. My attorney tried his best to get their attorneys to sign the agreements. For some reason, Provo Craft’s attorneys were not to be found. After I gave them all the information I had, we were basically dismissed. We still had faith they would do the right thing, and I even got an email the next day from Jon Lee telling me it was a bit hit.

We headed back home and I started to get a little nervous about what had transpired. I paid my attorney a lot of money to come with us, to protect my interests. I trusted Provo Craft to do the right thing, but they proved to be untrustworthy. My attorney told me to have faith that things would work out. He did try to call and email them, but did not get any response to his inquiries.

After a few weeks of no response from Provo Craft I decided we would need to protect my invention with a patent. I contacted a patent attorney and showed her what I had developed. She was very positive about this being approved by the patent office, so I told we would go ahead with the patent. We are patent pending on the entire process. It will be awhile before we know the final out come.

Finally, I got a message from Provo Craft that they have come out with a new cricut Cake machine! They also have a new cake cartridge and sent me a sample of the designs to see. I was asked if I would come to Utah to film a short video about the new machine. I agreed to go. I wanted to see what they had come up with, and was still hoping they would do the right thing by me. We filmed at Carrie Biggers shop and it was a very interesting experience. Still no contract or mention of working with me. I am not given credit in the video for coming up with this idea. I still believed Provo Craft would do something to include me in the process. They are a scrapbook company and don’t know anything about cake decorating. They don’t understand the products we use or the designs we need.

A few weeks after the video was filmed I was asked if I would go to California to the CHA show 2010 for the big launch of the Cricut Cake. They would pay my expenses and pay me for my time. I decided that I would go and see for my self what was going on. I was to be demonstrating the new Cricut Cake machine, so I came prepared to do several demos. Their spokesperson began the introduction telling the people present that I had come to Provo Craft and asked them to make a machine that would cut gum paste! I know she was told what to say, but it was all I could do to tell the people at the demos that was not true. There were poster size pictures of my cakes all over the walls, taken from my web site without permission. That was fine to show my cakes, but not one word giving me credit for the work.

The evening of the 3rd day was a launch party. Jeff and I attended and there was a lot of people at the party. The video was shown and you can see the entire thing on youtube. The CEO of the company spoke and not once did he say anything about my contribution. If it were not for me Provo Craft would not have a new product to launch. It was my idea and it was obvious to me that they had no intension of ever giving me credit. I am personally responsible for the sale of hundreds of Cricut machines and now a new product line.

I decided that evening that I was done. They had flown in another cake decorator, so she could handle the rest of the demonstrations.

I spoke with Jon Lee and told him of my concerns. I had received a contract from Provo Crafty earlier in the week and told him I would not sign it. Basically, they wanted me to sign over all my rights to everything I had done including all my copy righted materials . They offered me $10,000 with a one year contract. They would pay me $1,000 a month to be their cake ambassador and travel to cake shows promoting the Cricut Cake. I offered a more reasonable contract, but they were not interested. I have a shop and can’t afford to give all my time to Provo Craft for so little compensation.

Provo Craft only has a machine to offer. I offer the method that can be used with several machines. There are a lot of people who are decorating cakes with this new method because of me. Several people are making a lot of money teaching classes because of me, and I personally taught many of them. I have come up with even more ideas we can use in the cake world. The latest is printing on gum paste.

The bottom line is this:
1) We presented this cake decorating technique to Provo Craft
2) We were promised a non compete, non discloser agreement
3) They did not give us the agreement we asked for
4) They took my ideas, and did not give me one penny for my invention

There's more at my old blog if you really want to read all the drama surrounding this.