TG that cake is ADORABLE!! You got skillz lady, very, very cute. I love it!

Now, how do I say this delicately? I'm sure your cakes are lovely to look at, we just determined that. And I bet they are seriously tasty. But, could it be you are leaving them in the oven just a tad too long? If one needs a hack saw to cut a cake, it might be pointing to that. I'm just sayin.... LOL ;)

And I hope your little one has the happiest of bdays!

watchme, very good! I bet that first one took awhile! And I would kindly agree, the nose could use a little length. I was like, smash cake? Wonder what kind that is... then I saw it and it was another horse. I thought, how come? Then the light bulb went off. lol We never did that, but it's a great idea.

And my goodness, if you did 3 cakes I bet you are tired!

I'll have chocolate plz. :)

I have never had that much specialized storage-built in by the cabinet maker- but I have recently purchased sets of trays/bins for certain cabinets. I took the cabinet width and depth measurements with me to the store so I could figure out how many bins would fit into each cabinet. I don't do cake decorating but elsewhere, such as in the bath, it is super helpful to have separate bins and know that you have everything for feet or teeth or hair in bins and nowhere else in the house. My art (paint) supplies are similarly divided in bins by color...pretty cakes! (I don't understand the smash cake trend...)

Much of my stuff is guy stuff, too. My MBR drawers (an entire 16' 10" wall) is filled with saws, screwdrivers/wrenches/chisels, paint, little pieces of wood that come in handy and are too good to throw out, light bulbs, power tools and their interchangeable components, hardware such as knobs, hinges, handles, etc.

One W2436 is totally dedicated to (wait for it) jewelry and sewing notions. I did a 5 year stint making lots of cool, wirewrap jewelry. This was before my fire and divorce. Now, it's just a home for quilting supplies (guest bedroom closet dedicated to plastic containers of fabric-- someday I'll drywall in there), and other things I no longer do, since my 'do' is working on my house.

What else? Oh an antique credenza in my den (currently furniture storage) is dedicated and packed with office supplies. Kill me if I E.V.E.R buy as much as another pencil. Who needs 4 staplers!? Hole punches?

Other than that, just stuff shoved into cabinets where I might need it. Someday when I finish installations, I'll sort it all out more sensibly.

BTW. You cake ladies are pretty talented. Never seen such things!

Great timing, I just organized this Baking Drawer in one of my new drawers.

It made such a difference to have everything visible at a glance when you pull out the drawer. Before I had things tumbled in various drawers according to size more than function, and I was guilty of stacking things, so you had to dig in order to find what you wanted. Never again!

I made smash cakes for each of my girls for their first birthday. My youngest was the funniest. Instead of grabbing and crushing and smooshing, she picked up the whole thing, (a 4 inch round) and hugged it close to her like she was guarding it as she took small nibbles. I guess with 3 big sisters she was already used to her food getting stolen and felt the need to protect it. :)

Watchmelol- thanks for the source and I agree. Cakes aren't supposed to be healthy!

Beth- the hack saw is used to cut the dowels to size. Dowels are used to support upper tiers of a stacked cake. :)

Most of my cakes are sculptured and layered. I try to make everything edible. The easel, paint brush and paint tubes are all edible.

How cute! Texas_Gem, when I saw that I had an image of someone making YOU a cake, with everything on the counter as is, and the cabinet boxes as the cake. Marbled fondant as granite. :)

I used to have all my cake baking/decorating supplies organized in drawers in a tall chest in the old kitchen. The chest is now upstairs in the guest room, and baking equipment and supplies are above and below my baking counter run (see how that worked out?) My cabinets on that run have no drawers, so small containers of colorings and flavorings are in a drawer directly across the kitchen. Putting them in small bins on the baking area shelves is a good idea, so maybe I'll reorganize. My kids won't be able to find them, but it's payback time for the jumbles they've created when they started using my stuff. ;)

What fun cakes! I plan to make a "beehive" cake for a friend's birthday in a few weeks. The cake pan is something I bought and will give to her (she likes bee stuff) so I won't have to have a place to store it. I probably only make a few cakes a year so no big dedicated space there.

But-if we're talking crafts-sewing, jewelry making, painting-I have a dedicated room for that. Good and bad thing about a big house with only two people living in it: you can leave all your stuff out all over the big table and just close the door.

Until you have company and need that bedroom for grandkids . . .

You are all so talented! I love the cake pictures :)

We want to have a baking space in our kitchen, but mainly just mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons...and cookie cutters. And our little piece of marble!

"Beth- the hack saw is used to cut the dowels to size. Dowels are used to support upper tiers of a stacked cake. :)

Most of my cakes are sculptured and layered. I try to make everything edible. The easel, paint brush and paint tubes are all edible."

TG, I was just kiddin you about the hack saw. I was quite sure it wasn't to cut your cakes! But I couldn't think of what it would be for. Thanks for splainin. And I did notice your "tubes" were out of icing, but didn't know about the brush and easel. Very good!

Here's what the inside looked like.

How do you get the colors like that TG? So festive. :)

Vanilla cake separated into 7 bowls and colored

Then put into cake pans, starting on the outside and working towards the center.

It's fun and a nice surprise when you cut into the cake. :)

"I was just kiddin you about the hack saw"

I remember when I was about 9 or 10 making fudge, overcooked it and went down to the basement for - the saw! it was a hand saw, not a hack saw tho.

and on another attempt making fudge, I remember eating it with a spoon....

I got better at it tho!

oh my gosh texas gem - if the outside wasn't enough you went and made a rainbow cake on the inside?! Now that is some serious patience and cake baking!

I love making my boys birthday cakes. The most recent was minecraft and a donut cake. No girls here so nothing too fancy is requested. When my oldest turned 1 I made a 3-D race car and it took me HOURS. I couldn't believe it almost didn't want to eat it after that, lol!

Sorry they are so big. :(

Wow TG, that's interesting. Thanks!

desertsteph, that's hilarious! Glad you got better. :)

autumn, I love your cakes, and I especially love the plate for the second. Very pretty!

That doughnut cake is amazing. The horse cake is very cool. You guys are all so talented.

blfenton don't kid yourself - they make a pan for everything these days, lol!

beth-thank you. Those are actually our every day dishes from when we got married. It's our only set we didn't do formal and casual so I chose something I thought would work for whatever came our way - hot dogs or birthday cakes or steak. Hehehe.

Well now that you say that, I do see a matching (yet different) plate in the background. I was so focused on the cake plate I didn't really see the others. :) You have great taste autumn! ( and yes, you can dress them up or down, genius)

Wow! Such cake talent here. Love the rainbow innards. And thanks for explaining smash cakes and why you need a hacksaw!

I decorated a few of my kids cakes when they were little. Well, they were good for a laugh anyway. :)

Kill me if I E.V.E.R buy as much as another pencil. Who needs 4 staplers!? Hole punches? Me, too! We had more than enough of our own office supplies but then I inherited my mom's stash. I have a whole bin full of pocket/purse sized notepads, another with full-size ones, and enough cards to start a store. (She would stock up and then forget to use them.) If anybody needs a "Happy 4th Birthday to My Favorite Grandson" or any other age/gender card, let me know. And Thank You, Happy Anniversary, Get Well Soon, Thinking of You, and Congratulations on your Engagement/Graduation/Retirement cards. And Thank You cards. I try to gift them to guests. "Oh, don't leave without your notepads and thank you cards!"

I don't really have anything special to create storage for but I have worked hard to create good mise en place storage in my kitchen and laundry/pantry. I love my dedicated baking and prep centers where all tools are within reach where I stand.

The only thing I did kinda different was label shelves in my pantry cabinets and fridge. I'm organized, my DH isn't. It drives me crazy to look for things because they weren't put back where they belong. My shelves in the fridge are labeled with things like condiments, dairy, sauces, meats, and my pantry shelves are labeled with things like soups, crackers, cereals, pasta, sauces, etc. He might still put the Triscuit box back with the cereals but at least he doesn't put them with the soups! :)

funkycamper I feel the same way about the fridge. We have plenty of condiments/dressings that fit IN the door and yet everyone puts them away in the fridge and then you can't find anything. I just cleaned it out the other day and put it all back where it belongs. I found 3 opened jars of pickles. Come on people get with the program!

No specialized storage here! Unless you count the "hockey trees" in the furnace room. I do have a LOT more added storage since my kitchen remodel last year, and I still love, love love my kitchen. :)

You cake ladies are pretty amazing!

Those cakes are awesome. I can't do all the piping work anymore, so I do cupcakes. I'll have to look up some pictures of those. :)

I store my stuff in $-Store baskets in the pantry right now. And of course the cupcakes carriers take up a lot of space. I have planned drawers under my mixer counter for the tools, colors and decorating bits. I hadn't thought about cupcake carrier space, since we are removing the pantry closet...hmmmm...

Better think that through some more...

I had just one pic on my Ipad. These are brown sugar, brown butter chocolate chip cake and mini versions of the same ingredient version of my CCCookies. Frosting is brown sugar cream cheese I think.

Terri those look delish! I am going to try my hand at those next time I have to make something. Never heard of brown sugar cream cheese frosting.

Autumn, the cupcakes were based on this recipes cake. Except I browned the melted butter. And tossed in a few handfuls of mini chocolate chips. Brown Sugar Butterscotch Cupcakes

BTW, I have made the above recipe as written, just didn't fill the cupcakes, only drizzled. Super yummy.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting.

I don't measure much when it comes to frosting. Basically 1/2 c butter and 8oz cream cheese, couple T of brown sugar, beat until fluffy. Add in lots of vanilla and beat then add in 3-4 cups of powdered sugar..beat, then add enough liquid (usually 1/2n1/2) to the consistency I need.

My Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe..in the comments

usually if I am making just CChip, I use all brown sugar.

You use the brown sugar plus the amount of white substituted as brown?

1.5 cups of sugar total. Usually 1 c brown plus 1/2 c white. But we prefer all brown. If you want a crisper sweeter cookie you can use up to 2 cups of sugars! Lol

autumn, if you have had to resort to labeling, I hope it works better for you than it has for me. DH kinda ignores them most of the time. Arrrrgggghhhhh!!!!! He does have other redeeming qualities. :)

Yes funky I'm with ya - we need to focus on those and overlook the fridge I guess don't we? Haha!

Thanks Terri - I love trying new things so I'll be working on that. I showed my ds those cupcakes and his eyes got as big as saucers. :)

Terri, can you actually taste the brown sugar in the icing? It sounds delish.

I think this is my most favorite thread ever!! I used to make wedding cakes!!! I do occasionally pull out my supplies to make cakes. I must admit. While my children were babies, I couldn't handle the mess. This is the cake I made for my daughter's 1st birthday.

And the smash cake

I'm not finished with the entire ceiling yet, some areas needed repair before painting but I just had to say I can't believe how much richer my fan blades look now that the ceiling is bright white!

Hard to believe that fan is 22 years old!

gw wow that is so cool!

texas-what color ceiling - it has to go with the cake theme. Icing white perhaps? Glazed Sugar?

Snow white of course! The whitest of white, used on wedding cakes.

You can't go wrong with anything Snow White :)

TG, that makes your fan look new!

Beth, yes a bit.

GW, that is amahzing!

I am planning on making Miss Quinncee her Smash Cake.. I can't wait for her first birthday. Well I can...but...ah well you know what I mean. Next week she'll be 6 mo..time flies. I haven't seen her in a month! And she's changed so much in photos.

I want cookie dough.

I still don't understand -- what is a smash cake? For toddlers to smash into without destroying the main work of art?

I made a cake for my dd's birthday once using the cake recipe from my vintage Fannie Farmer cookbook and filled between layers with homemade lemon curd and topped with frozen raspberries. It was delicious! But forever after known as Mom's Avalanche Cake because the top layer slid right off the bottom.

This thread on organization is timely because I actually, finally, stripped all the wallpaper off the back door landing and basement stairwell and painted. It looks so much lighter and roomier now! I had previous used the stairwell wall for an assortment of junk kept handy to the back door (bug spray, mud shoes, hats, gloves, bike tools etc) and want to do so again but in a neat, organized fashion. There is already a 7" deep shelf that runs the length of the stairwell. I am looking at some shoe cabinets from Ikea that are just the right depth to hang on the wall, maybe an inside-the-door type rack for the cans of spray, a few hooks for my visors and sun hat... I haven't found any inspiration pictures yet but the space is limited so it can't be anything too fancy. I think I will hang broom and dustpan on hooks on the landing wall that runs between the kitchen and back door (will be behind the door when it is open).

raee- you know how toddlers are when they get a piece of cake. They smash and grab handfuls and shovel, getting it everywhere.

A smash cake doesn't detract from the art, just presents another opportunity for it. Instead of giving her a slice of the big cake, I get to make a mini version and everyone gets cute photos and video of her with her mini cake. :).

I'm convinced it's people like me that invented it. The same types who started the cupcake craze. Instead of one work of art, you get 2 or 12 or 24, etc.

Congrats on the space! Those are sometimes the best and most rewarding cleaning/organizing.

I make cakes too -- these were fun to see.

But about storage: Yes, I'm doing something very much like you. My boxes are plastic and have lids to keep out dust. I have boxes for the following in my pantry:

- Cake decorating items -- this is just decorating tips, bags, etc; I got rid of all my "character pans" because they took up too much space, and I keep my sets of nested pans in a big plastic box in the attic

- Cookies and cupcakes (cookie cutters, holiday sprinkles, cupcake corers, etc.) -- cake holders and cupcake holders sit on the shelf next to the boxes.

- Cheese making accoutrements

- Canning items

- Paper plates, napkins, etc. bought on clearance for next year

- Beer brewing materials

When we move, I want to start larger boxes for each holiday, and they'll store in the walk-in attic space.

My husband is BIG into his Big Green Egg grill, and he has quite the collection of grilling accoutrements; however, he has an outdoor "shelf" for storing them, and it's not really adequate -- but we don't have space here. One of our kitchen-priorities in our new place is carving out enough space for his grilling gear.

Storage. I don't have any pics but I bought a couple of clear divided storage containers from the grocery store of all places - for food colorings, extracts and sprinkles. They hold nicely in my susan without constantly falling over. Cupcake and other baking pan storage is pretty much all above the fridge.

Okay okay - one more, this was my favorite and I can't believe it was 5 years ago, sniff sniff.

I once went to a friend's home. She was so organized. She used p-touch labeler to label all the condiment spots in her fridge. She had 4 children. Her husband was an engineer and required her to be extremely organized. She is artistic in nature. She had a label on every possible cabinet, interior or pantry, as I said the fridge. I had never seen anything like it. She said doing the labels kept her being neat and orderly.

I also got rid of my character pans. My island in the new house will have cabinets on both sides. I have quite the collection of cookie cutters. I would never get rid of them. They were the same ones I used as a child with my mother. They are the only thing I have from my childhood.

Regarding smash cakes. For DGD's first birthday I made the smash cake the top tier of a simple round cake. The theme was circus clowns. The upper left cake has vintage plastics on it. The lower left is the smash cake. Just a simple little clown face.

"She used p-touch labeler to label all the condiment spots in her fridge...She had a label on every possible cabinet, interior or pantry"

Gwlake, I've thought about doing this! But I can't quite go there.

I did buy some Dissolvable Labels for my glass canning jars/storage jars. This way I can label things that I buy in bulk but that are always changing.

I wouldn't say being organized comes naturally to me, but I really appreciate everything being organized, so redoing the kitchen has been a great opportunity to take the time to really get things right.

All those piped stars make my grip ache..lol...hence why cupcakes now..so cute though...I remember that patchwork clown pan.

4 years of verifying vault shipments by hand bimonthly takes a toll on your grip muscles and tendons.

My grand daughter decorated her first cake the night before her second birthday. The only kid's program she liked was Daniel Tiger. There was an episode about his birthday. DD baked the cake in a lamb pan, mixed the icing and filled the bags. Set out berries and cut red vines. Then they watched the episode. After that she let DGD go to town on her own.

The first pic is the show's cake. The second pic is DGD's version.

Awww, so cute!! My 4 and 2 yr old love Daniel Tiger, its a daily ritual for us.

Speaking of rituals, each of my kids decorates their own cake for their 4th birthday. I'll have to find the pictures.

I want to say thank you to everyone on this thread. It has inspired me to start blogging again. I always enjoyed putting up recipes and pics. Even if basically no one was reading it, heh.

I checked and my blog is still there, I think I'll sign in and start posting again. I can show off my cakes there. ;)

Great idea TG.

I have a blog somewhere too...lol...but no time...

that is a great job for 2! So sweet

Watchmelol: What a great job she did at age 2! Better than me, I'm sure!

On the subject of storage, I may finally have my bathroom done tomorrow, and it will have a lot more storage than the old one! Yay, me! And all the stuff will be out of my "sun/mud room" so that will be nice!