Creating an Amazing Wedding Cake

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.

Wedding Cake for Heather

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

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!!!

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.

The New Silhouette Cameo

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

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

Live Demo for Cakeswebake

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

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

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

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!