Counting Down

The holidays are fast approaching! And so is our next meeting, which is in 2 days! And if you read the last post, you'll know we are planning on doing a treat swap. You can bring in your favorite cookies, cupcakes, cake pops, brownies, mini cakes, etc. Hopefully everyone can come and share a few of their favorite treats (maybe a recipe as well) with everyone else! I have been thinking about what to bring and I'm pretty sure I have it figured out...how about you? If you are coming, let us know so that we can get a more specific number of how many treats to bring! In case you need to know now, I'd say it's safe to bring about a dozen of your goodies to share! 

Looking forward to some good times and tasty treats! 

See you ladies soon!

Are you a Hero?

First off, let me remind everyone that our meeting is next week, on Thursday the 16th! We are having a treat swap, so bring a dozen or so of your favorite treat, and if you want, you can include the recipe. We'll be swapping and munching our way through the meeting!

Judy has been hard at work preparing the next couple Hero Bakers events at the Normandy Community Center. If you are interested in helping, please email her! The next birthday/Christmas party will be on Friday, December 10th. She is looking for a Santa to come visit the kids. If you or someone you know is available, again please email her!

In January, the Hero bakers event will be held on Friday the 14th and the theme is "The Magic of Science". Jennifer is kind enough to be offering her scientific knowledge and love of fun to entertain the children! Some of the demonstrations are: dry ice bubbles, non-newtonian goo, and exploding gummy bears and M&Ms. The kids are going to have a BLAST! If you want to volunteer your baking or time, email Judy.  

Hope to see everyone (and their goodies) next week!

Getting Ready For Black Friday?

In case you wanted to get a little shopping done early, CalJava is having a Black Friday sale, good from now until 11/26. So hurry! If you want, email Judy and we'll try to get free shipping for everyone's orders!

I know the busiest season of the year is upon us, making less time for the fun things, like coming to our SAGNFL meetings. So I would like to give a shout out to the ladies that could make it to our meeting last week! Thanks for coming and making adorable pumpkin pie cupcake toppers.

 

Next month we are planning something really great! We hope all of you can join us in having a Treat Swap! Just bring a dozen or so of your favorite treat. It can be cupcakes, cookies, brownies, candies, bars, cake pops, etc. When we get together, everyone will swap their treats. It makes for a fun time, plus you'll get to try lots of new goodies! If you would like, you can also bring the recipe to share.

Hope to see everyone next month! 

And hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! 

Meeting Tonight!

Just a friendly reminder...We have a SAGNFL meeting at 7:00 pm at the South Mandarin Library!

Check out the previous post to see all the fun things we will be making and discussing.

Hope you all can make it!

Meeting Coming Up!

Hello Everyone!

Is anyone as excited as I am that Thanksgiving is just around the corner?! To celebrate at our upcoming meeting, we are going to be making some adorable pumpkin pie cupcake toppers!

You may have seen the tutorial on Cake Central recently. They are very simple and fun to make! If you would like, you can bring your own supplies, or you can use some that will be provided.

Here's the list if you are interested in bringing your own supplies:
- 3 colors of fondant (white, light brown, and dark brown)
    *You can substitute caramels for the dark brown
- Fondant smoother
- Ball tool
- A knife or cutter (X-Acto knife, pizza cutter, etc.)
- Small rolling pin 

 That's it...I said it was a simple project!

In addition to the pumpkin pies, we'll be discussing the Guild's upcoming participation in January at the Normandy Community Center for Hero Bakers.

Also, we will talk about the Cottage Food Act, which I wrote about in the last post. If you would like, I could bring in a letter for your Representative complete with your information. For this, I would need your name, address (to find out which Rep. is yours), telephone number, and email address (all to "sign" at the end of the letter), which you can email to sagnfl@hotmail.com. Of if you would like to write a letter yourself, I will be bringing in a sample letter, paper, stamps, envelopes, and pens.

Hope to see you all in two days!

Cottage Food Act

Now that the November 3rd elections are over,
it's time to get busy! 

In order for the Cottage Food Act to become a law that will allow us to sell home baked cakes and other goods, we will need Representatives from Florida to help us get this bill passed. And in order for that to happen, we need to make it known that there is a need for change! Please help us inform the Representatives that there are many bakers (and friends and families of these bakers) who are on a mission to have the law changed! If you would like to help, send a letter to your local State House Representative (which you can find by clicking on this link). Just click on the "Find Your Representative" button on the top, left hand side of the page and fill in your information. There may already be letters being sent to them, but every letter will count and hopefully persuade the Representative that this is an important matter! If you are unsure of what to write, here is a sample letter revised by Barbara Schmal that can be copied, then emailed or mailed in. You can also call your Representative with the number given on the same website. To make sure our voices are heard, it would be best to keep writing, emailing, and calling every week!

Also, if you or someone you know is willing to contact (or has contacts in) the media, radio, tv, or newspaper, it could help by getting more people aware and involved. The more we have, the better!

Barbara Schmal is the lady behind the online petition that I posted about previously. If you have any questions or can offer more help, please contact her at  krazyaboutcake@gmail.com

Now let's get busy!!!

Our Time's Almost Up!

For this year, that is. Can you believe it's November already?! That means there are only 2 meetings left this year! And they will come earlier each month because of the Holidays. So, mark your calendars now for November 18th and December 16th! 
Same place, same time.

Hope to see you all there!

Wilton Wonders

How many of us cakers started out with Wilton? I know I did, and I also know I'm not alone! Wilton is always looking for more instructors to help others get interested in cake decorating. Are you interested? Here are some reasons our newest member of the Guild, Andrea (Welcome, Andrea!) has for loving her position as a Wilton Cake Decorating Instructor...

1. They are a well known and trusted brand by many people. They may not make molds and things like that but they make most everything you need to make the majority of cake decorations.
2. They are easily accessible to any one. All you have to do is go to a craft store and there they are.
3. They start with the basics. This may be why a lot of seasoned decorators don't like Wilton but I see this a positive. If Decorating hopefuls didn't start at the basics they would be too stressed out learning the advanced sugar arts. Its actually amazing how many people don't know how to make buttercream or ice a cake properly.
4. They just revamped their courses to make them more modern. There are only 3 courses now, The first teaches the basics of baking, buttercream, frosting a cake, piping, and flowers on cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. The second teaches royal icing, several more flowers, basics in cake design and composition, and an introduction to fondant. The third teaches fondant, how to cover a cake with fondant and how to make bows and flowers with fondant and gum paste. Once someone has all these basics the sky is the limit with their creativity. Wilton is a great stepping stone!
5. On a personal level, you get to take people who know next to nothing about sugar arts and you show them that they can create something special. I love watching my students get excited when they decorate their first cake in class or when they bring me a photo of a cake they made for a loved one. I gave them the ability to do that and its such a great reward. Not all of them will end up keeping up with it but a lot will use what I have taught them in the future and its a wonderful feeling.
6. You get paid! Most people need a little extra cash and this is a fun way to earn some. You are doing something you love, having laughs with new people and you get paid to do it. Its a win-win!

Well said, Andrea!

Andrea currently instructs at the Hobby Lobby on San Pablo and Beach Blvd, but is moving soon and would like to find a replacement instructor. If you live in or around this area, now's your opportunity!
If you are interested in becoming a Wilton Instructor, please email Andrea at andreaplumley0409@hotmail.com for more info about a position!

Baby Makin'

Last night's meeting focused around making babies with molds. We followed a tutorial found on Cake Central to dust the baby and make it look more life-like. Everyone had fun and went home with an adorable new addition to their family!

We also talked about the Cake Challenge that was held at JoAnn's this past weekend. Jane and Jessica were lucky enough to be there and judge the competition! There were talented cakers of all ages. There were 4 categories to be won. Marissa won 3 out of 4 of the awards, winning best Halloween cake, Customer's Choice, and Judge's Choice!

The Spookiest Cake went to a young man, Rod, who flew in from New York to compete!

Congratulations to all who entered! All of your cakes turned out fabulous! 

You can check out all the pictures from this event here!

We also discussed some upcoming, not-to-be-missed events coming up within the next year, mainly the ICES Cake Convention 2011, which will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina! Start saving your money now because you will NOT want to miss this opportunity! Once you visit their website and see all they have to offer, you will see what I am talking about!

Thanks to all the ladies that joined us last night for a great meeting!

SAGNFL Meeting

It's almost that time again! Our members are getting ready for our meeting this week on Thursday, October 28 at our usual time of  7:00 pm. We will be discussing the Cake Challenge that Jane and Jessica attended and judged, and hopefully welcoming some newcomers that we met there! We will also be playing around with the small, sleeping baby mold and learning how to make it look more life-like.

Supplies for baby:

- Fondant w/ tylose or gumpaste 
- "Flesh", brown or yellow (for hair) gel food color

- Vodka/lemon extract to dilute the colors

- Pink dust

- Brown dust or Cocoa powder

- Paintbrushes (fine and medium tip)

- First Impressions Small (sleeping) Baby mold

 If you would like to bring any of your own supplies, feel free to. If not, we will be sharing all we have to offer so everyone gets a chance to take home their own little one.

Don't miss out on the fun!

Cake Competition this weekend!

The Wilton Method Instructor is holding a Cake Challenge this weekend at the JoAnn fabric and craft store in St. Johns Town Center. Jane, our president, will be judging the challenge! Anyone is free to watch the competitors race to create the best Halloween cake they can in just 2 hours! The challenge starts at 1:00 pm and ends at 3:00 pm. Plus, if you want, between 2:45 pm and 3:45 pm, customers can vote for their favorite cake.   Prizes will be rewarded at 4:00 pm. Full info is located under the Cake Events tab.

Also, if you are looking to join SAGNFL, Jane and Jessica will be handing out fliers and will be available to discuss information and answer any questions you may have about the Guild. Now's the time to join...plus it's free! And what is better than that? Nothing, if you ask me!

Come and see us, and don't miss this exciting Cake Challenge!

2011

It's closer than it seems!

There are lots of classes, events, and just plain FUN coming up in the next year! Start saving now for the amazing classes, shop for some new "bermuda" shorts for the cruise, and get out your cake dummies for those cake competitions!

I can't wait to see what 2011 will bring to us cakers!

Calling All Florida Cakers!

Many of us are hobby bakers, who just enjoy baking, decorating, and seeing everyone enjoy our creations! But wouldn't it be nice to be able to get some money for our work as well? Floridians are trying to pass a Cottage Food Law to allow home bakers the opportunity to sell baked goods from home with the right licenses and permits. What a great opportunity for us all! If you would like, you can help by signing a petition here. Later on, there may be a written petition, but until then, anyone that shares this is helping spread the word. Thanks for participating!

SAGNFL Meeting Review

For those who could not make it to Thursday's meeting, here's a little review...

We talked about the recent ICES Day of Sharing. It took place in Daytona Beach and everyone had a great time. We had a delicious breakfast, watched 4 demonstrations, viewed many cake displays, had a wonderful lunch, an exciting cake challenge, and lastly, a raffle drawing for some awesome prizes!
The four demonstrators were Filomena Koolman-Vos, sharing how to make the Ixora flower; Sidney Galpern, a 15 year old who impressed us all with her pulled sugar skills; Lisa Menz from Photo Frost, showing us many uses for icing sheets; and Ximena Sempertegui, who made the cutest baby pram (carriage) with a cool technique (maybe one we will practice at a later SAGNFL meeting).
Three of our SAGNFL members won prizes in the raffle, one of them being the grand prize...a new Kitchenaid mixer! Congratulations ladies! To see all the pictures, click here.

At our meeting, we also discussed Hero Bakers. Judy had a terrific time handing out our goodie bags and treats to all the birthday children! They were all so thankful and appreciative of the toys, cards, and candy they received. We also signed birthday cards to give to the kids for October's celebration.

We chatted about our upcoming projects for October. There will be 20 dozen cupcakes in the making (Good luck, Judy!), along with some celebration and Halloween cakes.

Another great meeting. Hope to see you all later this month, just before Halloween!

Meeting TONIGHT!

We are having our September meeting tonight. We will be discussing the recent FL ICES event, Hero Bakers, our new blog, and more. Don't miss it!

Our meetings take place at the South Mandarin Regional Library in Jacksonville, FL.
Meetings start at 7 pm and end at approximately 9 pm.

Hope to see you there!