Tomie dePaola Competition Entry

Here is my entry to this years SCBWI  Tomie dePaola competition. We were assigned a poem to illustrate for a potential book to be pitched to parents of toddlers and young preschoolers.

The ball of the illustration is a yellow cake. The elephant, mouse, and background are made with fondant and gum-paste. My favorite part of this cake is the mouse’s whiskers, they are made of isomalt.(sugar)

I have been so busy making cakes that I really haven’t had time to draw. But it doesn’t mean I haven’t been creating. I wanted to blog about how creating designer cakes is an art. I have been making cakes since I was in high school, but had not really used fondant or other sugar cake products until recently. It has been so much fun to see what I can come up with.

I love to bake!!! My children are a bit spoiled because there is always something homemade to munch on at our house. It’s amazing we don’t all weigh 300 pounds.

I started making cakes for friends and families as gifts when I went to their parties. My kid’s friends started requesting cakes from me. I’ve had so many request I had to start charging. My illustrator friend Carolyn Flores suggested I make my illustrations out of cake. What a great idea! I really enjoy the process and the final outcome. Many people can’t believe that cakes can me made into so many shapes.

Recently Texas passed a law that bakers could sell from their homes. I took the online class and now have the certificates, so I guess I’m now an official home baker. Send me your orders! 🙂

Here are some of the most recent cakes that I have made: