HOW I STARTED

 

     In 2011 I was helping my sister-in-law, who makes cakes, with a cake pop order. It was a Pinterest fail moment! I swore right then and there I would NEVER touch another cake pop in my life. Later that day I was at Target when I saw a beautiful book entitled Cake Pops written by Bakerella. The designs on the front were so gorgeous I picked the book up and flipped through each beautiful image. I thought to myself that my sister-in-law needed this book and we can do better than that earlier disaster.

MY INSPIRATION

     When I got the book home my son was immediately drawn to it. You see my son has medically complex needs. He was in the hospital till he was 6 months old and has had (to date) 45 surgeries and more procedures than I can remember. He is followed by many specialists and has 4 therapists. He is also Autistic. He has a huge communication delay. He rarely communicates his needs. To hear him say anything is a joy. There are those rare occasions that he allows us to see the person who lives within his mind. Well on this day when he saw that book he snatched it up and eagerly flipped from page to page announcing each design with excitement. I was surprised and overjoyed to hear he knew each design and when he didn't know he waited for me to tell him and then would repeat it.

 

AN IDEA TAKES OFF

     A few months later the school sent home a letter asking if we wanted to send in treats for their Christmas party. I decided I would make cake pops for him. We'll do anything for our children, won't we? He was so happy to see them and was excited in school all day. The teachers, parents, and my friends were so impressed they told me I should sell them. How ridiculous, I thought to myself, I don't have a lick of artistic talent. Then I thought, "What would it hurt to see if I can do something with this." The orders started pouring in and I got better and better.

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

   Since then I have been published a couple of magazines, featured in several party blogs, and popular websites like Buzzfeed, been interviewed in multiple podcasts, won a cake pop competition, taught classes, written tutorials, been on cake pop panels, have a youtube channel,  popular social media accounts, and been a part of meet ups and conventions all over the US, and served on the planning committe for Cake Pop Con. I can't wait to see what other adventures cake pops will bring me!