Competing again at OSSAS

As promised, I am going to catch up on all of the really key things that I have missed blogging about over the last year. On a personal note, I had a baby in July. That should explain my absence from the blog fairly well. However, I haven’t been absent from cakes. In October 2009, I went to Tulsa, Oklahoma. For those that haven’t read my other posts, I went to Tulsa in 2008 as well. The Grand National Wedding Cake Competition which is a part of the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show, is the most prestigious cake decorating competition in the country. I went in 2008 for my first time and to my wonderment, I received third runner up. I hadn’t really planned on returning, but after placing so high, I felt the need to come back in 2009. I’m not sure whether it was a desire to “defend the title” or to try to prove to myself that it wasn’t just a fluke. Maybe a little of both.

The theme of the competition was “Of Sea and Shore”. It was a theme that I wasn’t as comfortable with as the last years theme. I had a hard time at the start coming up with a design that I was really happy with. Sure, I could design a hundred sea/beach themed cakes, but to come up with one that would stand out and be technically challenging as well as amazingly beautiful proved to be a challenge. It was a couple months before the competition when I finally came up with the design that I felt was good enough.

It was also a bit more difficult actually making the cake with a brand new baby. There was a lot of stress and sleepless nights, but I was determined. In the end it all paid off. I received 4th runner up this time.

It may not sound as exciting as the 3rd runner up from last year, but to be able to place two years in a row in such a big-time competition is a huge achievement. I’m going again in 2010 and I’m going for Grand! Wish me luck.