I’m not colour-blind. I just lack the colour confidence gene. I’ve made cakes before (of course they’re a lot better since I did Lindy’s course), but choosing the right colour combinations …. let’s just say I used to stay “safe” going for a boring single colour creation, or go mad until my cakes resembled a “masterpiece” from a toddler let loose with a box of crayons.
Now Creative Colour for Cake Decorating is here to change my life – well my cakes anyway. In it Lindy starts simply, giving advice on choosing colours and schemes that work, and tips on colouring paste into tints, shades and tones. There’s a useful index of paste colours (with pictures) that I’ve already used to match one of my son’s t-shirts for a birthday cake (don’t ask).
My children and I have poured over gorgeous pictures and creations, inspired by colours in the world around us.
Not just a colour wheel or colour palette – real things from real life: Photos from that holiday in Italy, the bright feathers and beak of a Toucan … even a favourite beaded necklace.
I recognised a picture of a stylish coffee chain, but would never have thought of using its branch colours to inspire a gorgeous Café Couture cake: Or of copying the colours from a simple ring binder to decorate a stunning Patchwork Owl cake or little owl cookies.
Lindy didn’t just tell me how to make these edible creations, she showed me too. With beautifully photographed step-by-steps, tips on mixing colours (with detail on exactly which ones will work), lists of materials and equipment, and even patterns you can download to help.
Everything looks beautiful, but it’s achievable too and that’s what makes it so great. This isn’t just a book to show me how clever Lindy Smith is – it’s a book to help ME be clever too: And not just clever either, to take risks and experiment.
Lindy says at the front of the book to “Be brave, be bold and don’t be afraid to experiment” and why not? Who wants a dull cake or cookie anyway? My daughter isn’t even twelve, but she’s used the book to colour her cookies, following the ideas but adding her own unique colour slant. Without the book I’m not sure she’d have had the confidence (or the ideas).
So whether you are a child experimenting with cake decorating, like me a novice just wanting to make their cakes stand out (without resorting to the toddler crayon look), or a professional looking for colour inspiration, this book will help.
It may not change your life – but it will change your cakes forever!
Donna
For more information about Lindy’s book please click on the link – Creative colour for cake decorating