Icing Images in Collaboration with Spellbinders Launches New Cake Designing Machine

After months of planning and development, Icing Images has added the Spellbinders Sweet Accents die cutting and embossing machine to their catalog of edible paper art cutters and cake decorating tools. Spellbinders out of Phoenix, AZ has worked with Icing Images to develop and manufacture food-safe, stainless steel, Teflon coated dies and embossing folders that work perfectly in the new machine.

The collaboration started just last fall when Debbie Coughlin, owner of Icing Images, called the product development department at Spellbinders to investigate whether their product could cut and emboss the Premium Icing Sheets from Icing Images.

“The Sweet Accents Designing Machine is an answer to sugar artists at every level. This is the first machine of its type to be made for the edible industry. Sugar artists often find themselves trying to adapt non-edible tools for use for their decorating needs. Spellbinders had a vision that incorporated well with Icing Images’ products to create a safe decorating tool that allows cake and confection decorators to explore their creativity.” said Debbie Coughlin, owner of Icing Images.

A mutual need for and interest in each other’s products sparked the research into possibilities of bringing the cake decorating machine to market.

“We’re beyond excited to be working with Icing Images and Debbie in this new adventure. It’s a perfect fit! Spellbinders has been making die templates and embossing folders for the craft world for many years. These new food-safe dies and folders along with the Spellbinders Sweet Accents Cake Designing Machine will bring fabulous ideas and inspiration for cake and baking enthusiasts everywhere!” said Stacey Caron, President and Co-founder of Spellbinders.

Dies for the cutting machine are broken down into the two different skill levels of beginner and intermediate. Beginner dies are called Nestabilities™ and intermediate dies are Shapeabilities™. Embossing folders with dot and garden lattice patterns are also available. All cut or emboss icing sheets in a variety of colors, creating the edible cake and confection decorations.

Nestabilities are basic dies that stack one inside the other, giving solid shapes as well as outlines from icing sheets. Shapeabilities consist of flowers, butterflies, leaves, and vines.

Grand Templates™ are larger dies also available for bigger applications.

All the dies have the patented ability to cut, emboss and stencil with one die and embossing plates add depth and dimension to the icing sheets.

Icing Images and Spellbinders will continue to work together to develop additional dies and embossing folders for the Spellbinder Sweet Accents Cake Designing Machine.http://www.icingimages.com/sweet-accents-cake-designer

Icing Images anticipates over 50 dies by its debut at the International Cake Show – ICES in Kentucky in August 2013.

The two companies have assembled a design team that will be endorsing and teaching decorating methods to end users of the machine consisting of well know chefs and sugar artists. The design team includes: Mike Terry, CMSA from Bakery Pros, Sugar Artist Peg Tucker from School of Cakeology, Sugar Artist Sidney Galpern from Simi Cakes, Sugar Artist Teri Tarbox from Simply Cakelicious, and Sugar Artist Edna De La Cruz from Design Me A Cake.

The demand for the machine from sugar artists has been overwhelming as it sold out from Icing Images in the first week of availability. Spellbinders has increased the production of the machine to meet the demand.

 

It’s Coming!

It’s coming up soon!! The National Capital Area Cake Show will be held on April 6th & 7th in Fairfax, VA.

And this is where Icing Images will be unveiling their NEW products! It really is going to blow you away!

Seventeen people have signed up for the Images in Icing Cake Contest sponsored by Icing Images and we can’t wait to see what the contestants have come up with! They will be using pre-printed Premium Icing Sheets with an iDesign pattern in their cake designs and we are excited to see the creative ways they will use them!

Fun classes and demonstrations using edible images are also planned and instructors will be using Icing Images’ products to show students techniques they can use in their cake decorating.

Mike Terry will be instructing classes on Saturday, April 6th – Latest Techniques with Electronic Technology and Airbrush 101.

Teri Tarbox of Simply Cakelicious will be doing a demo called Fun Flowers using icing sheets on Sunday.

See the full schedule for classes and demos HERE

Teri Tarbox with examples of what she will be teaching at Fun with Flowers on Sunday

There will also be some Craftsy classes to partake in! Peg Tucker of School of Cakelogy will lead a class called Icing Image in Bloom where she will be using our NEW PRODUCT! Will be exciting to see it in action!

Sidney Galpern of Simi Cakes will also be doing a Craftsy class called Casting and Embellishing an Isomalt Brooch.

See the complete Craftsy schedule HERE.

Be sure to come on out to the National Capital Area Cake Show if you are in the area!

March 1st Deadline for Entering “Images in Icing” Contest at National Capital Area Cake Show

March 1, 2013 is the deadline for cake decorators and sugar artists to enter the Divisional Show Special Category, “Images in Icing” contest, to take place at the National Capital Area Cake Show on April 6-7 at Fairfax High School in Fairfax, Virginia. The contest is sponsored by Icing Images.

Each contestant in the “Images in Icing” contest will receive a packet of icing sheets pre-printed with a patterned iiDesign from Icing Images that will need to be utilized to decorate a cake. All entrants will receive the same selection of pre-printed icing sheets. Each design in the packet will need to be represented on the display in some form. Cakes may be tiered, non-tiered, sculpted, etc. as long as the decorations conform to the rules.

The contest will span several divisions including Youth, Teen, Adult Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Semi-Professional, and Masters.

Contestants are encouraged to be creative and think beyond simply applying the images to the cake surface.  Participates can visit the Icing Images website for ideas and tutorials on how to use the iiDesigns in the decoration of their cake.

To see the rules and descriptions of the divisions, http://www.cakeshow.org/Documents/2013_NCACS_Entry_Rules_info.pdf [visit http://www.cakeshow.org/Documents/2013_NCACS_Entry_Rules_info.pdf
 __title__ Rules].

Each divisional winner will receive a packet valued at over $100 which includes Premium colored icing sheets, Pearl Luster icing sheets, Premium white icing sheets, and a one year subscription to iiDesigns, all courtesy of Icing Images.

The Virginia Chapter of the International Cake Exploration Societé (ICES) will be hosting the National Area Cake Show.  In its fifth year, the show will also showcase demonstrations for cake decorating enthusiasts, adult beginner cake decorating classes, and youth activities in cake decorating. Vendors of cake decorating products will also be on hand.

Capturing a Courtship – Icing Image Wedding Cake

Cake by Sugar Sugar Cake Studio. Photo by Robert Garcia Photography

We are going to let the pictures speak in place of words….just like this stunning cake by Sugar Sugar Cake Studio did!

This wedding cake showed the courtship of the bride and groom through pictures and was featured on TLC’s Four Weddings. (Season 6, Episode 6)

Photo by Photographic Passion

All pictures were printed with an edible printing system with  edible inks and Premium Icing Sheets from Icing Images!

Photo by Photographic Passion

And for a shameless plug, a quote from Ted at Sugar Sugar Cake Studio…

“We use Icing Images Icing Sheets and we love them.  Icing Images calls them Premium Icing Sheets and they are absolutely right.  We tried ALL the icing sheets on the market and the ones from Icing Images are above and beyond the best.  They are the highest quality, the images printed on them look fantastic and they are EASY to peel off of the plastic backing when it is time to decorate a cake.  For printing, we use a Canon printer with Elite Edible Ink Cartridges from Icing Images.”

M.I.C.E.S Day of Sharing

Print Heads, Steam Cleaners and Cake…makes for a great Sunday afternoon!

Icing Images attended the M.I.C.E.S Day of Sharing in Odenton, MD, where Debbie Coughlin gave a presentation on edible printing.  Debbie also shared other product information such as our amazing icing sheets, luster sheets and colored icing sheets which are all used for edible printing and electronic cutting. She also shared iiDesigns and gave a preview of new exciting products for 2013! Stay tuned for more information on that!

There was some time for Q&A for the cake club members and the question the clogging of print heads in edible printers came up.

In answering questions regarding print head clogs for members who use all different brands of edible ink cartridges, Debbie found the most common problem was the way members stored their printers when not in use…while they thought they were suppose to take out cartridges and the print head and store them, this can actually clog printers.

In fact, the best way is to keep them in the machine and print something at least once every week to two weeks (manufacturer dependent) Some manufacturers require several times a week in order to keep the print head clearer.  Icing Images only requires once every 1-2 weeks. Debbie also stressed the point of regular printing. If you are not going to use the printer, then DO NOT get one!  Just have someone print for you!

Flushing the print head under warm water for 10-15 minutes can hep remove clogs.

A steamer can be used for bad clogs.

For more support go to http://icingimages.com/systems.php?link=7&menu=m&info=d6867706d62743d593f6a6

After the print heads were all unclogged, it was time to have a little fun decorating gingerbread houses for children at the Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore!

Sharon Bilenki
MD/DC/Delaware I.C.E.S. Representative swiftly finished one of her gingerbread houses!

All will be donated to sick children at the Ronald McDonald House. Way to go M.I.C.E.S!

A Viewing at the crack of dawn?

O’Dark Thirty

 NO, NO not that kind of viewing! No dead bodies here!

We had a viewing party because Icing Images WAS ON TV THIS MORNING!

7am was EARLY to come in but it was an exciting day for Icing Images to be featured on The Balancing Act. 

Some of us were a little more awake than others….

Lora Evans of Icing Images was certainly awake!

Maybe the Box-O-Coffee helped, but funny thing is, Lora doesn’t even drink coffee….HMMMMMMM.

Oh my, thank you!

It was so cool to see Debbie on TV showing off new products for edible decorating! And, the BEST quote from Debbie was, “Yes, I did all of the punch thingies!” Can you tell she is a business owner and not a professional cake decorator?!

BUT, she looked so nice and her daughter Jackie and Chef Mike Terry did such a great job! They demonstrated how to make edible decorations for treats with icing sheets, punches and edible markers. Way cool! These products are great news for those of us who do not have a crafty bone in our bodies!

Debbie Coughlin rocked her appearance on The Balancing Act!

So those of us that are not TV stars, will chug some coffee and get back to work after the party…some of us have to lead a normal life! And America can get to work on their “punch thingies” and frosting sheets!

And Jackie, you are a STAR so you have to get used to the camera! It loves you!

You have to LOOK at the camera Jackie!

WATCH THE SHOW NOW!

Cutting up at Kristy’s Kreations with Silhouette and Premium Designer Sheets!

We love when we see how Icing Images customers are using our products! So when pictures are sent in, we get all excited!

Had to pry the following pictures out of Kristy at Kristy’s Kreations because she didn’t think they were good enough!!!!! Are you kidding me??!!!

Absolutely stunning! Would LOVE to have this as my wedding cake….too bad I’ve already had a wedding…

We met Kristy and her husband in Houston at the All Things Baking Show when they took a class on the Silhouette Cameo Electronic Cutter with Chef Mike Terry. We were trying to get some good pictures and this is what happened when Kristy’s husband noticed us taking them…..

He was really “cutting up” alright, just not with the Silhouette!

The Silhouette has given Kristy the ability to do intricate scroll work without well, all of the work! The Premium icing sheets are thick enough to be cut effortlessly by the cutter and simply applied to the cake – no hand piping!

Kristy, we say keep cutting because your work is amazing! Just try to keep your husband from misbehaving!