I am a native Californian and have lived in Northern California, near San Francisco, for most of my life.  I enjoyed baking as a child, and remember one Christmas as a teenager when my sister and I baked more than 20 kinds of cookies over a period of 3 days!  I continued an interest in cooking and gourmet food as an adult, but didn’t begin decorating cakes until my oldest son’s first birthday.  I made a Winnie the Pooh character cake with stars for that occasion.  I was up all night mixing colors and squeezing stars and felt relieved when it was done that I wouldn’t have to repeat the experience for another year.  My once-a-year cakes continued for the next two years, but I guess I was slightly encouraged by the compliments I received on them.  In 2003, our preschool was holding an auction fundraiser and they were looking for donations from parents.  I decided that I would offer to make a birthday cake for a child’s birthday as a silent auction item.  Since I didn’t have a portfolio of work, I made a sample cake for the auction, in the shape of a 3D train.  In the process of researching how to make that cake, I found Ladycakes.  The train cake was popular; soon I found myself making cakes for the children of friends, and the word spread from there. 

I was largely self-taught initially, relying heavily on what I could find on Ladycakes, but later completed the Wilton courses.  Since then, I have attended two Ladycakes retreats and ICES 2006, which have exposed me to a variety of new techniques.  My initial focus was buttercream and sculpted cakes, mainly for children, but I have begun to branch out into fondant and gumpaste, and elegant cakes for adult occasions.  I enjoy leveraging my talents to benefit schools and charities, and many of my cakes are donated to special events. 

Pictures of some of my cakes have been published in American Cake Decorating and Mailbox News, and many of my cakes can be seen here:  http://community.webshots.com/user/CakeCreationsbyLisa

I taught for the first time at the Ladycakes Retreat in 2005, and have since taught private cake decorating classes for adults and children.

I have been married for 15 years to my wonderful husband John, and we are blessed with two lively boys:  Ryan (age 7) and Joshua (age 5).  All three are happy to take any cake scraps and leftover bits of icing off my hands!