• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
    • Entrees
    • Lunch
    • Side Dishes
    • Snacks
    • Dog-Friendly
  • Life
    • Travels
    • Gift Guides
  • About
    • About Sues
    • Work With Me
    • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Newsletter

We are not Martha logo

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Life
  • About
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • Recipes
    • Life
    • About
    • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Life » Wilton Sweet Up 2014

    Apr 28, 2014 · Modified: Aug 16, 2020 by Sues · This post may contain affiliate links, uses cookies, and generates income via ads · View privacy policy + disclosure statement linked in footer · 10 Comments

    Wilton Sweet Up 2014

    Wilton Sweet Up.jpg

    I’ve said it a bazillion and five times before, but I am a pretty lucky person. This little blog has brought tons of awesomeness into my life and a couple weeks ago, I had yet another exciting adventure. I had the opportunity to head to the Chicago Suburbs with the Wilton Treat Team to spend some time at Wilton’s headquarters and attend “Sweet Up,” an event during which Wilton announces many of their new products and reviews the upcoming trends for the year.

    I arrived in Chicago late on Thursday night and woke up bright and early on Friday to head to the Wilton School in Darien, IL.

    Wilton Sweet Up 24.jpg

    We learned about Wilton’s history...

    Wilton Sweet Up 11.jpg

    And saw tons of beautiful cakes students had been working on.

    Wilton Sweet Up 20.jpg

    We also got to take a little class with the director of the Wilton School, Sandy Folsom. She’s been teaching the Wilton Method for 25 years.

    Wilton Sweet Up 8.jpg

    I’ll admit, I was slightly intimidated as lots of the ladies in attendance were incredibly talented and way beyond me when it comes to cake decorating skills. I’ve never even use fondant before! Well, now I can’t say that anymore...

    Wilton Sweet Up 13.jpg

    Wilton just came out with a new line of fondant, Decorator Preferred. I’ve never used fondant in part because I’m totally scared by it and in part because I don’t like the way it tastes. But this fondant? Actually has a great flavor and much nicer consistency in your mouth (I know, that’s what she said or something).

    Wilton Sweet Up 17.jpg

    And I’m obviously not yet a pro, but this fondant was way easier to use than I thought it would be.

    Wilton Sweet Up 22.jpg

    We also spent some time with buttercream, improving our skills with flowers, basket weaving, and more.

    Wilton Sweet Up 28.jpg

    And then we got into teams and were given cakes and some decorating materials and 45 minutes and told to GO!

    Our team’s finally product… We used both our buttercream and fondant skills. And we can pretend that the pretty marbled fondant on top of the cake wasn’t merely a happy mistake on my part. Let’s just say it was totally on purpose.

    Wilton Sweet Up 16.jpg

    It was such a pleasure meeting, working with, and hanging out with these ladies: Adeina of Crafting with Adeina, Mandy of Waiting on Martha, and Nicole of Baking Bites.

    Wilton Sweet Up 7.jpg

    Our cake actually won an award at the end of the evening! OK, so all the cakes won awards… Still, give me a giant chocolate bar with a 3D cupcake on it and I am happy.

    Wilton Sweet Up 30.jpg

    After our time at the school, we got to browse the Wilton Company Store. AKA shopping spree with a pretty nice discount. Oh, how I wanted to buy EVERYTHING here.

    Wilton Sweet Up 21.jpg

    Then, we jumped back on our shuttle and headed to Wilton Headquarters for Sweet Up!

    Wilton Sweet Up 27.jpg

    Wilton’s CMO, Eric Erwin, kicked off the live-streamed event and it was so awesome to hear just how passionate he is about the company.

    Wilton Sweet Up 2.jpg

    From there we learned about the big trends in cake decorating. Which basically meant looking at large photos of stunning cakes.

    Beth Somers, Wilton Test Kitchen Manager (and Cupcake Wars winner!) was the speaker for the event and she ran us through all the trends with a little help from her team.

    Wilton Sweet Up 15.jpg

    The trends included Buttercream frosting:

    201404272314.jpgCourtesy of Wilton

    Simple decorating:

    201404272313.jpgCourtesy of Wilton

    Tall Cakes:

    Wilton Sweet Up 14.jpg

    Small Treats:

    201404272325.jpgCourtesy of Wilton

    And fondant:

    Wilton Sweet Up 6.jpg

    We also got to see Wilton’s products in action!

    Wilton Sweet Up 5.jpg

    And the Wilton 2014 cake of the year, which was s totally unique and eclectic cake, utilizing tons of techniques and the loveliest colors.

    201404272327.jpgCourtesy of Wilton

    If you didn’t get to watch Sweet Up and are interested, you can still see the video here!

    The rest of the day was spent in mini hands-on sessions where we learned more skills and played with more of Wilton’s products.

    I decorated a mini tall cake and had a photo shoot with it.

    Wilton Sweet Up 18.jpg

    Best backdrop ever? I love it!

    Wilton Sweet Up 19.jpg

    Whoop! Whoop! Buttercream is basically my new favorite phrase for life.

    Wilton Sweet Up 25.jpg

    Oh, and in case you didn’t notice, I was named a Decorating Diva. All I know is that I thought the cakes that landed in my category were right up my alley.

    Wilton Sweet Up 23.jpg

    We went out for a group dinner and snapped a photo of the whole fabulous group. Please ignore my majorly awkward stance.

    201404272338.jpg

    It was such a great group of girls and I’m so thrilled to be part of the Wilton Treat Team!

    And I must have been feeling totally inspired when I got home because I tested some of my skills for an Easter dessert and was actually a little bit impressed with my buttercream skills:

    Buttercream Rose Cake.jpg

    I’ll definitely be posting about that cake soon!

    In the meantime, thank you so, so much to the fabulous team at Wilton for showing the Treat Team such a lovely couple days and teaching us so, so much. I can’t wait to get my hands on more fondant and buttercream and continue working on my decorating skills. By the way, Wilton has just updated their Course 1 and they teach a crazy amount of techniques in it. Anyone interested in taking it with me??

    Do you consider yourself a skilled cake decorator?

    [Sues]

    Tweet
    Share
    Pin
    Yum
    Share
    0 Shares
    « Caesar Salad Pasta
    Chopped Kale Salad with Pistachio Dressing »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Megan says

      April 28, 2014 at 7:47 am

      It's not just luck -- you work really hard too! 🙂 This looks like an amazing experience. I would have been in heaven in that store. Your cake looks gorgeous. Can't wait for your post about it. I consider myself somewhat skilled but would love to learn so many more decorating techniques.

    2. Leah | So, How's It Taste? says

      April 28, 2014 at 10:19 am

      Oh how fun! Can't wait to read about your cake, it looks so pretty!

    3. Simply Life says

      April 28, 2014 at 11:03 am

      what a fun experience!

    4. Michelle Lahey says

      April 28, 2014 at 1:10 pm

      So fun!! I am definitely NOT a skilled cake decorator, but I have made a few good cakes in my day...they just look really homemade, haha.

    5. Justine says

      April 28, 2014 at 3:33 pm

      What an amazing opportunity. I love Wilton! Though I definitely have a lot to learn too.

    6. sarah k @ the pajama chef says

      April 28, 2014 at 8:33 pm

      what a fun event!

    7. Kitchen Belleicious says

      April 29, 2014 at 8:32 am

      how cool! What an awesome opportunity! You look great in the pictures too:) that matters alot!

    8. Debra says

      April 29, 2014 at 1:12 pm

      You mean there's an entire Wilton store? Yikes! I'd be in heaven. Your Easter cake looks scrumptious and I'd love to know more about it. I think your team did a great job on the floral cake, and it's exciting to see so many people gathered to continue learning the art of beautiful cake decorating. What a fun event!

    9. Danielle says

      April 29, 2014 at 8:38 pm

      Your ombre cake looks amazing - can't wait to see how you made it!

      So wonderful meeting you at Sweet Up. I wish we would have had more time to chat!!

    10. Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic says

      May 01, 2014 at 2:05 pm

      How fun! I definitely don't consider myself a skilled cake decorator AT ALL and need all the help and advice I can get 🙂

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Meet Sues

    Hi and thanks for visiting! I started We are not Martha to show you how to make recipes that impress without stress, including easy weeknight dinners, delightful desserts, + lots of cocktails.

    Learn More...

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • Popular Now

    • Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce
    • Momofuku Milk Bar's Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies
    • Blueberry Vodka Lemonade
    • Chicken Dog Treats

    Footer

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    About

    • About Sues
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosures
    • Web Stories

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Work with Me

    BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY AMAZON SHOP TO DISCOVER SOME OF MY FAVORITE COOKING AND BAKING ITEMS THAT I USE IN MY OWN KITCHEN. WE ARE NOT MARTHA IS A PARTICIPANT IN THE AMAZON SERVICES LLC ASSOCIATES PROGRAM, AN AFFILIATE ADVERTISING PROGRAM DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A MEANS FOR SITES TO EARN ADVERTISING FEES BY ADVERTISING AND LINKING TO AMAZON.COM. ORDERING ANY PRODUCTS MENTIONED HERE ARE AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

    Copyright © 2022 WE ARE NOT MARTHA