Rainbow Cakes - Self Made - Would you buy it commercially?

Metina wrote:i use gloves and clean my exacto knife and razor blades in between with alcohol. i do the very best i can, but one can only do so much.

i have heard that heather at sf went to great lengths to have a sterile room set us for just making these, but unless folks don't mind paying 30 dollars each, i will just stick with my method.

what you need to understand is that while it is pretty easy to cut up our cakes and throw them into another pallette or container for our own use, it is a whole nother ballgame, when they have to look neat and tidy for a customer. it is extremely labor intensive to make splits.

i am not trying to discourage you, but be prepared. though i have found, that snaz is the easiest paint to work with becuase they freeze and go soft so quickly.

-metina

ps sorry, the computer i am on has a faulty shift key.

I just got my split cakes from Metina today. She did a really great job making them neat and pretty. I think I really actually like the way that the snaz one is a bit more "creamy"--it loaded on my brush much better than the Factory made DFX ones I bought. I was all in a DFX mind state and now I feel like I might have to buy some Snaz too. My hubby is going to murder me.

Just get a small $16 snaz kit & make your own. It's a great way to start making splits till you know what you like. I cut the small cakes in 2's & 3's & mix 'em up.

Psalmbook wrote:Just get a small $16 snaz kit & make your own. It's a great way to start making splits till you know what you like. I cut the small cakes in 2's & 3's & mix 'em up.

this is exactly how I made my first splits. the bonus is the small snaz kits aren't thick so they are perfect for a newbie. the next ones I made were with DFX but they turned out a lot messier than the snaz. but they were just for me and a friend so no biggie.

Psalmbook wrote:Just get a small $16 snaz kit & make your own. It's a great way to start making splits till you know what you like. I cut the small cakes in 2's & 3's & mix 'em up.

Great suggestion, thank you!

Very late to this topic but did Metina say she freezes the cake first and then cuts them?

Can I be a bit of a kill joy and advise why Snazaroo UK do not market rainbow cakes.

It is because they state that they would have to keep a record of each individual batch number of each colour used in every rainbow cake. Otherwise in case of reaction they would be unable to trace which colour/batch had created the problem. This is also the reason that Snazaroo US discontinued their rainbow cakes.

I would definitely check that you are authorised to do this as you may be prohibited by you license agreement.

i absolutely would buy it professionally. i would look for a variety of pleasing color combos, and a true rainbow is essential, i think, so if you use only snaz, homemade is the only way you can go.
i know they wear unevenly if you use regular and metallic in the same cake, but i think mixing the various beautiful shades and effects is part of the appeal!

as far as sanitation, the maker does have a responsibility to wash hands, wash empty containers first, etc, but i'm confident in the preservatives found in most face paint and makeup and don't think a special hygienic lab is necessary or anything...

i agree that it seems really hard to make them neat, but if you're selling them that is an important part of it. would probably take practice to get a really perfect looking cake.

The Snaz split cake I got from Metina still had the original film on top, so I guess she sliced thru that along with the paint, so her hands never touched the paint. It looked so professional!
I already have lots of half empty cakes & didn't need any more, so Metina offering to create custom split cakes is such a plus I intend to use more often, just to save space in my extra paint bin!
Special thanks, Metina!
Happy Painting,
Susan

Susan your avatar is very pretty and so delicate looking

Yes. I freeze them so that they are easier to cut and pop out of the containers. And yes, I slice through the protective film so I am not touching the paint and 99 % of the time, I can keep the film in place.

-Metina

Metina, I'm glad to hear that you do all that. I always remove the cakes from the containers before cutting them. To be safe, I had a jig built to cut the cakes squarely (so that they fit back together with no open pockets) and a press to press them back together solid, again so that there are no open pockets when I'm finished. I buy gloves by the box, because I use so many, and like you I sterilize everything before, during and after. I don't sell my rainbows, although I have shared many, and when I make a batch, it's usually a dozen or more at a given time because any less just isn't worth the effort to set up, prep, cut and press.

Jenny

i make them for my self I use dfx the only color i seam to have trouble with is the yellow.. its very brittle crumbly... and the metallic yellow is to but that seams to be the only color the orange some times... wonder why the yellow is such a problem

I am just getting started and the first paints I purchased were DFX (basic palette and a teeny tiny split cake). The next day I bought the Wolfe appetizer palette. Less than a month later I purchased the Paradise pro palette (only they were out, and I couldn't wait...so I ended up w/ 3 8-cake palettes) and Wolfe met. white, Wolfe met. gold, and larger Paradise black and a white too. Plus toss in an arty cake every so often (they are addicting).
When I bought the DFX, it was at a convention. I didn't question the price of the split cake. But when a friend and I both ordered arty cakes (2 for each of us)...I was a bit appalled to see we spent $40 for that amount of paint.
We split the Wolfe's and each now have a met white/gold cake.

It was very scary to cut into that cake for the first time. I had watched 2 videos on youtube and felt confident. Kinda easypeasy!
A month later I decided to turn my DFX basic palette into more useful splitcakes. I didn't cut the black, because I figured a full pot of black was more useful than the prospective hassle of cutting miniscule black bits for split cakes. There are some gaps, but they paint fine. They are also all one brand but the white seems to go much quicker (or I have been/was using a brush on the white only). But I was dabbling with the red/white/blue cake yesterday and even though there is a big dip in the white...it worked great with a brush.
Here's the DFX splits


So in my 2 month opinion The most economical starting out, is to cut the small cakes and make split cakes. I think I even saw a picture of someone's Wolfe appetizer palette and they cut that into split cakes. I may go do that now too! I wish I remembered who's setup had them, but I have looked at so many threads and images that I have forgotten.

I would have no problem at all purchasing homemade rainbow cakes. Realistically, there's just no way to do away with all "contamination". If it's perfectly pristine when you buy it (not likely), then it certainly won't be as soon as the cover is taken off and air hits it.

I'm all for taking precautions where ever possible, but we've got to keep a level head about it too. In my humble opinion.

first...i started out making and selling splits to my friends.

yes, heather did have a sterile room set up to make arty brush cakes

and...the reason arty cakes are made from several brands is so that they will wear better.

different colors within the same brand may have a different saturation level.

the arty cakes..through trial and error are designed to wear evenly....being that the colors with in each cake are activated with the same amount of water

ttfn

rebecca

www.artybrushstrokes.com