Etsy Thursdays: Meet Tricia from Cakeadoodledoo!

 On a whim I was looking for cupcake wrappers on Etsy and the designs I loved kept popping up from Cakeadoodledoo.  It's not often you'll come across 3D wrappers (check out the dinosaurs below)!  Tricia, the designer, was gracious enough to give us an interview and a peek into her artistic process.  Please enjoy the pics of my favorites from her collection of cupcake wrappers, toppers, cake stand trims and treat boxes!  (Tricia handcrafts all of these by herself!)

Cupcake Wrappers Outdoors

Where do you get your creative inspiration from?

 "I get a lot of my inspiration from cake decorating books. I am at the point where I can take pretty much any graphic or image my customers send me and turn it into 3D paper wonders!  All I need now is more time. I never stop thinking of new ideas. Sometimes I can't sleep for days until I sketch them out!"

Top Left: Easter Basket Cupcake Wrapper
Top Right: Butterfly Cupcake Wrapper
Bottom Left: Flowers Petite Cupcake Wrappers
Bottom Right: Love Birds Cupcake Wrapper

"My first designs for cupcake wrappers were terrible! I don't even know why anyone bought them. I wanted to be different than everyone else selling cupcake wrappers but I didn't want to be limited by a Cricut cartridge or a 2D patterned paper cut out.

I also wanted to put my heart and soul in to each design to the point at where I could look at a cupcake decked out in my wrapper and start smiling ear to ear. I believe that there is so much more to handmade artists than following a pattern.  I draw every design out by hand in the beginning. Then I take it into my graphics computer program and then it becomes paper."

Top Left: Train Cupcake Wrappers
Right: Circus Cupcake Wrappers & Toppers
Bottom Left: Dinosaur Cupcake Wrappers

How long have you been crafting?

"I was heavy into sewing for years. I have an entire room in my house dedicated to my clowns and Mickey mouse dolls which I made from felt and fat quarters. I soon ran out of sewing patterns that interested me.  I have always wanted to try cake decorating. I have always been fascinated by it."

(click collage to enlarge)

Top Left: Castle Cupcake Wrappers
Top Right: Princess Tiara Cupcake Wrappers
Bottom Left: Merry Go Round, Carousel Cupcake Wrappers & Toppers
Bottom Right: Horse Cupcake Wrappers

How did your Etsy shop come about?

"I started selling online with the goal to help pay for all the supplies that I would need. I maybe had like 10 cupcake wrapper designs when I first started. They were my biggest seller. I started getting requests for specific themes. Every wrapper I have now was a request or a custom order at some point.
I started my first Etsy shop under my current buyer account at that time. After one full year of 450 sales I wanted to make a name for myself so I opened up my current Etsy shop Cakeadoodledoo, and started listing all of my new 3D designs."

 Top Left: Easter Bunny Cupcake Wrapper
Top Right:  Easter Cupcake Wrappers
Bottom Left:  Christmas Treat Boxes
Bottom Right: Wicked Halloween Cupcake Wrappers

Which item in your current collection is your favorite?

I love love my new Halloween cupcake wrappers. It took me a month to perfect them. I just want to hand out cupcakes with my wrappers to trick or treaters with a business card!!

 Top Left: Pirate Ship Cupcake Wrappers (boy or girl flags)
Top Right: Honey Bee Cupcake Wrappers
Bottom Left: Cow Hat Cupcake Wrappers
Bottom Right: Superhero Cupcake Wrappers

Besides Etsy, where else can we find you?

I have a Facebook page! I'm getting better at updating it!  I just recently in July was invited to be a featured artist on emmalinebride.com I have found this to be very helpful for traffic and promoting myself.  I post photos on the childrens party network and I have been featured on there several times.

Top Left: Lingerie Cupcake Toppers
Top Right: Monogram Circle Cupcake Wrapper
Bottom Right: Bow Cupcake Wrappers

What advice do you have for aspiring art/craft sellers?

"Considering how many people sell party decor on Etsy I consider myself successful. I always will wish for more sales and more exposure. My advice I can offer would be to always try to be original. Strive to offer items you cannot buy anywhere else because they are your own. Don't settle on a pattern or paper packs on sale!

It's very important you are always striving to improve, grow, and adapt. Every few months I go through all of my current items and delete ones with no views, less than 2 sales or because I simply don't like them and I can make them better."

• Price yourself worth your time. When I first opened I started at half of what I charge now. Before I could never offer a sale or a wholesale price because my prices were already too low.
• Promote yourself. I want every single person in my life to see what I make and what drives me. Every dinner party I have I make cupcakes and dress them in my wrappers.
• Don't stress yourself out. I had to take stress leave due to health complications at the beginning of the year. It's not fun, it slows you down, hurts you physically and shortens your life. It's not worth it. Develop an organization system that works best for you.
• Remember to get plenty of sleep and take a day off every week away from your computer!!! 

 Top Left: Firetruck Cupcake Wrappers
Right: Woodland Cupcake Wrappers & Toppers
Bottom Left: Farmer Cupcake Wrappers & Toppers

Left: Individual Cupcake Window Boxes
Right: Cupcake Box Individual Window Boxes with Ribbon & Cupcake Wrapper

Where to find Cakeadoodledoo?  Please visit:
Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/cakeadoodledoo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cakeadoodledoo/202338913136339