A long time ago, I learned that to truly be successful in a new endeavor, you need the proper equipment and you need that equipment to be organized. This is true for everything from ice skating to chemistry lab experiments.

When I took up cake decorating, I knew that I needed the proper equipment and a way to keep it clean, organized and at my fingertips - even when transporting it from my house to the classroom and back again.

That's where the Wilton Cake Decorating Caddy comes in.

This nifty caddy is a great place to store my supplies. The caddy resembles a sewing kit or tackle box. Inside, there is a lift-out tray with room to store 48 tips in an upright position as well as 12 Wilton icing color jars and two indentations for other supplies. Underneath the tray is a large storage area.

The plain caddy is beige and red. I really prefer the blue color of the caddies that come prestocked with supplies. This particular caddy does not come supplied with tips and other supplies so you'll need to purchase those separately. When I purchased my caddy, I already owned the Student Cake Decorating Kit so it did not make sense for me to purchase a stocked caddy.

My favorite part of the caddy is the latch, or more specifically, the hole where a lock could be attached. When the caddy has been opened, this latch is the perfect size to hold a rose nail. That's where I keep mine when I'm switching from tip 12 after making the base of the rose to tip 104 for the petals. I've yet to lose a rose off the base using this method of securing my rose nail.

When purchasing your caddy, make sure to check that your latch is intact and that it works. When I bought mine, there was a caddy on the shelf with part of the latch missing. I'm glad I noticed that and didn't buy the defective caddy.

How I use my Wilton Cake Decorating Tool Caddy

Here's what is currently in my caddy:

1. Tips

I have 18 tips of various types that are stored on the lift out tray of the caddy. At this point, I haven't had a need to buy additional tips because I'm able to make everything taught in the first two Wilton courses with the tips I currently own. I've organized my tips in numerical order but you could easily organize them by usage (round, star, leaf, etc.) There is plenty of space in the caddy to hold any additional tips I may purchase. The only tip I own that is not stored on the tray is my Cake Icer Tip (#789) which does not fit on the pegs nor in the compartments.

2. Couplers

I own six regular sized couplers. I really don't need quite that many couplers but I bought a set of four to add to the two that came with my student kit. Since I have plenty of extra pegs up top, I've placed my couplers on the pegs with each part of the coupler getting its own peg.

3. Icing colors

This was easy. I purchased both the eight color Wilton Icing Set and the Pastel Icing Set. Each bottle fits in its own hole.

4. Rose Nail

My #7 rose nail is a very useful tool that is stored in one of the two indentations. The other indentation is empty.

5. Decorating Brush and Tip Brush

My decorating brush is used for bag striping techniques and hand painting details on royal icing flowers. The tip brush is used for cleaning tips. I've just placed these in the lift out tray so they don't get lost in the confines of the caddy.

6. Decorating Bags

My usual bag of choice is a 10" featherweight. You can reuse these over and over again. I don't overfill my bags in order to have more control and I prefer the way they feel in my hand to a disposable bag. That said, I also have a small box of 12" disposable bags which I keep in my caddy. These are especially useful when using a tip that requires a large coupler or if you don't have enough featherweight bags. I also have a 16" featherweight bag which I use exclusively with the cake icer tip.

7. Flower Former Set/Scissors

Another item that I store in the bottom of the caddy is my flower former set. These are used when creating flowers out of royal icing in order to give them a more realistic look as they take on the curvature of the formers.

The scissors are a cheap pair of child's safety scissors that I bought at CVS for 69 cents instead of shelling out a couple of dollars for a proper flower lifter. You must have something in order to get your flowers off the rose nail and onto your cake. Scissors work just as well as a flower lifter and they don't come apart if you open them too wide. My scissors are food-safe and are not used for anything other than cutting decorating bags and applying flowers.

8. Toothpicks

These are indispensable. I bought a small container with a tight lid instead of a box where the toothpicks can fall out. I use toothpicks to add colors to my icings.

9. Spatulas/Cake Leveler/Cake Tester

I always carry a small straight spatula with me in order to fill my bags and mix colors into my icings. I tend to store my large angled spatula in the caddy but I don't cart it around with me when I take my caddy outside of the house. The large spatula is one that I use just for base frosting my cakes. The cake leveler (which I haven't had to use much) tends to be stored in the caddy too, but again, it stays at home when the caddy travels. The Pampered Chef Cake Tester usually just floats around in the case. I always know where it is when I need it and it's not so large that it can't be taken with me.

10. Practice Board Set/Ziploc Bags/Napkins

Finally, I like to keep Wilton's Practice Board Set in the bottom of my caddy. It's a convenient place to squeeze out a couple of swirl flowers as practice before putting some on your cake. Ziploc bags are a must to hold your used tips, couplers, decorating bags and the small spatula when you are done with them so you won't get icing all over the interior of your caddy. I prefer the quart sized freezer bags. I also like to carry a few napkins to wipe off my spatula after using it to ensure that I don't end up with mixed colors of icing in my bags.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 10