Meet Our Teachers!
Danielle
Cake Decorator & Instructor | Cake Crafts
Danielle is the co-owner of Cake Crafts and one of our cake decorating instructors. While her passion for baking started in her family’s kitchen growing up, she decided to take it to a whole new level and started her own baking business in 2009. Specializing in wedding cakes, she also loves exploring all kinds of desserts and creating something new.
In 2022, Danielle and her husband, Ivan, transitioned from avid Cake Crafts customers to owners of one of Colorado’s favorite baking supply stores. Since then, they’ve loved being part of the baking community and helping inspire others to create, learn, and have fun in the kitchen.
Danielle studied at Johnson & Wales University, where she earned degrees in Baking & Pastry as well as Culinary Arts and Nutrition. Her years of experience, combined with her love of teaching, make her passionate about helping others build their confidence and creativity in the kitchen.
When she’s not teaching classes or running between the two Cake Crafts stores, Danielle can usually be found with a cup of strong coffee in hand, testing new recipes and dreaming up her next sweet creation.
Her favorite part of teaching? Working with students of all ages and skill levels and watching their confidence, creativity, and skills grow. She loves creating an environment where everyone can learn, experiment, and have fun—and believes that food has a special way of bringing people together and creating memorable moments.
Kristy
Cookie Artist & Instructor | Kristy’s Cookie Cottage
Kristy is a passionate cookie artist and instructor who loves turning simple sugar cookies into beautiful, creative works of art. Through Kristy’s Cookie Cottage, her custom order cookie business she ran for six years, she shares her love of cookie decorating with students of all ages, creating classes that are fun, approachable, and filled with techniques students can actually use at home.
With a special love for royal icing, intricate details, airbrushing, watercolor effects, and beautifully coordinated cookie sets, Kristy enjoys finding creative ways to make each cookie unique. Her classes focus not only on creating a finished cookie, but also on teaching the skills and techniques that help students gain confidence in their own decorating.
Kristy believes cookie decorating should be both creative and fun. Whether she is teaching beginners the basics of royal icing or helping more experienced decorators explore advanced techniques, she loves seeing students discover that they can create something beautiful with a little patience, practice, and imagination.
Her decorating style often blends classic cookie artistry with whimsical, vintage-inspired and seasonal designs, and she especially enjoys creating themed sets that tell a story.
When Kristy isn’t decorating cookies or teaching a class, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing pickleball, cycling, paddle boarding and enjoying the mountains, as well as finding new inspiration for her next cookie creations!
Her favorite part of teaching? Watching a student’s face light up when they step back and realize, “I made that!”
Vickie
Cookie Artist & Instructor | The Classy Cookie
Ever since launching her cookie decorating business in 2020, Vickie has turned a passion for edible art into a thriving creative community. Originally founded in the Chicago suburbs, she relocated her business to the Denver area in August 2025, officially rebranding the venture as The Classy Cookie to mark the exciting new chapter. For the past three and a half years, she has shared her expertise through both public workshops and highly tailored private and corporate events. She has had the privilege of teaching corporate classes for major brands, including NICOR, Ace Hardware, and Diageo, guiding students of all backgrounds through the satisfying processes of piping, flooding, and mastering royal icing.
Vickie's teaching style blends clear, step-by-step technical instruction with a warm, encouraging environment. She breaks down complex skills—like achieving the perfect icing consistency and drawing clean, precise lines—into approachable, stress-free steps. Whether you are a beginner picking up a piping bag for the first time or a hobbyist looking to refine your technique, Vickie's classes are designed to build confidence and unlock creative potential, one beautiful cookie at a time.
When she isn't busy in the kitchen or teaching a workshop, Vickie loves leaning into her many creative and active outlets. She is an avid traveler who loves exploring new places, as well as a passionate Chicago Cubs and Bears fan who always stays connected to her roots. Closer to home, she enjoys catching a good movie, decorating her new home, experimenting with new recipes, or crafting the perfect cocktail. Above all, Vickie treasures quality time spent with her friends and family, especially her granddaughter, and can often be found enjoying life's everyday adventures with her beloved dog, Georgia.
For Vickie, the absolute best part of teaching is witnessing the "aha!" moment when a student clicks with a technique they thought was too difficult. She loves watching the initial hesitation fade away, replaced by the pride and joy of holding up a finished, professional-looking cookie. Creating a space where people can relax, laugh, and surprise themselves with their own capability is what drives her passion for every class she hosts. She LOVES it when her students send her photos of their creations long after class has ended.
Evelyn
Cake Artist & Instructor | Pretty Good Cakes
Evelyn is Cake Crafts newest employee and one of our decorating instructors. Evelyn started learning cake decorating through her local 4-H club at eight years old and continued with it until she was 18. She is proud to say she was Grand Champion at the Colorado State Fair for all ten of her years in 4-H. In her later years of high school Evelyn began to do wedding cakes and event cakes for family and friends. She was also a volunteer leader and taught the younger levels of cake decorating in her 4-H club. She has worked in commercial bakeries as a cake decorator for the past ten years while continuing to do cakes on the side. She began working at Cake Crafts earlier this year after being a loyal patron these past ten years.
Evelyn thinks cake decorating is a wonderful blend of trade skill and artistic expression. Evelyn wants her students to learn proper technique and form so that they have the skills to freely express their creative vision. She knows how difficult and frustrating learning can be, and, alternatively, she knows what a difference a good teacher can make in those moments of frustration. Evelyn encourages her students to be patient and kind to themselves while also making sure they learn the necessary skills to flourish in all their creative pursuits.