Meet Krista Sarpalius of All the Sugar in Trophy Club

Today we’d like to introduce you to Krista Sarpalius.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Krista. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My cookie journey began about two years ago when I decided to enter a baking competition. I currently teach fourth grade, and every year my school hosts a bake-off for teachers and staff. I’d had an interest in baking cookies but absolutely no experience. My sister makes amazing decorated sugar cookies, so I was inspired to give it a try myself. I entered the bake-off competition with the intention of making a set of summer-themed sugar cookies, including a palm tree, surfboard and cute pair of sunglasses. Seems simple enough, right? Well, it didn’t quite happen like that! My first ever batch of sugar cookies ended up looking like a weird palm tree falling off of a brown blob. They were absolutely terrible, and I ended up throwing them in the trash through my defeated decorator tears. It was so depressing!

After that failure, I was determined to get better. I became obsessed with watching cookie decorating videos on Instagram from other talented bakers. I also found Sweet Sugarbelle’s cookie decorating blog. She basically taught me everything I know! Slowly, and with what felt like a million hours of practice, I began to get the hang of it. I started making cookies for family events and parties, and before I knew it, I was getting cookie requests from friends. I decided to have my first ever “flash sale” for Easter cookies. The response was overwhelming and gave me the confidence I needed to turn my little cookie hobby into a real business.

Two years later, and All the Sugar has morphed into something that I genuinely never thought was possible. I still make custom cookies, but now I also teach cookie decorating classes. My cookie students are so fun! Hearing, “I can’t believe I made these!” when they are done with a class is the best thing ever!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has most definitely not been a smooth road! I have two littles at home, and I also work full-time. My biggest challenge, even now, is absolutely time management. Cookie decorating and class prep are definitely a labor of love. There are times when I feel like I’m doing awesome in cookie world and terrible as a mom/wife and vice versa. My husband has been so supportive though, and there is absolutely no way I’d be where I am today without his help. I have learned that sometimes it is okay to say “no.” I’ve also learned what I’m comfortable taking on as far as classes and cookie orders. I’m pretty lucky because my kids go to bed early. That helps me find time to fill orders and prepare for classes!

Please tell us about All the Sugar.
All the Sugar specializes in royal icing cookie decorating classes and custom sugar cookies. I was nominated by 76262 Magazine as Best Sweet Tooth Satisfier this year, which was so incredible! I think the thing I’m the proudest of is definitely my cookie classes. Last summer, I would recruit neighbors and friends to “fill in” when only one or two people signed up for a class. And that happened a LOT! It was pretty defeating, but (very) slowly, my classes started getting booked up. My last round of Halloween classes sold out in less than 24 hours and to date, I’ve had over 700 cookie students. Lots of happy tears happened that night because selling out a class used to seem like a crazy, impossible dream.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I honestly wouldn’t change a thing about my cookie journey! I’ve had a lot of failures along the way, but each time I’ve failed, I’ve learned what not to do next time! I’ve taught classes that didn’t quite work, or maybe the designs were too hard, or too easy. Trial and (lots of) error all brought me to where I am today!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.allthesugartx.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: allthesugartx
• Facebook: allthesugartx

Image Credit:
Ann Starkweather Photography

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