I just finished my latest practice cake - an Olympics commemorative cake. I learned a lot!

First of all...paste colors can't be blended with grain alcohol. They just sit there in little greasy clumps. I wanted to use alcohol to paint my gumpaste items with because I didn't want the gumpaste to soften...and I wanted quick drying. Rats! I had SOME success by thinning the paste color first with a little water and then cutting it further with alcohol. But, the little bit of water was enough to make everything sticky for quite a while. I ended up putting in a 150 degree oven for an hour or so. That worked pretty well.

Secondly...I made a crisco/butter icing. I usually make all crisco because I like bright white icing. But, I like the flavor of butter. So, I squeezed in a bit of airbrush white color I happened to have on hand - in place of the last bit of cream I would have used. Man! That worked great! I've heard people complain that Wilton's white coloring agent didn't work well for them. If you use butter in your icing and want it whiter, give this a shot. I will probably make this my standard procedure.

I think I'm done practicing for a few days. I have no less than 3 cakes sitting here. And one human being in this house! My daughter will be back Tuesday, but she wears a size zero and won't eat a thing sweet and gooey. (Smart girl, but inconvenient for me!)

Anyway...thought I'd share.

Great tips!

You could donate those cakes!? Try taking it to the ER at your hospital, or to the school teacher's lounge. Even just the doctor's office...they all love and appreciate things like that!