As A Cake Decorator What Is A "must Have" For You
Decorating By amaniemom Updated 7 Jul 2005 , 1:27am by niki_10
I have to give it up to my KITCHENAID!!!!
I also use a lot of parchment and wax paper
I love my bowls and my wisks.........more dishes to do though 
And..... my husband and my son for taste testing and telling me that the cakes are yummy 
Ashiana
I'd start of with a couple of star tips, 18 or 19, 21 .. a round tip for writing, 3 ... a rose tip to do roses, 103 or 104 ... a leaf tip for leaves, 352 ... *phew* that's' enough huh? lol
I second those tips! Plus, I can't live without my turntable, my bowl scraper (for smoothing the cake out. I use the straight edge) and disposable bags (MUCH easier cleanup).
veejay... i keep my tips in a lil plastic shelving container... it has about16 lil boxes that i have labeled .. all my rounds are together, all my shell tip are together... and so on.. it makes my life much easier when im lookin for a specific tip 
Lets see- extra tips for writing, shell borders, etc. When you have lots of colors to use it's a pain to wash the tips out as you need them. Lots of bags (plastic or fabric), etc.
I'm sure you will love the clear, cake sparkles. If you take it out of the container it comes in & put between two piecesof parchment paper and roll with rolling pin to crush the sparkles, they become finer and then put back in shaker. When you shake on your finished cakes it looks like it sparkles but not like you just sprinkled "plastic" on your cake. My MIL gave me that tip.
Any great cake decorating book (whether from Wilton or other authors). Lots of pictures to get great ideas.
That's all I can think of right now. I wouldn't get the knife/blade thing to cut cakes level and I just use a long, serrated bread knife and eyeball it.
While I am new I already have list.
1. PATIENCE (LOL)
2. My kitchen aid mixer
3. I agree with the multiple tips and plenty of pastry bags
4. Wax and parchment paper
5. This board has become such a must have. The tips and ideas are endless. It is awesome. The internet in general is a great reference tool
6. Paintbrush(s)!!
7. Toothpicks (I seem to go thru a lot)
It seems this list could go on and on!
Thanks for the tacklebox idea, I need to go out and buy one. Right now all my tools are stuff in a bix box, it is such a hassle to go digging thur it every time.
Vicki
I know I am alittle late on this subject but couldn't help myself. everyone was talking about the wilton caddy, I have one that I keep on hand that has a couple flower nails in, couplers, and tips that I use on almost all my cakes, and the colors that i use alot. But I also have a mini nail ben you buy at wal-mart for like $5.00 that has like 29 compartments in it, that holds all my other tips and couplers and other odds and ends that i might use sometimes. I couldn't survive without my kitchen aid or my double ovens. Like alot of the ladies said there are so many things that we use they all play a part in one way or another. Just start off slow and take your time and enjoy it, don't make it a chore, its a passion and you don't ever want to lose the love of doing it. If i am out of line ladies i apoligize that is just how I feel.
I missed this thread! I love and need almost everything mentioned already. #1 probably being my KitchenAid.
I must say though...I think I'm the only one who doesn't care for the triple star tip too much. I bought that when I was doing my first character cake and it seemed to take even longer. It didn't get the small spaces and I ended up having to go back over it with the single star tip. Maybe I need to give it another try or there may be a trick to it.
Where can I find "Americolor" tints? I've seen this mentioned before but I've never heard of them.
This site is definitely on my Top Ten now. Thanks to all of the nice and helpful people here who are so ready to always give their advice and helpful hints. I've learned so much in the short time I've been here.
One other thing I need - peace and quiet.
i have to agree with llj68, with out this site, i would be lost. the people here help and they don't make fun of your worst disasters. i love this site and because of this site i have found a place here in my home town where they hold the wilton cake decorating classes and my first class starts next saturday. good luck getting started and improving every day.
I would have to say the one thing I haven't seen posted is an Empty Pringles can! =0) You place your decorator bags in there & fold the sides of the bag over the top of the can it holds the bag while you fill it with Icing its an awesome lil Trick.. & a really big help! (laughing, At myself, I had to cover mine with a nice shelf liner because my son @ 2 yrs old kept thinking that there were chips in there too.. hehehehe..but he had fun emptying the can for Mommy =0)
I also love my Viva paper towels and my small wooden roller. Good Luck with your shopping list =0)
For me it's my kitchen-aide and having at least 4 of the most used tips...stars and rounds. Oh yeah and a DH that doesn't mind cleaning up after me! 
I can make a really HUGE mess in the kitchen. lol
OOOOOOOOOOO Yeah!! I forgot to mention,, Make sure you dont work with a bag of icing that is too full.. I learned that the hard way,, =0) I spranged a NERVE in my Thumb,, can you believe it? Lmao,, me either.. I was like Omg, I have heard of Someone getting on your nerves, but never of a Spranged Nerve. It was a bit Painful, and nothing to do but to let it heal on its own. Just remember to Have fun with it. & Take Lots of Pictures.
,poor thing hope it gets better soon.
The only things I would add to the above-mentioned list would be the Wilton plastic rainbow lollipop sticks. I use them for mixing my colors they dont break when I am blending in the colors and I can clean them with good soapy water and reuse them. The small Pyrex glass dessert dishes, they are perfect for mixing icing colors in just then right amount for 1 disposable bag of icing. And one not so common item, when I use my flower nails I place the nail with the flower on it on a board that I have drilled out several holes to hold the flower nail upright. I can knock out 4 flowers and them can remove them from the nail at my leisure.
My top must have were already mentioned but I have to add my air conditioning, it's so hot here that my cakes 
can't handle it. And another thing is my huge recipe binder there I hold all my favorite recipes divided by categories, like cookies, cakes, muffins, decorating tips, even pizzas!
Wandy
I would add:
1. Plenty of round gladware or other brand plastic containers.
2. A spoonula, its a spoon shaped silicone spatula and its great for scraping icing out of mixing bowls!
3. My cake leveler to level and torte. I couldn't do it with a knife to save my life.
And a marker to write on the container what's inside!
Mine are Bakers Joy spray and disposable bags. 
What a fun list! So interesting to see what everyone's favorite 'tools' are. I just had to get in on the fun!
1- Definitely my Kitchen Aid!
2- Small kitchen scale- I always weigh most of my dry ingredients for consistency instead of using a measuring cup. Very handy!
3-everything that PolishMommy listed
4- parchment paper
5- a good set of round pans, 6,8,10 & 12"
6-half-sheet pan
7-several tip 103s, 18s, 2s, & 5s.
8- GOOD vanilla
9-Pam cooking spray
10-people to eat your practice cakes who will give you honest feedback. Sounds silly, but they are not always as easy to find as you would think.
That's my list and I'm stickin' to it. The apron is a good idea too, I have several shirts that may be forever "No-Taste Red". LOL Maybe I'll buy a CakeCentral apron!!
I am gonna have to snap some pics at my shop tomorrow and post them...My new KA 600...my stainless steel 8 ft work table with shelves then I have one huge row of industrial shelving thats nothing but cake pand and plateaus and stands and all my accessories ....I love em all!
I've read through all the replies and a couple of things you NEED never popped up. Creativity and Desire. This is a craft where the payoff is, more often then not, the WOW you get from people. It's a very special feeling. 
Hi. I am just starting decorating cakes and just would like to do it for family and friends. I hate not having the right tool or equipment and at the same time I hate buying stuff that I won't use very often.
In your opnion what is somethings that you just can't do with out?
A must have for me is, which I always have in my pantry:
1. Confectioner Sugar 10x
2. Crisco
3. Vanilla and Almond Flavors
4. Pan grease
5. Brandy liquor
6. Self rising and All purpose flour sugar
7. Granulated Sugar
8. Eggs
9. Enough stick butter
10. Evaporated Milk
11. Cake boards of different sizes
Believe or not, I ALWAYS have this stuff in my pantry. I have a friend that sometimes would run out of stuff, and she would call me because she knew I always have this stuff.
PS: Of course, I have my pans, tips, and pastry brush and spatulas.
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