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Ugly cake got me three orders... - Page 2

post #16 of 27
6/22/05 at 12:01pm
I think you did a "GREAT" job as well...
I have horrible writing too... I'm going to try these ideas the next time I have something to print..
Happy baking,
cakegal
cakegal
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cakegal
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post #17 of 27
6/22/05 at 12:18pm
Is there any room for someone else in this boat-sounds like we are all in the same one!! I HATE THE LETTERING KIT!!! Sometimes the bar is waaay to long for a small cake-things stick to it-difficult to get letters in and out-TOO MUCH TROUBLE FOR ME!! I am going to try the candy letters-I do pretty good some of the time just writing it but there are times when it just isn't right---and the picture looks great-wonderful job on the flowers!!
What you do may be a "little thing" but "little things" add to alot!
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What you do may be a "little thing" but "little things" add to alot!
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post #18 of 27
6/22/05 at 12:37pm
Thread Starter 
I want to thank you all so much for your tips & compliments...I swear I wasn't fishing for compliments icon_redface.gif but I feel much better about it now. I'm going to try all the tips for my messages. Think I'll try the piping gel first since I don't have any candy melts on hand right now...next trip to Micheals I guess.

Oh, the background icing is mint green by the way...it does look blue on here though.

I'm glad to hear it's not just me who hates that letter press thingy...one of us should invent and patent something better. I should make my hubby come up with something. He already built me a better tool for dipping chocolates than the one sold by wilton. I also hated the so-called 'stand' that came with the Wilton practice board. It took me forever to get that thing together and it is stuck that way now.

Thanks again everyone! icon_smile.gif
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post #19 of 27
6/22/05 at 2:29pm
piping written messages is completely different from handwriting, and uses different muscles (which, unlike your handwriting muscles, don't have the "memory" of handwriting -- your muscles actually know how to write from years of repitition and practice). best advice is to approach cake writing like any skill -- you have to practice. fortunately, you don't have to have a cake to practice on -- just a piping bag and a surface that you can pipe onto (and scrap off of so you can re-use your practice icing). a board with wax paper on top or better yet a baking pan in the size that you'll bake a cake in is perfect, since it gives you the approximate proportions of your finished cake. just invert it, and spend some time practicing (kids love this too! heck, if we all learned to write on cakes as children, as we do with handwriting, we'd all be masters at it now!) thumbs_up.gif

trust me, it's worth the practice to be free of transfering, pressing, or using other imperfect tools or methods of getting words on cake.
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you
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who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you
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post #20 of 27
6/22/05 at 5:39pm
for something that is supposed to look ugly that looks pretty good icon_smile.gif
its starting to look alot like baking.
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its starting to look alot like baking.
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post #21 of 27
6/22/05 at 8:03pm
Hi Galaglow,
The cake does not look that bad. I think you did a good job, it was late you were frustrated so be easy on yourself. I had one of those days too, where I absolutely hated the cake, it was the world's ugliest cake to me. But everyone loved it. We are our own worst critic. Writing on a cake is hard, just practice, I can't write on a cake either, but I have experimented with different tips and have added a little extra like a dot or a star on the tips of the letter, that detracts from the type going downhill or uphill, it looks like you did it intentionally and it adds additional visual appeal to your cake. Keep up the good work.
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post #22 of 27
6/22/05 at 8:04pm
Oh yeah I forgot to mention, dump the lettering presses! They are completely worthless.
kalikw
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post #23 of 27
6/22/05 at 9:17pm
I do the same technique as a bct. Print script in reverse, place wax paper over lettering, pipe over freeze for a couple of hours, the lay it on your cake peel off and tada no mess no fuss.
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post #24 of 27
6/22/05 at 10:38pm
galaglow....I think you've done a super job on the WHOLE CAKE!!! Your writing is a helluvalot better than I can do!

(I also have that stupid letter press, need we say more?)
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post #25 of 27
6/22/05 at 11:58pm
Hey GalaGlow, haven't seen you on CC for awhile. Where you been? Good to see you back~

I use piping gel in my BC to write with. I use a parchment bag. I cut it in 1/2 & fill it a little bit. Usually it fits in the palm of my hand very easily! I also curve my hand a little more then the way I write w/ a pen. As long as you have the BC/piping gel thin you will be able to get better w/ your writting. It took me awhile to figure it out & I have very nice handwriting.

OH.. another tip... if you're right handed hold the bag in your left hand & guide it w/ your right hand. Left handers do the opposite too. I haven't done it but I have a friend that does it that way. It works!

Good luck! You're handwriting is a lot better then some writing on cakes that I've seen! Oh.. forgot.. I think the cake is very pretty too!!
"Learn from a turtle... it only makes progress when it sticks it's neck out"
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"Learn from a turtle... it only makes progress when it sticks it's neck out"
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post #26 of 27
6/23/05 at 6:15pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks again everyone! I appreciate all the tips to improve my lettering. I'm going to garage sale that letterpress set! I got two more compliments from people today about the cake, so I guess it wasn't too bad. icon_smile.gif I'm glad everyone was happy with it.

Hi TC! Yes, it's been a long time. We were on vacation in Disneyland, then my daughter was sick with tonsilitis, etc., etc. but I'm happy to be back at CC! I missed being here!

My oven buzzer is going so I've got to run! Thanks again everyone!
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post #27 of 27
6/23/05 at 6:54pm
I had a hard time writting also. I just practiced a lot. I did one cake with writting all over it, just for the sake of practice. I have also just used a cutting board and kept reusing my same icing-this is great it you have a little left over from a cake.

I was training someone in a bakery I used to work in. They were having problems with writting also. This is one of the hardest things for me to teach. She was watching me and noticed that the other decorators and I use our whole arm to write. (I never noticed this until she pointed it out)
But it is true. When you write with pen and paper you move your wrist and your fingers. When you write on a cake you need to move your arm from your shoulder (as if it were your wrist) and your wrist as little as possible (like your fingers holding the pen)

I hope this doesn't confuse you. But I have had better success teaching others this way. Most people (even after decorating cakes for a long time-i was one of them) Want to write with icing like you do with a pen and paper. And for most it just doesn't work that way.

Just another suggestion to try. Hope it helps and isn't confusing.

Leily
It's better to be Hated for who you Are,
Than Loved for who you're Not.
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It's better to be Hated for who you Are,
Than Loved for who you're Not.
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