hi, i am confused when it gets to step 7. i know what is happening in step 6, but what are you doing in step 7? is that frosting going on top of what you did in step ? it looks like it will smudge the whole thing. help! i would like to try this! diane

Yes, it's all icing. It will smudge if you press hard to squish. Firm but gentle is the key.

I always suggest you start off with a sample. Try a few geometric shapes with different colors. Or a simple cartoon picture with only a few colors and large spaces.

It really works. The secret is a stiff lining icing and a medium to soft filler icing.

hi,
so use a stiff icing in step 6 and a thinner one in step 7?
diane

No, in step 4 I mention using a thicker icing for the lining to prevent smudging.

In step 5 you begin using your filler coloring. I prefer using at least 1/2 butter to shortening. This will automatically be a softer icing.

Step 7 will be the thinner icing you used for the filling colors.

Step 8 you will use the icing you used to cover the cake. You may thin this down if you need to.

Now note, I stated a medium to soft icing, not a totally soft. That will smear.

I promise, you making this much harder o yourself than it has to be. Take a deep breath. Do practice transfer or two. You will truly see how easy it is.

Keep asking questions... but calm down... (wink)

i'm sorry, but to a beginner, that looks confusing, but i am going to give it a try. hey, you never know, with a little practice i guess i could do this.
diane

No worries. The first time I set out to create a BCT I used instructions that weren't nearly as detailed. I thought to myself, "There's no way this will work." But it really does.

I hadn't been decorating very long when I gave it a try. i was amazed at how easy it was when I actually did it. It's one of those "hands-on" things. You can't really wrap your mind arou d it until you physically do it.

I made these three the first day I learned how . I'm sure you'll do just as well.

(I think this was the first one I tried

http://community.webshots.com/photo/105829411/101916706KpPsaU

http://community.webshots.com/photo/105829194/101916749phAMCO

http://community.webshots.com/photo/101912607/101916789KwLseg

I found it easy to freeze before step 8. I freeze my design, then go over it with more icing. It helps me from freaking out thinking it will blend all together..
Just a thought

briansbaker- very good idea!!! Thanks for the help!!

I found freezing between colours helps me out. making it thicker than you think also helps stops cracking- had one puppy head crack off!! I have left them in the freezer for a week no problems. Also found wax paper better than saran. If you do have a small oops leave it trying to fix it will make it a million times worst. found that out the hard way!!

The first time I did a BCT I tried freezing before putting the final coat of icing too, but it didn't smooth out the design. I still had swirlies. The next (and most recent) time I did it, I piped it on, then pressed gently. All my swirlies were gone and I was very pleased with the final result. I had some lettering in my BCT, so I was extra gentle with those parts and had very little move after applying pressure.

As katiecake said, you will need to make it thicker than you think it should be. The tutorial says nothing about final thickness. Somebody here at CC once mentioned (in a completely unrelated post) that it should be about 1/4 inch thick. My first BCT cracked badly when I put it on the cake, but the 2nd one, which was much thicker, was great!

Ali