Hi.
Please look at this pathetic transfer I did. I think I know what was wrong, but wanted to double check with the experts! Was my icing too thick?
At the time I didn't think it was, but I guess I was wrong. I even "pounced" on it after the fact, but maybe it was too thick, so the pouncing didn't help it.
Please tell me what I did wrong. I am soooo much better at chocolate transfers. (I have a couple that I am uploading). The buttercream is just better because you don't have to remove it from the cake, like you do the chocolate ones.
Any advice you can offer would be great.
Thanks!!!!!!
It looks pretty thick to me. I usually thin down my icing quite a bit when doing bct. My first transfer turned out like that so I thinned out the buttercream and made the whole transfer thinner and that worked for me. I also smooth out the transfer with a spatula once I have filled it in. Haven't had a problem since. Hope that helps.
I think if you thin your icing on the next one you will be just fine. I still think that Boots looks really cute! You did a great job on the colors!
traci
I think thinning the icing will help a lot. I tend to use icing at least as thin as when I ice my cakes. It needs to be able to spread easily. Also before you freeze your transfer, CAREFULLY pick it up and look at the front side. I usually see areas I need to go back and spread the spatual over the back to spread the icing more around for better coverage. This also will allow you to see any thin areas before it is too late. Sometimes I need to add more icing and other times I just need to push an air pocket out. Just keep practicing and I am sure you BCTs will turn out as well as your chocolate transfers do.
Good luck!
First of all, I don't think it is pathetic at all! I really think you did a great job. Mine came out like that in spots too. Especially the larger spots like Dora's hair. I just took a wet paint brush and after it came to room temp smoothed it more. It'll be fine.
aahh.. I thought I was the only person thinking wet paint brush..LOL works every time!
Thank you very much. I will definitely try the paintbrush.
I was trying to look at it from underneath but I had taped my picture to the back of the plexiglass, and then I had a large piece of wax paper, so I wrapped it around the back of the plexiglass and that was taped to the picture too. I didn't want to ruin the transfer by trying to peel the papers apart.
Am I suppose to be taping the picture to the underside of the plexiglass or directly underneath the wax paper on the topside? I can never see very well how it looks while doing it, and I assume this is why. I think I'm doing this wrong. Please tell me if I am!!!!
What is pouncing?
I definitey agree with the wet paintbrush idea to fix it. I have used them in the past to fix different flaws on my cakes.
pouncing can be done with your fingers or even a stiff paintbrush and you just apply pressure to the icing to smooth it out. Squirrellycakes told me she sprinkles some powdered sugar on the back of the transfer and then "pounces" it to help smooth it out. I thought it was going to look fine...I was very unhappily surprised by outcome. I was taking my time on it and I thought being very careful.
I tape my coloring page to my cutting board and then place a piece of wax paper directly onto the coloring page. I actually lift my BCT off the cutting board to look at the front side before I place it in the freezer. My cutting board isn't clear so I can't see without lifting it. Maybe I should get some plexiglass as I am always afraid I will drop it while I am looking. I agree with the paint brush method, I too have used that to mend one that broke and smooth out a little more in an area I did get very well the first time.
Good Luck!
I just went to Home Depot and they had precut plexiglass; I bought a piece that was a little smaller than a piece of paper. I think next time I will tape the picture underneath again, but make sure I don't tape the wax paper to it as well. Then I could have just peeled off the coloring page and I should be able to see it perfectly clear.
Grrrrrrr.
Thanks everyone for your advice!!!
I will look for plexiglass next time I am at Lowes. I tape my coloring page to the cutting board and then I tape the wax paper separately to the cutting board so I can lift that without having to fight getting the coloring page off. Your chocolate transfers are really nice. I think with thinner icing and little more smearing, your BCT's will be just as nice. I need to invest in some candy colors so I can try a chocolate transfer. Those look so sharp!! Are they as easy as BCT's?
As you can see from my lack of skill...I think the chocolate ones are easier. haha
I like to use the CK brand "Candy writers" in the tubes for small areas and then I tint the white for larger areas. On my first Hello Kitty (pic not posted) I decided to use the pink melts, thinking they would look better....however, they came out chalky looking. When I re did her, I used the white and tinted it pink and it looked much better. I love the black outline and how smooth it is. The white seems to run a little with the black at times...I am not sure why. Both times, a little ran around the eyes, but nowhere else. I tried reconstructive afterthefact surgery on her eyes...and she looks ok. Same idea as the paintbrush theory for the buttercream transfers...I added a little of the chocolate and then smoothed it out to make it blend as much as possible.
They both look great when you know what you are doing. For me, it is easier to grab the stuff to do the chocolate transfers, vs. making the buttercream and then doing the transfer. A lot less mess - especially when using the candy writer tubes.
Thanks for the info Melissa. Where do you find the CK brand "Candy writers" in the tubes? I have only seen the melts and the colors for them at Michaels.
I believe www.sugarcraft.com and www.candylandcrafts.com both carry them.
I like both sites. They are great for filling in small areas.
Hi.
Any advice you can offer would be great.
Thanks!!!!!!
Just in case you are interested in a different method, I don't do BTC but use Royal icing to do my characters... Its pretty much tracing the image into wax paper, tracing and then filling.... Thicker for tracing, thinner for filling. Please look at my cake photos on the bottom tab. The ones with characters, except cake toppers, I did with this method..
Thanks for the info. Your royal icng transfers look nice. What recipe do you use? Does that get really hard? I have never worked with royal icing except to "glue" together a gingerbread house. Do you have to remove it or can you eat the RIT?
This is the first time I've heard of this and I've looked at some of the pictures - OH my goodness, it's remarkable. I NEED to know how to do this - can someone help?
Here is the link for butter cream transfers (BCT) & chocolate transfers by cali4dawn. There is a lot of really good info on this website.
http://community.webshots.com/user/cali4dawn
Have fun!
Thanks for the info. Your royal icng transfers look nice. What recipe do you use? Does that get really hard? I have never worked with royal icing except to "glue" together a gingerbread house. Do you have to remove it or can you eat the RIT?
I use the Wilton recipe of Meringue Powder, Confectioner Sugar (10x) and water...
Yes, it gets hard but its fragile. What I have done to make it stronger is to leave attach to it the wax paper. Just cut around it and don't remove the paper. Or I have also done, for example on the buildings you see on my Kim Possible cake, I made the building by drawing them onto cardboard, and filling directly onto the cardboard with the Royal icing. I taped a sucker stick behind the building and what's inserted into the cake is the sucker stick. So you don't have to worry about the royal icing melting into the cake.
You can eat the royal icing figures if you want. I don't like the taste, but some people do... But it won't hurt them if they eat it.... Unless you attach it to the cardboard..
I'm not sure if anyone answered this, but yes you tape the picture to the underside of the plexiglass. This way you can peel the picture off after making your outlines and see the icing through the bottom of the plexiglass.
Also, I use plexiglass marketed by GalleryGlass as styrene blanks. It's plexiglass the size of paper, and you get two (I think) per package. GalleryGlass is at most craft stores, so it might be easier to find than going to home depot and getting a piece cut.
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