Thanks for sharing flayvurdfun!!

Thanks for your pics. It makes clear what I had tried to describe in another thread. This technique is also great for striping. I put the plastic wrap across the corner of the table and do a stripe of one color to the end of the corner and then a stripe of another color next to it also extending to the corner. You can easily do three colors.

Thanks for posting!

I learned this method 8 years ago! I love it! Takes up less space in the fridge too when storing your colors!

Oh your a life saver, Thanks so much cool info

OMG I will have to try this. I always have icing seeping out the open end. Thank you for sharing!!!!

Thanks, can't wait to try out this method!

Oh thank you for this post. I use the reuseable bags and they are not fun to clean. And I always have bowls of frosting filling the fridge this will make it so much more stream lined. I think I loke the ziploc bag idea the best no wrapping etc....
THe adding three different color ideas is also a great tip! I love the look of those floral cupcakes. What tip did you use in those?

OMG how cool is that tip, I too absolutely detest cleaning bags, but the disposable ones are too pricey to change for every color. (I have used as many as 15 color variations on one cake). My life just got sooooo much easier! THANKS!!!

My friend has one of those sealing units that you use to freeze food items. She uses the bulk bags to make her own disposable bags. She makes a batch of frosting and then seals it in a bag in a triangular shape then she snips off the end and uses it to in the Plug method. I have on of those units but I am afraid I will pop the "packet of frosting" just from putting pressure on it to decorate. She doesnt seem to have a problem but I dont want to ruin a cake with an explotion of color either.
Has anyone else done this plug method? Any input if you have?

Gosh Yes I agree,,,,wonderful tip!! Seems like I always use way too many disposable bags,,,,thanks sooo much!

Thank you for sharing... I'll try this method some day

Hi All,
I'm so new to this site and just loving it. Thanks to you all for all of the beautiful cakes and tips. This is one I've used for a long time. If it's not clear let me know and I'll take some pictures later and re-explain. I hate having to have a million tubes of frosting so here is how I avoid some of it. Imagine an empty pastry bag with a tip. Now imagine another bag filled with say pink frosting and a tip for making roses. Now imagine that you only need a little bit of pink frosting to write Happy Birthday. Take your empty bag and put a writer tip into it. Next take your pink bag of frosting with the rose tip and slide the whole thing into the empty bag. It will amaze you at how easy it is to use the same color frosting with several different tips and only have one bag with the pink frosting mess. The only additional mess is the new tips that are used and it is so easy to change them out. If this tip has been passed around forever and I'm just repeating it please forgive. As I said I am new to the site. Blessings to all.

Oh my god you are a life saver! I had 60 cupcakes to decorate w/swirls and having to constantly refill the bag was going to be a pain. This way I made a bunch of "tubes" so when my decorating bag ran dry, I just plugged in another frosting tube and away I went. Thanks for posting this!!

I swear by this method and have been doing it this way for years!!! I will make up at least 3 - 4 of these buttercream inserts to have ready when I'm ready to decorate. I'll even do them in different colors. I keep them totally sealed and I will place them inside a tupperware container or food storage bag and just clip off one end with scissors and drop it in the bag. Then when i've used all the icing up I just pull out the bag by the other end and voila.....toss it away and insert another bag. I've even made small inserts of different colors and dropped them side by side in the same pastry bag to achieve a two toned effect. I make sure to make the inserts the size of my hand, no bigger, so its not so much to have to squeeze. Since I've made lots of inserts I can just drop another one in and keep going. I've even had my family help to make the inserts, especially the white buttercream ones, while I'm busy baking/crumbcoating my cakes. Its a time saver for me.

That is great! As someone who has just begun making cakes, that is a valuable tip, because I sure hate changing tips and couplers they can be so messy sometimes!!

This looks like a wonderful way to dispense icing. I'm going to try this. Thanks so much for the detailed instructions.

I dunno what i'm doing wrong. I did try this plug idea a few months back and liked using it BUT>>> i had a problem with the bag getting all messy inside. I tried pushing the plug further down into the tip but that just clogged it and wouldn't allow the icing to flow..I tried pulling it back some but it messed up the bag. Please explain what i'm doing wrong. Do i have to change the tip after each color?

suz

I made that all the time. It's great..

I don't use the featherweight bags for the specific reason that I absolutely abhor cleaning them!!! Of course the disposable ones aren't cheap. I'm definitely going to give this a try in my plastic ones and if it works for me, then I may go ahead and invest in some of the good bags!

thanks for the pictures, if it weren't from them I would have had no idea how to do it! lol

What a good idea! Thank you. I'm going to use this method to decorate cookies tonight!

This is great, I am definetly going to try it. Thank you.

cant wait to try this !!! Thanks fopr sharing

Wow! I'm gonna have to give that a whirl! I always hate how the icing comes out of the top! Thanks for sharing!!

The ziploc is pretty easy, but depending on how much frosting and what's going on, it can still get messy around the top of the bag.

I can't wait for my next cake and to try the saran wrap. I am going to replicate St. Basil's and was in the process of figuring out the fondant/icing and what I wanted to put where...lol!