Unusual Items Turned Into Cake Decorating "tools".
Decorating By tanyap Updated 30 Aug 2011 , 9:27pm by laceylady
Hi all -
I had leftover royal icing from my course II so I thought I'd practice making some roses...well, my icing must've been too stiff because my bag burst mid-petal!! Well, my usually helpful daughter was already in bed and DH is not at home so I stuck my flower nail in the d. coke can that I was drinking to free up my hand to replace my bag....The can worked great because the little metal tabby thing prevented the nail head from laying flush on top of the can and gave me enough room to pick up the nail and finish the rose where I'd left off. I think from now on I'll be drinking more d. cokes while making flowers!!
What cool and unusual household (or otherwise) items have you turned into a cake decorating tool????
Well, it isn't exactly household, but a styrofoam block is great for holding flower nails.
Also,
I use a large floral vase *clean, of course* to hold my bags in between uses while I'm working on a cake. It holds them upright so they don't get in the way while I'm using a turntable.
pizza cutter for cutting fondant- I used the fondant cutter and it didnt give me the clean edge I needed so thats no longer used. my husbands tools for cutting dowl rods.
A playdoh fun factory (clean of course) for fondant ropes......ran to walmart in the middle of the night because i got tired to rolling out and get ugly ropes.....
A playdoh fun factory (clean of course) for fondant ropes......ran to walmart in the middle of the night because i got tired to rolling out and get ugly ropes.....
I'm going to have a whole new perspective of play doh toys...I may have to fight my two girls for them!!
Great ideas so far...my wheels are turning and I'm starting to look around the house for more "possibilities"...is this the sign of an addict?!?
Plastic spoon heads glued to peg board for gumpaste flower making...
Putty knife for chocolate tempering.
Reptile warming light for sugar pulling.
Plaster tools for texture...
Styrofoam cups, upside down to hold flower nails, right side up to hold gumpaste flowers
Buttons to stamp fondant
Clean disinfected tweesers
make up sponges...
drafting tool...
Need I go on...?
* Shut up Diva..lol
what do you use the make up sponges for?
I bought a little bag of them, and I totally forgot what they were going tobe used for.
I don't wear make up,, so that was out hmmmmmmm........
Vinyl tablecloths = diamond impression mat
Styrofoam = flower drying station and flower nail holder
Putty Knife = buttercream smoother
Paper towel roll tube = flower former
Mini cleaning supplies caddy with damp sponge in the bottom = No Clog Royal icing bag holder
Jay cloth = Icing sugar dust puff
Flat Toothpick = Frosting applicator for small areas
Foil Strips = Leaf Formers
Balloons = Chocolate Bowl formers
Egg Cartoons = Flower transporters
Water Bottle Box = Flower drying station + Flower transporter
These Are just a few I can think of off the top of my head. I will Add more As I think about what I have used in the past
Pruning shears for cutting wood dowels.
paper punches
pinking shears
play doh toys.. I have some that roll edges... different kinds of ribbons
used to use vinyl to roll out fondant.
I use all kinds of trims and ribbons
i need to get some playdo toys and start saving egg cartons.. goodness know i use enough eggs
Funny how once you get into that mode you can imagine just how to use anything for something else.....2-3 weeks ago I used my DH MR POtatoe head "darth tater" for a mold for my Darth vader cake .....worked really well......
Use the apple trays if you must, even those are not really good to use, apples have pesticides.
You may be cross contaminating with the egg cartons, all it takes is just ONE bad egg contaminated with salmonella
I used to work for a Dentist...I've got all kind of old instruments I use to carve into flowers..fondant...gumpaste....you name it.
He also gave me sample suction tips...I use them to make folds in fondant for drapes etc.
Like MissB...I use a large threaded "bolt" to give baby blankets and such their texture.
My DH cut me great rolling pins out of PVC pipe...he makes them any size I need.
Cake Princess-This might be a dumb question but how do you do the diamond impressions from the vinyl tablecloth?
I know I am still a newbie, but I figured I would add some of the things I have used to help me..lol
A tall kitchen glass - I put my bags in there and pull the sides of the bag around it and fill my bag with icing. Then I don't have the mess around the edges.
A vinegar bottle - for making my sand. I use it almost like a rolling pin to get my cookies to crumble really fine.
Reynolds Oven bags - when making my MMF, I pour my powdered sugar into this as it is much eaiser to pour. You can cut a snip at the bottom and it acts almost like a funnel.
And that is about it....or all I can think of at the moment
Beth
I always check out first the clay tool section (somehow the tools are cheaper) and the woodsection. I bought three smaller "rollingpins" for $2 at the wood crafts section. to curl the flower pedals, I use the back of my rounded brushes.
I also use my grater to hold up flowers on toothpicks (if they are not to many)
ziploc bags for decorating. I always leave the coupler in and close them up after i use them with a piece of cleas plastic foil
I have to go today and check out the play doh toys LOL
These are great! Thanks for sharing. I don't really do anything clever. I use knee highs one with cornstarch and one w/ PS for dusting. I'm sure that's nothing new.
Esther - I've used the grater too to hold my toothpick roses....my instructor taught us how to use hershey's kisses to make the roses and so you have to stick a toothpick in the base of the kiss so that you can turn and make the petals...I used to hold them for a few minutes before I tried to remove them off the toothpick but that got old so I started using the grater also!
thats a nice topic here. I got some really good ideas that i will defenetly trie out.
So, what do i use myself.
1. I have one garlic press to do the hair.
2. Stole some of my kids lego pieces. Washed them and now i keep them separately just for me. (Icc hiding from the boys.) Legos have so cool different stamp pieces. I did a brick wall on fondant with them. also really easy to press the windows in. Just look at the different pieces and let the imagination run
3. i couldnt find a mold for a baby face. so for a long time i tried to do it without a mold. it was really time consuming and never came out the way i wanted. So i bought one little baby doll. pressed the gumpaste in its face and left it to drie. now i have a perfect mold for the nose , mouth and eyes.
4. play doh toys are really cool too. Bought also kids plastic scisors which cut different shapes on the sides. works great too for a ribbon or something.
5. i also use the piping tips to do stamps on the fondant. some are really nice.
lastingmoments--
I never would have thought about using a playdoh machine. Look out Wal-Mart here I come.
I use the spongy kind of shelf liner for making a blanket texture on my baby blanket cakes.
I was watching the WEdding Cake contest the other night on Food Network and one of the bakers had a great idea for using a light bulb to form flowers. I tried it and it works great!
Thank you for the playdough idea. I bought the wilton fondant cutter and it is dull beyond belief. I like my pizza cutter much better.
Wow you guys are so creative. I am on my way to the store right this minute to buy some play doh toys, I never even thought of that one, keep the ideas coming, I am learning so much from you guys.
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