Unusual Items Turned Into Cake Decorating "tools".
Decorating By tanyap Updated 30 Aug 2011 , 9:27pm by laceylady
This is a great thread thanks for bringing it back to life! As for the reason it was brought back... the PVC piping is dishwasher safe! Pop it in the dishwasher before using and if you still don't trust it wash it down with bleach water solution before hand then run thru the dish washer the high water temps kill all germs and stuff.
I have one thing to add lol..... My mom bought me these things for christmas because when I saw them I thought mini cupcakes!!!!! lol I'll attach a pic. I use them to transport mini cupcakes and they are perfect as long as the decorations don't go too high 
if they do I just don't stack and lock them I leave them without a cover and just have my husband hold them lol. They are called Snap N Stack and they are for storing your christmas ornaments but work great for tons of things!!!!
You can find them on Amazon or eBay or closer to christmas time Brylane Home which is where I got mine from.
Editted to add... in this photo you can see they have votive candles in the top... mini cupcakes are about the same size in height once iced
This is a great thread thanks for bringing it back to life!
Stumbled on this today. I emptied 2 tall skinny soup cans to bake cake in to make a "cillo" for my Barn-theme cake. Wanted my cake to be "all" cake -- and not use cookies, etc. The soup cans worked great! Even my kids thought so, too. I remembered this from when I was a kid & my Mother baked bread in the old Apple Juice cans!.
Thanks everyone for their posts!! And Yes, I already had all the Play-Do cutters, etc. I use those all the time for mini-themes on cupcakes.
After struggling to find 16x16x6 cake boxes for transporting wedding cake tiers I happened on a"under the bed" rubbermaid storage box with a dual flip-top lid that also came off. Anyway, the thing will hold all three tiers of the style I usually make - 14", 10" and 6". And a moving cart that folds and fits into my trunk holds the storage box and any emergency supplies are in a small cooler that I stack on top of the storage box. I can get from my car to set-up site in one trip! Best of all the storage box was only $7.50 at Office Max!!
Where did you purchase the cart that folds?
I LOVE this thread!!!! Thanks everyone!!
Offhand most of my "tricks" have been mentioned but I wanted to say if anyone has Mozilla Firefox (love it!) there is an extension/add-on called "Scrapbook" you can highlight & save sections of a page (two words, a paragraph, a recipe, photos) with out all the extra wording/graphics on a page.
As I go through this thread I just highlight the tips & save in folders.
This feature is great for a CC'er!
I am so glad this thread was resurrected! Thanks for sharing all the awesome tips. I can't wait to try some of them out!
Ok, here's my geeky contribution to this thread. I have a hard time icing the tops of sheet cakes, especially full size ones. Here's a prototype I am working on that will allow me to sweep it across the top of the cake and get a smooth, and evenly iced cake top. Please keep in mind it's only a prototype! I have to add rulers to the sides so I can position the middle bar on each side, and large, easy to turn nuts to tighten it in place. Haven't gotten that far yet! The wooden bar across the top is the handle to guide it across the cake.
The board in the picture is a full size cake sheet board.
I LOVE this thread. My contribution is different. I washed out some beer caps and used them for embossing on fondant. They roll really easy and make a cool looking line. I also use a sewing wheel to make stitch looking designs on fondant. And thanks to the Melvira method for smoothing buttercream I have several high density foam paint rollers for smoothing buttercream. My kids bubble wands make a great mold too. Just wash them really really good.
This is a great thread thanks for bringing it back to life! As for the reason it was brought back... the PVC piping is dishwasher safe! Pop it in the dishwasher before using and if you still don't trust it wash it down with bleach water solution before hand then run thru the dish washer the high water temps kill all germs and stuff.
I have one thing to add lol..... My mom bought me these things for christmas because when I saw them I thought mini cupcakes!!!!! lol I'll attach a pic. I use them to transport mini cupcakes and they are perfect as long as the decorations don't go too high
if they do I just don't stack and lock them I leave them without a cover and just have my husband hold them lol. They are called Snap N Stack and they are for storing your christmas ornaments but work great for tons of things!!!!You can find them on Amazon or eBay or closer to christmas time Brylane Home which is where I got mine from.
Editted to add... in this photo you can see they have votive candles in the top... mini cupcakes are about the same size in height once iced
I bought a couple of these at Kohl's I use mine to keep all of my fondant and GP tools in .
I got these racks from a couple of stores that I service in my merchandising jobs they were getting rid of them. The big one had windchimes on it and the rotating one had phones on it. Makes a really good place for my cake pans.
Wow! Wow! Wow! Patticake1951 I want a room just like yours!! That's amazing. I think I'm going to have to set my garage up from my Beauty Salon (which I no longer use) into my cake decorating haven. Just need to find some money now to buy the storage I need.
Thanks I only wish it was bigger. I still don't have enough room.I guess I will have a little bit more room pretty soon. My dh is remodeling our shed [actually making it 3 times the size it is now] The middle room is going to be mine to do my crafty things in. He is putting a lg door on each side for his tractors and mowers and a single door in the middle. I will be so glad when he gets done.
Probably the weirdest tool I've ever used is a corn cob holder. You know, the holders that look like corn on the cob. I love using that for my daisies. The rounded end works beautifully for pressing the petals and the pointed end is nice for the impression details.
I use large lollipop sticks instead of wooden dowels for my cakes; they cost less and are very strong!
Julie
I just found another one...a highlighting brush that came in one of those hair coloring box. I had an unused one and boy it works very well to clean those tips and couplers.
this isn't a tool, but a tip i got from here a long time ago. since then, i have never cleaned a bag, tip, or couplets.
tip:put your dirty items in the sink with dish liquid and very hot water. let them sit overnight. do this two more times. i usually drain the water when it gets cold and just add more hot water.
to date...never cleaned another bag, tip, or coupler!!! 
p.s.thanks to who/whom ever gave me this tip!!!
I have used corn on the cob holders also. I use them to make small pin size holes when I use a stencil on the cake. It gives you a good grip for better control
I have nothing to add - YET - but thought this could use a bump
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So many great ideas.
Saw the food network using the bubble wrap for chocolate to make my chocolate spikes.
Heating pad under bowl of chocolate to keep it melted.
Makeup sponges to hold bow loops while drying and also to smooth BC in small spaces.
Two foot spackle smoother to cut long strips of fondant even and also to smooth tops of cakes.
Cookies wrapped in shrink wrap and hit with hair dryer, works great.
OMG this list can go one and one, keep them coming. 
I use the blunt end of these Tupperware gadgets for a small smoother after I pipe in an area with tip 3.
http://shrinkpictures.com/download.php?i=phpa10SxsAM.jpg
(I had to shrink the picture ... I don't know how long it will last at shrinkpictures.com)
I have not read this entire post, so please forgive me if this idea has been given. I find that the caps from soda bottles made the best little dust pots! You can put a small amount in one and mix it with other colors or clear alcohol to use when making flowers, etc. and then you can throw them away when done. No mess....no cost!
thanks everyone for the inspiration to use things around the house instead of buying all theses expensive tools!
i know this isnt exactly a household item but i bought this yesterday and have consequentially stuck it to everything in my house in amazement
http://stickybowl.com.au/
fannnnnntastic!
Where was I when this forum was first started?????You guys have some great ideas! I already use play-doh toys as cookie cutters, but I hadn't thought of stealing the extruder from the kids too!
Here's my list of "tools":
1. Tile adhesive spreaders (makes a great decorating comb to ad texture to buttercream icing)
2. My kids got tired of me taking their Crayola Trace n' Draw, so I finally had to buy my own (also bought an extra set of disks, can be used to project all kinds of images onto your cakes!)
3. I got tired of not being able to quickly locate exactly the tip I was looking for, so I recently bought a cabinet designed for holding screws, washers, etc. in the hardware department at WM. I absolutely love it! I took my label maker to label the contents of each drawer (rose tips, star tips, small, medium and large rounds, etc. Mine even has four larger drawers that I use to hold couplers/rings and various size decorating bags...best $10 I ever spent on cake decorating!)
Could you please tell me how you would use the Crayola Trace & Draw ??
That cabinet is great ! My cake dec.teacher has one of those - must get myself one !!
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