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Beckup
Junior Member
Joined: Dec 30, 2007
Posts: 21
Location: Anchorage, AK
Birthday: Nov 20
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 Posted:
Wed Nov 04, 2009 1:58 pm |
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I know when I started decorating cakes 20 odd years ago I used a piece of vinyl with a grade school writing sheet underneath it. I praticed writing e's and l's looped together over and over. Once I got the letters evenly spaced and liked how they looked I worked on harder letters. It seems kinda silly but it works.
When I worked for one of those big grocery chains I would teach new cake decorators how to write on cakes. I would suggest they do the same thing. Also, I suggested writing quickly, cause the slower you write the more you hand shakes. Practice practice practice! Do it on vinyl, scrape it off and do it again! The goal is to have level, evenly spaced and balanced words.
I do like the newer impression gadgets for writing they have out these days! |
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Melvira
Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Jul 28, 2006
Posts: 6506
Location: Lost Nation, Iowa
Birthday: Sep 20
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Wed Nov 04, 2009 2:07 pm |
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I despise writing on cakes! I have beautiful penmanship, but when it comes to cakes I look like a cross eyed 4 year old wrote on it! (No offense to any cross eyed four year olds!!) Whenever humanly possible I use edible images for words. I found that the letter presses don't work too well for me, but a projector is intriguing! I'd love to try one out some time before buying one. Wish there was a place to do that! |
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MichelleM77
Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Jul 06, 2005
Posts: 3438
Location: near Akron, Ohio
Birthday: Jun 01
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Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:08 pm |
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I make plaques as well.
PJ37: Using piping gel....doesn't that stay wet? It sounds like how it's done with RI but I'm confused if it stays wet??? |
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LoriMc
Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 11, 2006
Posts: 541
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Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:15 pm |
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I never write on cakes anymore! I always make a fondant banner and use food color markers to write the message, or if I have room I use my whimsy letter cutters. They were worth every dime! |
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PJ37
Regular Member
Joined: Dec 29, 2006
Posts: 175
Location: Cortland, Ohio
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Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:33 pm |
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Michelle M77,
Yes, The clear gel is "wet", but there is not much of it on the cake. Then you write over it with buttercream or whatever...and your handwriting looks great! Both dry nicely and if there is any trace of the gel, it is just a sparkle (and clear). I notice you live in Akron, my daughter lives there too! |
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MichelleM77
Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Jul 06, 2005
Posts: 3438
Location: near Akron, Ohio
Birthday: Jun 01
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Fri Nov 06, 2009 9:55 am |
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PJ37, does the piping gel every dry? I've heard people using it as a "glue" for edible images on cookies and wondered how that would work since I thought it stayed wet.
I'm in the 'burbs, but close enough.  I had to Google for where Cortland is. Hee hee. Not to far surprisingly! I need to get out more often. Ha ha! |
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metria
Regular Member
Joined: Sep 04, 2009
Posts: 114
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Fri Nov 06, 2009 10:07 am |
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I'm so torn on writing on cakes. It's so much faster to free-hand it, but once you start, you're committed! Stopping only makes it worse; you have to just keep going. Last night I piped "Happy Birthday" but didn't like it. Luckily I was able to scoop it out, re-ice, and start again. |
Last edited by metria on Fri Nov 06, 2009 10:08 am; edited 1 time in total |
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neomommy
Frequent Member
Joined: Feb 12, 2007
Posts: 235
Location: South Texas
Birthday: May 11
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Fri Nov 06, 2009 10:07 am |
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I have all the fonts that tappit makes. They work for many occasions, but sometimes they aren't the right size, so I still have to write  |
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emrldsky
Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 28, 2007
Posts: 507
Location: Indiana
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Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:46 pm |
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If it's butter cream, I cry a bit then try and mess it up. My penmanship is horrible.
If the cake is covered in fondant, I make a template ahead of time. I print out what I want to say, lay the paper over Styrofoam, use a pin to poke holes along the letters, then I cover the cake in fondant and press my template to the fresh fondant (the pokey side into the fondant)
A bunch of small dips are now embedded in your fondant, waiting for you to trace! I think I got that technique from Rebecca Sutterby. |
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PJ37
Regular Member
Joined: Dec 29, 2006
Posts: 175
Location: Cortland, Ohio
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Fri Nov 06, 2009 4:02 pm |
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MichelleM77,
Yes, the gel dries nicely on the cake. Cortland is about one hour away from Akron to the northeast. |
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misserica
Frequent Member
Joined: Jun 25, 2008
Posts: 247
Location: New Jersey
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Fri Nov 06, 2009 4:35 pm |
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I stink at writing on cakes and I do it all day (work in grocery store bakery). A lovely CC member made me a youtube video showing me how she writes (Unlimited you are the BEST). But what everyone else has been saying, practice, practice, practice.
I find it easier to write on the board rather than the cake so if its for me not the bakery I will use a bigger board. At work thats not an option but I have been writing in print (now I have been using upper and lower case) whereas I used to do just upper case (how I write on everything else in my life). I just dont have time to practice so I find ways to cheat. The pin in fondant works great for me as someone suggested. I also bought the impression letters- big mistake, they make a mess and you need enough room on the cake, not to mention there a pain in the a$$ to clean.
Good luck! |
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