I either use the boards that already have some type of silver or gold covering or I use fondant or softened royal icing.

I have also use MMF and rolled it very thin directly on the board.

I like to get the bagged confetti and sprinkle it on the board and then cover it with the contact paper. Mine is never wide enough but it never shows there are two layers where they overlap. It makes a fun base for a celebration cake.

I have been wondering about the freezer paper. I have been using it for a while but always cover it with cellophane or contact paper. If I put the shiny side do I need to cover it?

I use regular foil unless I don't like the shiny silver look of it with a particular cake and then I use white freezer paper.

I don't use cardboard for the bottom cake board unless I won't be getting it back and then I glue 2 layers of cardboard together for extra support before covering it. My little brother cut me a bunch of plywood circles and squares in different sizes and I love those. No worries about it bending and ruining my cake.

When my little brother is home from college, he usually cuts me up some shaped plywood bottoms to match character pans and I sand the edges. I cover them and put them under the character cakes. After the party, the parents can uncover the board and the kid has a shaped wooden cutout that they can paint/decorate. I started doing this after my lil one rescued a cardboard cutout of a Strawberry Shortcake pan from the garbage and was coloring it with markers.

I don't wrap with anything. I use floor tiles. They are heavy, sturdy, and wash clean. 12" tiles are $1.25 each and 15" tiles are 1.75 at Lowe's. People return them and I wash and reuse.

CONTACT PAPER and vinyl TABLECLOTHS were not meant for food storage, and are NON-FOOD-grade plastics! That means that if you put food on them, some very nasty chemicals will be absorbed into the food, and if ingested, can cause serious long-term health problems.

Here's a link from the Canadian Cancer Society:

http://www.cancer.ca/ccs/internet/standard/0,3182,3172_369485__langId-en,00.html

Here's one on vinyl:

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/polyvinyl-chloride/the-poison-plastic

I don't know about using tiles... but I wouldn't drink my morning coffee out of a mug made from floor tiles. I'm not trying to offend anyone; I think most people just don't realize...

Cheers, from
SwampWitch