Ok, pro's out there..........newbie question: I am just learning more about piping flowers and as I was practicing this weekend I was having a terrible time transferring them off of my flower nail without breaking them. I was using a fairly stiff royal icing and the flowers were fully dry before I tried to remove them, but I was still breaking quite a few. If anyone could offer tips I would be so grateful. Thanks!

I like to pipe 'em right on

are you piping them on wax paper and then removing them so they can dry on the paper??

I teach my students to make them righ on the flower nail and then lift off with the flower lifter (looks like a pair of scissors) or a small pair of scissors. When you lift it, open the scissors, and close them under the rose about halfway, then slide the rose off the nail and place on cake, sliding the scissors straight out.

If I make them ahead of time, make them on the waxed paper squares placed on the nail. Then remove from nail and place on cookie sheets or something else for a couple days and then by the time I am ready to place on the cake, I can hold them gently with one hand and remove the waxed paper square, dab a bit of icing on the bottom and stick them to the cake.

Kris

I pipe a little dot of frosting on the nail, then place a small square of parchment paper or wax paper on the nail. The frosting keeps the paper from slipping. I remove the paper and flower from the nail and allow the flowers to dry. During hot, humid weather I'll pop a bunch of the flowers into a plastic container, snap on a lid, and freeze them. When I'm ready to add the flowers to the cake I just take them out of the freezer and place them on the cake.

Thanks so much for all of the great practical tips you guys! I am so grateful for CC because I have learned soooo much from everyone's generous sharing of knowledge