My writing stinks. Enough said. I'm doing a UT cake and I have a pattern from goggle with TEXAS and the longhorn. It's lettering is big enough that I can do it with runny royal. I want to add Happy Birthday ...! to the cake in a similar but smaller font. I've read about trasferring the pattern but I can't find instructions. Help please? Thanks in advance.

poke holes in the pattern with a straight pin. Going along the writing. Or outlines. Does that make sence.
So when you turn the paper over and look at the back it has a lot of little prickels poking out. This will leave a pattern on your icing. Just lay the pattern on the cake a GENTLY rub over the holes.

Did that help?

You can also trace the pattern backwards onto waxed paper with piping gel, then turn it over onto the cake. This makes your template to trace with frosting.

Piping jel does work but sometimes is difficult to see. You can do basically the same thing w/royal icing......If you do it on a piece of clear plastic it will become a 'perment' press for use....will last thru maybe a couple of dozen uses.

Thanks - I'll try those ideas. What I read a while back was that there is a non-toxic pencil - but I don't know how to use it. I don't even know where to find one. Anyone know about that?

I dont know about the pencil. I've never even heard of it!!