I have never done either of these methods. I always used my edible images to get these looks however not everyone likes the look of edible images and would rather have one of these methods....I guess. One of my customers wants this look. So my questions are:
1. what should the consistency be for the fbct icing?
2. which one is the easiest to do?
3. I don't have color flow mix so what is a good recipe for the run sugar?
4. How soon in advance can I do either method?
5. After applied to the cake which is more edible? I'm assuming the run sugar stays hard and the fbct will soften up?
6. What size tip do you use to do the outline and fill in?

Any help in this area would be appreciated. I have a Dora cake to do in a couple of weeks and I am leaning towards the FBCT.

Okay when I hear the words run in sugar I usually think of something that I saw alot on LadyCakes message board. The run in sugar was a mixture of powder sugar and corn syrup, a very runny translucent mixture.

As far as your questions:
1. what should the consistency be for the fbct icing?
I use a thin medium icing when I do mine.

2. which one is the easiest to do?
They both relatively easy. One you will do upside down, and the other is right side up. The FBCT will need freezer time but can be done the day of. The Color Flow technique needs a few days to try, so you need to do it ahead of time.

3. I don't have color flow mix so what is a good recipe for the run sugar?
Instead of using the color flow mix you an do royal icing. I have done about 90% of the ones I have done in royal icing and it works fine.

4. How soon in advance can I do either method?
The FBCT can be done as early as you want and left in the freezer (wrapped well). The Color Flow piece can also be done weeks early. You just have to make sure that you give it time to try, usually 48 hours ahead of time. You can quick dry color flow pieces, but you still need about 12 hours when quick drying. To quick dry it you place it in the oven with just the oven light on. Be sure to put a note on the knob so no one comes along and turns on the oven while it is in there.

5. After applied to the cake which is more edible? I'm assuming the run sugar stays hard and the fbct will soften up?
The FBCT will be just like any other buttercream decoration on your cake. The Color Flow piece will be crunchy and probably not too easy to cut through. But it can just be removed before cutting in most cases.

6. What size tip do you use to do the outline and fill in?
For the FBCT it depends on how small you want the outline to be. I have done them in 1, 2 and 3. For filling it I will do anything from a 3 to 10 round tip, depending on how big the area I am filling in is.

For the color flow piece you will want to use a 2 or 3 for the outline. I never use a tip for the fill in. I just cut the bag with a small opening.

TexasSugar, thank you so much for taking your time to answer my questions. I actually tried to do the FBCT for practice but I did it on acetate paper. I'm not so sure this works so well. It's been in the freezer for a while but it's stuck pretty good to it. Maybe I should try the wax paper like they suggest. I thought it would come off the acetate paper easily. But then again, I need a lot more practice! Thanks again

I've done them on plastic wrap and wax paper.

How thick was your transfer? I have always had trouble getting really thin ones of the backing since they thaw really fast. You also have to work really really fast once you pull it from the oven. And I have had colors like red that used alot of color gel and got thinned down stick to the backing as well.

Have you tried transferring a picture straight to your cake?
Print the picture (like a coloring book page or clip art),
outline with a Sharpie, turn over, pipe black BC over all the lines, press on cake, remove picture, and fill in w/BC as if you were coloring.
These turn out quite well and you won't see the initial black lines.

I'm assuming the more butter that's in your buttercream the more the FBCT will harden in the freezer? That could have been a bit of my problem as well. But you know, I thought I was doing a sloppy job until it got turned over and cool Look at that! When I was reading the instructions in the articles I never realized that I would actually be working on the back side. You understand a lot better when you try something.
So the FBCT are good for laying flat on cakes but the color flow plaques are good to stand up on cakes, right? I know you definitely can't stand the FBCT, lol.

Just throwing this out there but the budded in pictures that people used to do, it's kind of old school now eh? My competitor, that is what she does, but she's been cake decorating for a long time and me well, I'm fairly new at it. Only 8 months into it. And I don't want to bud in pictures. Anybody else feel this way?

budded in?

not sure what that is?

I haven't tried the FBCT yet but I have done color flow. I put a design on a cake that was for my own party so I had the leftovers to observe what happened afterward. I put the design on the buttercream the morning of the party and it was still pretty crunchy that afternoon when it was cut. However, after sitting overnight, the colorflow absorbed the oils from the buttercream and becomes more of a really thick paste. It still holds form but it was more edible and could be cut easily. So, if you have the time to do it a day or so early and you're using buttercream, you can get it to soften up so it doesn't have to be removed to be eaten.