I have only made a color flow piece once and it was a few years ago. I am in need of some help. How long in advance do I need to make the color flow piece?? What is the best way to do a color flow piece, etc??

Thanks!!

48 hours minimum to dry. If colorflow is too thick it will not dry. Make sure your dam is thick enough or the color will leak and mix together (been there, done that).

How do I know if it is too thick or too thin?? What is the consistency supposed to be like??

Actually the amount of time needed for drying depends on the size of the piece and your weather
Small pieces (no bigger than about business card size) with dry weather could be dry overnight or 24 hrs.
Anything bigger &/or it is humid where you live, plan on about 48 hrs.
Make your piece on plastic wrap - not wax paper. It will be much easier to remove.
The thicker you make your outline the more it will stand out. If you want it to blend in more, use tip 3 and straight royal. Then thin down 2/3rds of the remaining by adding water *drop by drop* until you can spoon some out, drop it back into the cup and it settles/blends in that you cannot tell it had been removed within a slow count of 10. You want to keep some thick (not thinned) in case you need to make another one.

Edited to add: Use a parchment bag w/out a tip or coupler; snip off just the tiniest bit of the end so the icing can slowly flow out - so you have control of it. Make sure the flow touches the outline - easy it w/a toothpick if necessary. Working quickly once it is filled - take the bag and stick it into the center and 'inflate' the flow until it *almost* overflows the outline. You want to really puff it up It will settle some as it dries.

Don't forget you can also add flavoring to your colorflow (just use 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of clear flavor instead of water...cut water by amount of flavoring). I liked the one with the vanilla flavoring and my husband eats the decorations like candy.

Thank you so much. I went to Michael's and bought a tin of Color Flow, so I am going to make Elmo tomorrow!!