I am going to try a FBCT for the first time. I have read, and think I understand, the tutorial on this site. Is there anything else I should know, or any pitfalls to be wary of? I'd hate to have a great transfer, then take it out of the freezer and find out it just didn't work. Too late to replace it at that point. Thanks for any help you can offer!

they can be made even up to a month in advance......the longer you let it freeze the stronger it will be.............when you're done piping and filling it all in, give it a good whack on the counter (helps to smooth out some of the squiggly lines)............when it's on the cake and still frozen......you can take your finger tip and swirl around on the surface, helping to smooth out some of the squiggles from piping (just be careful not to blend colors)............I have successfully gone over them (once they're on a cake, thawed, and crusted over) with a viva paper towel and made them nice and ultra smooth.

Once I have mine on the cake I will overpipe more details or airbrush shading onto them.

Thanks, all for your comments. Any more suggestions before I take the plunge??

Have fun!!! I really like them

Make sure you get a good layer of icing over the finished piece... makes it a bit sturdier and easier to get off the paper.

I have done 4 so far and the last one turned out great... I did betty boop for my mom.

How do you get your edges to blend in with the rest of the cake? I've done a few and I am finding this is a problem? Please help! What am I doing wrong?

I haven't had this problem before and the only thing I can think of is maybe your transfer to too thick. You might try pressing it into the cake while it's still very hard. I think that might help.

make sure when outlining that you use a good stiff blend, I had trouble with that on the one I tried...

Daisey1 , I was looking at yours (very nice!) and it looks like I have been going past the outer edges when I put the final thicker coat over the whole thing. I think that might be my problem. What do you think? If you look at my photos of the GI Joe cake you can see what I am talking about. TIA

Very cute cake!! I see what you mean. Maybe you just need to use a smaller tip when outlining.

are you covering the entire are of the cake when doing your thicker coat or just a small amount past the outline?

I put a heavy layer of icing on the top of all my cakes. My family likes icing!

The instructions on this website tell you to put a border around the transfer that will match your cake. Isn't that going beyond the "black" outline of the figure itself? At least, that's how I interpret it. I made 2 transfers last night. They look ok, but I haven't put them on the cake yet (it's being baked tonight, but not decorated until Saturday).

I don't pipe an additional border on mine but I also don't put a very heavy coating on the back so maybe that's why I can get away with just pressing it into the cake. I would suggest experimenting to see what works best for you. Also, if you did this in candy melts, you could get it a lot thinner and it would be more sturdy. I stay away from candy melts because I wind up eating all the leftovers. NOT good for the thighs.

I like your transfers I was just wondering, the one that I tried I use to thin of icing around the outline and it looked weak...

hadn't thought about candy melts, I heard a fudge icing would work...I know what you mean about candy melts my wife is a weigtht watchers leader.......she hates me.....

We just have to suffer for your art

I have a question about transfers. Really, it's about my #1 tip. I just bought one last week and was so excited because I wanted to work on details. But it was so hard to squeeze out that it ended bursting a hole in my decorating bag. If I thin the icing some to use with this tip, would it still freeze like it's suppose to?

Yes I am covering the whole back and about an inch past the outline line. I read the tutorial here also and it said to do that and now I'm running into this. I guess the next time I will not go past the outline and see how that comes out. Thank you all for all the advice. It has been very helpful!!

You should be able to thin it and still freeze. The only problem I've had with small tips is the lines move around when I start piping the background. I don't know if freezing the partially completed transfer before piping the background will work but I'm going to try that. You could always do the detail work on top of the transfer after you've applied it. Post pictures when you get done.

Thanks! I'm going to try to thin it. There's really only one color that needs the small tip and it's black. Yay. I hate working with black icing! My hands end up being stained purple for days.

I added my cake picture last night. It's not perfect, but hey.. I'm still learning.

I have done many FBCTs, and I don't do a backing coating or anything past the actual outline of the transfer. For example, the Coke cake in my pics - I did the logo and bottle without any extra border around it, nor any extra coat of icing on the back. Then, I iced the cake red and stuck it on there. I didn't pipe any type of border around the FBCT either. Actually, although it didn't sit up by much off the cake, there was a nice sort of 3D "pop" effect to it.

Your cake came out really cute!