I have been practicing my piping and flo skills. And I thought you guys might be interested in how.

Coloring books!! yah!! Rip a page out tape it to a place mat and practice outlining the picture by following the lines. It is much harder than you realize. And you will learn to have a steady line (and a sore hand if you practice too long ) Then I decided to practice my flo icing techniques. Making them more uniform in looks, not so thin/thick in places and how to re-fill in some areas. Well I just filled in all the piped lines from the page.

One page and got to practice two cake skills.

what a great tip! I'm going to try that!

Tesso,
That's a great idea, some of those coloring book pages are really intricate! Have you seen the kelidascope ones? They'd drive you crazy in a hurry.

I should try this, but taping it to the side of a cake pan. I have a hard time doing piping on the sides of cakes, even with a tilting turntable...(of course I wouldn't try filling in the lines on the side!)

That's a great idea tesso, will have to try this.

I use coloring books for quilting/applique patterns and fondant cut-outs, too. And they're good for frozen buttercream transfers, and chocolate plaques, too.

OHH!!! I didnt think about transfers!!! Duh. slappin' myself in the head.

Great idea! I am going to do this in my middle/high school cake class. We've been practicing with the #3 tip lately, and I have to insist that they may not simply make a pile of spagetti.

I think I'll put them in an 8 1/2 x 11 page protector, then they can scrape them off...and remove the picture and compare their piping to the picture.

I can't wait!

that sounds like fun. They and you will have a blast.

What a great idea. I will definitely have to try that as well.

It is a really great way to practice, and I have used it for transfers. I made a Spiderman transfer for my son's birthday cake last year out of royal icing, using a page from his coloring book and plastic wrap.

http://letsgetcaking.blogspot.com/search/label/spiderman

Thanks for the tip.

What a fantastic idea!!! But my question is, how do you transfer it once it's dry without breaking it?

I love learning new things here on CC!!
Thanks for the great idea.
The possibilities are endless!!!!

Scarlets-cakes,

The transfers are pretty sturdy once they're dry. I have had a couple break when there were thin parts (like a spider's legs). It's a good idea to make an extra. Also, you should let large transfers dry for at least 48 hours to ensure they are completely set before removing the plastic wrap. Here's a link to a great tutorial I found here on CC:

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=648450&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=15

Just scroll down a little and you'll see the tutorial by Cakehelp.

Have fun!

ooh great idea, i'll have to try this!

Woe Baby! New Play toys! I am so excited about this! Looked at the link above and saw Hello Kitting dancing on top of a cake!

I love this idea, can't wait to try it!

Loved Spiderman too! He was very cool!