i am going to be making a cake with snowflake "figures" all over it, i am not sure how the best way to make these are.... i dont have a mold, and dont have time to order one.... would it be best to pipe them with royal icing?

You can pipe them with royal if you're good at freehanding the pattern (or want to use a pattern and a pin to transfer the design to the cake and go over it).

You could also print out snowflake designs, lay a sheet of waxed paper over it, and pipe over it with royal icing or white chocolate or candy melts. Then let them dry or harden, peel off the paper and attach to the cake. If you want the designs to lay flat along the curves of the cake, this won't work unless you tape the paper and the waxed paper to the side of a cake pan or cake dummy, pipe there and let it dry.