Please help. I am about to do my first BCT. The instructions by Dawn, (I hope that was her name) say to outline the picture with your choice of color. Wilton's black or fudge icing. Does that mean I can use the black tube icing by Wilton? Also could I use edible food markers? As far as "coloring in thinking about layers", if the hair is over the face, would i color in the hair first then the face. I just want to make sure I understand this correctly. My mom is a huge Betty Boop fan, and I wanted to give her a cake with BB transfer.
An edible pen wouldn't be good b/c it wouldn't transfer over with the BC picture. I have used the Wilton tube of black before but I seem to have problems getting it to release from the wax paper!
And yes, you are right about the hair and face! Good luck!
Use scratch buttercream that has butter in the recipe. i've read that something about the butter in it helps it to release from the wax paper. have fun, i did a betty boop for my mom- she loves her too. betty boop isn't too hard to make actually, because there aren't a ton of different colors, basically black, red and flesh ( i did a simple picture of her in a red dress). have fun
I used squirrellycakes recipe for BCT & used Wilton Black icing paste to color it. It was my first attempt & turned out great!
Here is Squirrellycakes recipe:
I hadn't done one of these in about 20 years and we did them differently back then. So when I saw Cali4Dawn's directions, I realized that some people would not understand what the correct texture needed to be for the icing to work. So I experimented and created my own icing for buttercream transfers. It works fine, had no trouble with using black colouring in it for outlining, I now use it all the time. No expert here, I have only done a dozen or so, but it seems to work well for me and for other first-timers I have sent the recipe to. Just follow the Cake Central instructions Dawn put under Articles, Tutorials and follow these in addition. I copied the post I made on another site, www.r-bdesigns.com and they follow.
Just go without about 1/4 inch of colours and top that off when set with some more icing of the colour of the top of your cake.
So I played with the icing until I got the right consistency and here is what worked for me. It also worked just fine for the black outlining, I didn't have to freeze it or dry it before continuing with the other colours. All I did was add black Wilton paste food colouring to a small portion of this icing, no special fudge icing or Wilton black icing ready-made or anything.
So you are going to follow the usual steps. You use a sheet of plexiglass or a board that can go into the freezer. You tape your picture on well. Cover it with waxed paper or preferably parchment paper and tape it well too. I had my brother-in-law get a 16 inch square of plexiglass cut for me, I figure that would be about the biggest size I would ever use for anything, but you can get various sizes cut.
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened, I use salted
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, I used the pure brown, but you will get an ivory tinge to your icing so you can switch to clear (the brown really does not affect any colouring except your white will be more of an ivory, but for eyeballs etc. it isn't noticable)
2 cups of sifted before you measure it out, icing (powdered) sugar
No other liquid and you don't need to dip your spatula in hot water or any of that stuff!
Blend butter on low until softened. Add Criso and continue on low. Add vanilla and continue on low. Add icing sugar, one cup at a time and continue on low until well incorporated. Then colour and apply. I use a tip 3 for outlining and a tip 12 for filling it in. I don't use a coupler in my icing bags for this. You can use parchment bags with just a tip cut off the end or whatever. Let it set for a few minutes and dipping your finger in icing sugar or cornstarch smooth out I dip my fingers and use a gentle pouncing motion vertically. When all colours are done and set a bit (usually about 25 minutes or so), smooth out with a spatula (again I sprinkle on some powdered sugar and again I sort of gently pounce down vertically so as to get rid of any wormies or such and apply your backing and outlining colour. Again smooth out with a spatula, once set. Now I also covered the finished product in parchment paper, then inserted the whole thing in a green unscented garbage bag and froze it overnight. In the morning I take it out, flipped it onto parchment, lifted off the waxed paper and then reinserted it with a piece of parchment over it, back on plexiglass and back in freezer if I don't need it, for up to two weeks. But really these freeze up in a chest freezer in about 90 minutes. It is solid enough that you don't need the plexiglass on it to re-insert in freezer, I just do because I needed a flat surface as the freezer is pretty full! You could just put it parchment paper and all, into a freezer bag.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
Sorry, but I couldn't find the thread with these instructions, so I copied & pasted from email I sent myself, but all credit goes to Squirrelly Cakes.
I did a FBCT yesterday and I used regular buttercream that I had tinted brown to outline and it worked great. Of course you can use any color you want, but I would use my icing and not the canned... I think I used a medium consistancy icing and it worked really well with a #3 tip for the outline and then I used a #5 to fill in the bigger areas and the same #3 for smaller areas. I think you'll enjoy making FBCT, it's very easy and I was really excited that mine came out so well...
Happy Baking
Cindy
Thank you all so very much for the help. I think I am going to try squirrlleycakes idea. It's sounds rather easy. Thank you bakerofcakes for providing me with all the information and step by step instructions. I am fixing to start making all my icing for course 1 of the Wilton class tomorrow and I will make the transfer today as well. I will try and post a picture later today if possible. 
Thanks to all again!!!!!!1
i just use any icing i have left over mix colours or make new ones till i find something i like...but the thing about outlining. do it in black buttercream, and do allll the outlining first, then fill it in, so the hair and the face, your outlining the hair AND the face, it doesnt matter which you do first. all of the outlining needs to be done b4 you start coloring in.
Thank you, Squirrelly Cakes! 
Couldn't have done my 1st BCT without (her) instructions.
I guess I'm an odd ball b/c I always use the black in the tube and have never had any problems w/it sticking when I do a FBT. I try not to use to much black b/c it looks horrid on your teeth when you eat it, but, I don't make my own black b/c it never comes out totally black. I use a #2 or #3 to outline. Never a #1 (as that is just to brittle IMO). But I've never (knocking on wood) had one break yet. Bleed, yes. Break, no.
Well, I completed the Betty Boop BCT, for my first one, it came out okay. I think I shouldn't have gotten too excited and should've let it freeze some more. It did crack a little, but I saved my icing and fixed it. NOW FOR THE BAD NEWS.......... I placed it on the cake and took pictures. (digital camera broke, so I have to wait to post, sorry). I boxed it up really nice, since it was going for a ride to my mom's house. When I got to my mom's house, the front part of the square cake had collapsed. She couldn't make out the finished project!!! BUMMER! I was in tears!!! 
I don't know what happened. My best guess is the filling was too heavy... It was the strawberry crema posted on this site. But that still makes no sense, since the back portion of the cake was still intact except for the fact that part of Betty Boops face stuck to the box ( I need to find deeper boxes than 3"). I guess I could post this in cake disasters yet that would make two posts there for me. LOL. I'm very confused but mostly sad that my mom couldn't see the actual thing and will have to wait to see the pictures.
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