2Nd Fbct, What Should I Do Differently?
Decorating By clsilvus Updated 13 Mar 2007 , 3:43am by projectqueen
Okay this was my second fbct and I need suggestions on what to do differently next time...
1. The black kept breaking off while I was outlining and wasn't smooth, especially the thin lines.
2. The picture is not smooth, what do I do to get it perfectly smooth?
3. It is sooo thick. I don't think I filled it in too thick but it ended up so thick.
4. You can see where the parchment kind of crinkled up, I thought I had it pretty flat on the picture
I can't figure out how to attach so...
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&meta=allby&uname=clsilvus&cat=0&pos=0
edited to say: dh broke june off trying to sneak a peak while it was still in the freezer 
. It took him an hour to muster up the courage to tell me. 
I will try to help as much as I can, but I've only done a few...
1. the black may have been too thick. Mine tends to do this too, and I always use very stiff icing.
2. After you have completed the picture, cover the entire back with the same color icing as the cake and kind of 'mush' it down. I'm not brave enough to spread it, but 'mushing' it will help smooth out the air bubbles.
3. Mine are always very thick, too. I know some folks here have mastered the art of getting them flat on the cake, but I don't know how. I just put a border around them, like you did.
4. Did you tape your parchment down while you were working on it? Possibly it shifted in the freezer when DH was sneaking that peek?
All in all, I think it looks really great, especially for your first one. Here's a big ol' bump, because I know there's someone out there who can help more than me! 
Your cake looks great! Lots of details, wow! To answer a few of your questions...
Are you using a very thin buttercream? I usually use a thin buttercream and a #2 tip for outlining. Maybe the black is breaking because it's too thick? It should sort of flow out, like the consistency for writing.
For smoothing, you can make the transfer and freeze it, then turn it over onto another piece of wax paper and let it soften a bit. When it's starting to crust, you can smooth it GENTLY with a Viva paper towel. That gets out any squiggly lines or wrinkle lines from the wax or parchment paper.
As far as it getting too thick, I don't put the backing layer on mine. But then again, I have never done such large and detailed transfers as yours. I really can't help too much with that part. Maybe someone else will have a suggestion.
I think the transfer came out awesome, especially considering the detail of it. Hard to believe it's only your second one. Keep up the good work!
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