The Tool You Couldn't Live Without....
Decorating By carflea Updated 16 Mar 2006 , 3:36pm by cmarkins
I've got many of the standard "must-haves." The KA, the angled spatula, etc. I gotta get me one of them Pringles cans, though! 
So, going to the next level of "must-haves," I'd say the two yards of vinyl I bought at Walmart has been one of the best investments. I cut it into large squares for rolling out enough fondant to cover a big cake..and little circles to do things like FBCT, etc. When I'm doing something really messy like kneading a new batch of MMF, I put a big piece of vinyl on the countertop. It's so much easier to stick that under the faucet afterward than it is to try to clean off the counter with a sponge. Every decorator should have a couple of yards of this stuff sitting around, IMHO.
I don't have a Pringles can, but I use a large cup. Like the ones you get when you order a coke at a pizza joint. I think I paid $1 for it. It's perfect!!! Just like Sandie said, you sit the bag in the cup and fold the ends over the rim and put the icing in - NO MESS!!
Saran Wrap is wonderful! When I have large amounts of fillings, I bag them with the saran wrap. I put a large amount in the center of the saran wrap, fold it up like a piece of candy, and twist off both ends and then throw them in the fridge until I need them. Then I just snip off one end, put it in the pastry bag, and it's ready to go!!
We used to use the saran wrap trick when I worked for Baskin Robbins. Because we would need to change colors of icing so often to write on cakes for customers. We just had a dozen or so saran wrapped icing colors and we could slip them in and out of the decorators bag. Switch colors squeeze the excess of the last color out and wala a new color. I never thought to use this for filling a cake, what a great idea. I don't usually need that many colors when I make cakes at home to warrent using this trick, but it was great for BR.
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