...or anything that comes to a point.

I'm new to this site (which I absolutely love!) and have been making cakes for many years but have always been doing things the hard way...until I found CC! Last night I made 28 Easter lilies out of RI...they came out ok but I had to sculpture each leaf to a point with my fingers. #@$@&%#!

How in the heck do you make leaves come to a point? Mine never do...unless it's a fluke. I've learned from this site that you need to "open" your leaf tips, which I did, but just how much are they supposed to be opened? And what can I do to get that perfect point? I look at that poinsettia tutorial and yearn to make those beautiful pointed flowers. ANY help would be so much appreciated!!!

Check out this thread with a picture of an alternate leaf tip.

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-231920.html#231920

Thank you Crimsicle! I'll go out and buy a #352 tip...I'll try anything to get a perfect leaf shape.

I'm also a tip #352 convert. It works every time.

if you open tip 67 really far, i mean by pushing the nail end of the flower nail up through it they will point. but tip 352 does make a perfect leaf.

OK, thanks Sweetcakes...I'll try that too! I found an old plastic tip that is similar in shape to #352 (it doesn't have a number on it) and I'm going to try that today.

I do like tip #352, but sometimes you need the standard leaf tips because of the different sizes. Open up the tip way further than you would think you need. And make sure your icing is thin. Go slow, and when you stop pressure on the bag, slowly draw the bag away to draw the icing to a tip. Practice and you will get the hang of it. You also need to learn to use the leaf tip for lots of flower petals too. For the quickie generic leaf though, you can't beat #352.

Good luck!

There are larger and smaller versions of the 352-type leaf tip. Not sure of their numbers, but I've got them in my collection, too.

I've been doing this stuff nearly 40 years, and I canNOT get the hang of the standard leaf tip. Maybe I should dig some out and try opening them up. Now, if someone would come up with a suggestion for perfectly piped roses....

SIGH....

Ellen, thanks for the info! I have learned SO much from everyone on this site...it's the best!

I'm a self-taught decorator and these leaves have been a pain in the hinder since day 1. I usually make them out of fondant so I know I'll end up with something looking like a leaf!