Hello Everyone.
I just wanted to share the baking experience I had this weekend with all my firsts! This was a birthday cake I did for a friend's daughter who had her party yesterday (Sunday). So, here goes...
I baked the sheet cake (11 x 15) with the flower nail (all a first!) and it came out flawlessly. Next, I baked my first ever character cake (CareBear) which was stacked (a first) on top of the sheet cake. From all the information gathered here from my fellow CCr's I knew I needed dowels which was also a first. Boy was this all an experience!! 
Thanks to the DH who cut the dowels for me.
I iced the sheet cake and did a shell border in pink. Lovely. Now the problems...the outline of the character did not show up well at all on my chocolate cake. 
So, I did a little research and decided on the pin prick method (another first). I did a layer of BC on the cake, layed the pin pricked image on the cake, didn't work!! 
So after several different tries, I decided to draw the image freehand (a first!!) By this time I am sweating bullets as the party begins at 3pm and it is 12:30! The freehand drawing comes out nicely to my surprise. Didn't particularly like the color they had me mix (no taste red & royal blue) to trace the body (prob. me doing something wrong) but I moved on. So I start decorating the carebear and things start coming together. I'm beginning to smile. 
This cake was a lot of work as I used the star tip for the top and the sides! (I couldn't get the sides smoothed at all) There were/are so many mistakes but I survived w/ lots of lessons.
Now, before you see the final cake (in my photos) I would like to thank CakesbyDana & Lucygoosey for their inspiration and being quick to respond to my questions. Though I wasn't able to incorporate all that I had in mind, I think I did a fairly good job. And thanks to all the other CCr's for sharing your tips and wisdom too! 
If you all have any suggestions to help with my next character creation, pin prick method or otherwise please share.
And one more thing, everyone loved the cake. Inside and out!
I saw the photo. I think it came out great.
Keep up the good work.
I have yet to master this myself.
However, I've read threads where people print out their message in MS Word in their favorite font, then use the pin prick method to get on the cake.
Others have used Royal Icing traced on parchment paper (using the regular computer print out under the parchment for tracing) and then once dried transfered to the cake.
Others have done the letters as a FBCT (frozen butter cream transfer)
I personally just take a tooth pick and outline it. I still need practice on this too!
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%