New-Be Questions On What To Get For Cake Decorating
Decorating By tony8873 Updated 16 Sep 2007 , 10:02pm by have_your_cake
im new to ckae decorating. i want to purchase a tip set, but don't know what to get. i have several tips, about 4, and the parchment paper triangles. what i was thinking of was a tip set and a book about character cake decorating and cake decorating, any ideas on what book i should get and also what tip set would be good? i am doing character cakes for my children and have done 2 so far and one in another month. any advice would be awesome.
thank you
Honestly I wouldn't buy a tip set. To me it is much more important to have several of the tips I use often than it is to have as many different tips as I can find.
For character cakes I would look into the Wilton yearbooks. They show you different ideas using the same pans.
When you buy the character pans there should be an insert in them listing what tips to use to do the cake pictures and other ideas. Most characters pans will use star tips like 16, 18 and 21. As well as round tips like 3 or 4. It also depends on which pans you are talking about though.
and don't forget to get one of those multiple star tips if you plan on doing the wilton caracter pans. They have three or more star openings so you get more coverage. It will save your hands. 
And take pictures, even if you hate the cake by the time you finish. You'll appreciate how far you have come if you have those "first time" shots.
Happy decorating!
mommachris
If you're going to be decorating regularly, start picking up the featherwieght pastry bags, they are much better than using parchment or plastic when doing large amounts of color. Parchment is more for little things that you don't need to refill the bag for. Also get a nice variety of colors. Mixing is fine, but having the right color is easier and more consistent. You can't have too many couplers or small spatulas for mixing colors, etc. There are countless things that you will want, but go slow and see what you really NEED! Most important, have fun! -Lori
I bought several character pans when I started decorating and I HATE decorating them now. I suggest buying good quality round, square and 9 x 13 pans. You can do so much with them where you can only do a few varieties on each character pan.
As far as tips, just get a few basics, then as you read and experiment you will find which ones you need or use alot. I agree that you need several of ones you use commonly so you can change icing colors without stopping to wash/dry your tips. You can look at the Wilton online store under decorating tips and they show what patterns you can make with various tips. Take a look and see which you'd like to try.
Good luck and have fun!
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