Quick help needed please... cake due Saturday. How do I go about waxing some ribbon to put around the bottom edge of each tier? I thought I read that you can iron ribbon between 2 pieces of wax paper to keep the icing grease from soaking in. Does it work? Do you need certain brand of wax paper?
I "waxed" a ribbon this weekend and it worked great! It was the first time that I had ever used a ribbon on a cake too. Cut a strip of wax paper twice the width of your ribbon, fold the wax paper around the ribbon (kinda like you would make a sandwich), put a cloth on top and iron it with the iron on med-high heat. I first tried just ironing the wax paper on one side of the ribbon, but it didn't work (thank goodness that I had gotten more ribbon that I thought I needed!), the grease from the buttercream came through. I just used the buttercream to attach the ends at the back of the cake.
Thanks for the info. That's how I did it my first time too, however, the ribbon I was experimenting with was wired and the grease still soaked through. The wire also showed through as a thin black line...looked icky so I skipped the idea. (The ribbon was sheer in the center and satin edges. I'll try again with different ribbon.
I can only guess that it does since the wax paper is no longer shiny where it's been ironed. When I get a chance I'm going to try a little experiment; ironing on 3-4 more layers of wax paper, putting a drop of water on the waxed side and and one on the un-waxed side to see if or which soaks through faster? Plus I'll try some different kinds of ribbon with 1-3 layers of wax paper. I'll post my findings when I get the chance; might have to be after my Oct. 20th cake.
For this Saturday's cake I'm going to skip the wax paper thing and just put the ribbon on plain. I put a dab of icing on a scrap piece of cake board and stuck a piece of ribbon on 1/2 the icing to see how dark it would get overnight. This morning, one half didn't look any darker than the other and I think it's because of the type of ribbon it is (sheer in the middle and satin-like on the top and bottom edge).
yes, it should. You should be able to see the wax residue on the ribbon.
does ironing the wax paper on the ribbon change the color of the ribbon at all?
The one and only time I tried it, it didn't seem to. I only tried it on a 2" piece and it was the sheer and satin kind. If you want to experiment, some places sell ribbon by the inch so maybe you can try a few different kinds.
I love experimenting 
.... when 
and IF I have the time
No, ironing the wax on the ribbon does not change the color of the ribbon. You won't see a heavy wax residue on it, just a little, but it's there. And I didn't press the ribbon on the cake either, I just kinda lightly wrapped it around the cake, making sure that it was flush with the cake. Now, it may not work next time, but it worked fine that time!
I went to Hobby Lobby, they sell ribbon whatever size you want. You might want to experiement first with a smaller section to see what works for you.
I just tried taking the wire out and guess what??? 
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%