Rosebuds & Writing...???? (Mod. Edited)
Decorating By ally38562 Updated 15 Jul 2009 , 4:01am by LaBellaFlor
OMG!! I was just thinking the same thing...I hate writing on cakes and even worse making buttercream roses. I had to do a sheet cake this past weekend and they wanted writing on it, immediately I freaked out luckily I managed to get it look halfway decent. I had to make about 12 BC roses to get 4 that sort of resembled roses.
In New York City, you can walk into almost any bakery and see cake messages written in piping gel. Sunday I found out why. It is so much easier to control than BC. I'm never using BC to write a cake message again. I'll just buy more colors to tint the piping gel with.
Theresa 
Thats a great idea!!! Put a border around it and I'm done. Thanks a ton!
Another thing you can do, is roll out a thin sheet of GP, and make a plaque instead of writing directly on the cake. I can't do it, looks like crap. You can cut the plaque to fit the theme of the cake, color it, do things to hide the fact that it's a plaque....I do this a lot. For my monograms.
Sorry ladies, but I've got to be the killjoy here. No, you're not retarded. I'm sure if you were mentally retarded, like my daughter is, you'd be having other difficulties. I really wish people would stop using this as a slang term.
This was said with tremendous tact. Thanks for not keeping your opinion to yourself!
Don't mean to drag it through the mud, but this poster hit the ISSUE squarely on the head:
Of course she didn't intentionally mean to offend anyone by writing that-she was only trying to demean herself...by negatively comparing herself to people with mental retardation.
That is the issue here. The use of the word "retarded"--much like the uses of the words "gay" or "faggot"-- as a derogatory term. These are not new revalations...nor are they unfamiliar.
ohMyGanache I appreciate your input but please understand that there is a HUGE difference between a forty-something wearing her daughter's clothes and the abuse and misuse of the word in question. I, much like the other posters who have spoken up, indeed realize that this is a cake decorating website, but at times like these recognize that there is a need for education. And I am not fearful to speak up in those times.
_Jaime_, do you write on the plaque with BC, piping gel, or use fondant letters?
You can write with edible markers! It's great, that's how I get around writing directly on a cake. I usually make a ribbon banner with gp/mff and let it harden in whatever shape/flow I want and then write on it. And about the rosebud, I finally got it after a lot of practice, but I don't do it for a while I forget 
Gay is an improper term now? Seriously? Wow...I missed that one. I have a bunch of gay friends, and that's how they refer to themselves....oh shoot. I get it. Gay like "That rose looks so gay". Ok. Shrinking away now...lol.
Didn't know it was "unacceptable" either. All the people I know that are "gay" do indeed call themselves "gay". I guess I'll have to let them know that they're offending themselves 
I'm not sure where I heard this, but when writing, move your arm, not your hand. I think that provides more precision, if that makes sense, at all. I do find that works for me. Also, make sure that your bc is thin enough. My Wilton instructor had us put clear piping gel in our bc when writing on the rainbow cake. Hope that helps, Good luck!
ohMyGanache I appreciate your input but please understand that there is a HUGE difference between a forty-something wearing her daughter's clothes and the abuse and misuse of the word in question. I, much like the other posters who have spoken up, indeed realize that this is a cake decorating website, but at times like these recognize that there is a need for education. And I am not fearful to speak up in those times.
If I say "does my butt look fat in these jeans?", that is not an insult to people who are fat.
If I say "I can't write straight - am I arthritic?", it is in no way meant to criticize those with arthritis.
If I ask "I can't get the hang of this - am I retarded?" - I am not making light of the pain anyone who is retarded (or their loved ones) goes through. I am simply making light of my inability to grasp something that seems so simple and wondering if I have a mental deficiency - which is what retardation is (am I wrong?).
I had a retarded uncle. I had a son I was told would be 'retarded' (but thankfully, he recovered). Been there, done that. I know when it is meant to be offensive and when it is not.
I would often stand up for a retarded girl in my middle school who was made fun of and spit on... and I will in no way tolerate the abuse or mocking of someone with a disability - but this just isn't one of those situations. Sorry.
I understand that people get a little hyper-defensive - and I can sympathize. I just think this whole "PC movement" does more harm than good.
And back on topic... I think fondant lettering (ala tappits) looks much better on cakes than free-hand writing anyway, so I say GO FOR IT!!!!
Want to know something funny??? When I was a little girl they didn't like for you to be left-handed.. so they went to great pains to switch you, which they successfully did, I write right handed. But, I decorate cakes left handed, including writing on them..... Which is fairly decent. Can't write a lick on a cake right handed.... maybe you should switch hands. 
The earlier poster is correct it is an arm movement, not like you are writing with a pencil.
As an FYI: I too have a daughter who is autisic with mentally retardation. Until you have walked a mile in those shoes, most can't imagine how hurtful it is to think that the struggles are being made lite of. Intentional, no, but then neither is manslaughter.
We should just leave it as a lesson in sensitivity and move on!
Oh, by the way, I hate my roses too. Learn fondant roses, they always look good.
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1324235
I trace it with edible marker, then fill in with food color "paint" and a brush. Then sometimes for dimension, will lay fondant snakes over areas. You can PM me if you want more info.
OMG...please stop! Did I say I was a retard? No. I said retarded. Big difference if you want to look it up. Retard is a noun (person). Retarded can be used as an adj or verb. Means to slow down, hinder, impede. Look it up
Ally don't worry about it, the majority of us know you meant no harm at all.
I forgot about the original question...........I think the consistency of your butter cream is really important. I've noticed when I forget to thin mine, my writing is not as clean. Try mixing a little more water or milk into the icing that you write with.
MBHazel......we must be about the same age because I remember my 1st grade teacher constantly trying to switch my writing hand....."you'll have all sorts of problems if you continue to write with your left hand" ughhh.......So now I only write and eat left handed and I cut, decorate, bowl, play softball etc right handed.
I'm pretty sure some of the PC people would find this to be child abuse nowadays............but hey, I survived!
What a great idea! I have a small light table that I have used for scrapbooking/tracing. Small as you want! Roll it really thin for small details, and use a very fine point edible marker, or a very fine tip paintbrush with very light coloring in case you make boo boos with your tracing!
Also, I have just used a small blunt tipped GP tool to trace and emboss the pattern ever so slightly, and painted over the embossed area.
I rolled snakes with a fondant smoother and it was great! It is better then using a clay extruder because you don't have to wait for it to firm up to tapper the ends as you would with anything soft enough to get through an extruder without tearing. I also have the funky tappits and I want the script ones now!!! I wish they made them in different sizes though, really small would be nice ya know?
I've always had trouble with my writing on cakes....No matter what, my words would slant, or the icing would break right in the middle of a letter, or the whole thing written was not centered right......
I can't, even now start with the first words of what I want to write, and work down.
I have to start with the last word. I count how many letters are in it, and then write it.
I move up to the next sentence, count how many letters are in it, so I can get it centered with the first word (s) I wrote, then write it. That's how I do it all each time, and have gotten so much better at it.....
https://www.thebakerskitchen.net/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2208
Here are some! I don't have them...yet, should be here next Monday. There are funky letters and plain font as well. You use them with thin sheets of GP or fondant.
Here is a cake that tappits were used on:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/natiscakes/3119768056/in/set-72157617828552096/
That Nati...she's one of the Queen's of Cake!
The earlier poster is correct it is an arm movement, not like you are writing with a pencil.
Oh, by the way, I hate my roses too. Learn fondant roses, they always look good.
I guess I'm not a great "teacher"... I find it easier to show how it's done, than to explain the steps. I never thought to describe writing as an arm movement thing, but you're right!
Fondant roses might turn out better for some people rather than using buttercream, but they're so time consuming. If you're looking to be more productive or need to make hundreds of roses, keep practicing with BC ally38562! (BTW, you aren't considered a true "cake decorator" by Union standards if you can't make roses, write, or figure pipe. You're considered a "cake icer" if you make borders, leaves, stems, sweetpeas, etc., but you don't qualify for the decorator wages until you've learned those three skills!)
A writing thread came up a couple of weeks ago ("my writing stinks")... I don't know if you read the one from Misserica, but I made a video for her (also posted under "writing (visual tutorial)"). I wrote:
I know that visual aides help a lot of people... it certainly has helped me to be able to watch others write on cakes. So, misserica, this one's for you!
I made a writing visual tutorial in your honor. Hope it helps!
http://smg.photobucket.com/alb.....230925.flv
(Or you can click the link in my signature, if it works.)
I hope it helps you too! Keep practicing!
_Jamie_, Thank you so much for the link. Those look really neat...I want them now.
I just recently purchased the alphabet and number fondant cutouts by Wilton and they were just awful. I wondered if there was some other kind of cutouts out there that looked better and now I know. Thanks for sharing!!!!
Sorry ladies, but I've got to be the killjoy here. No, you're not retarded. I'm sure if you were mentally retarded, like my daughter is, you'd be having other difficulties. I really wish people would stop using this as a slang term.
I agree. As another mother of a wonderful daughter with developmental disabilities, every time I see this type of comment it's a tiny little stab in my heart.
Please think about extinguishing this terminology from your vocabulary, at least in a public forum. It's really considered very much like a racial slur.
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