What a fabulous thread. Thank you, all of you, for sharing your tips and ideas!!...I am still learning and do not have much to share at this time...

I tort my cake layers so I have a higher cake, using a cookie sheet without sides to lift the layers and position them on top on one another. It's so much easier when I spray the cookie sheet with cooking spray first. Cake just slides right off.

it is so much easier to make my own cake release (shortening and flour mixture to store in fridge). I always have some on hand to coat cake pans withour shaking extra flour out of the pans.

It's so much easier to use modeling chocolate for all my decorations (except delicate flowers) because they set up so fast, don't move on ya, stay the same size/shape I want and taste WAY better than gumpaste!!!

It's so much easier to make cakes for fun and to bless others because then I get to make them when I want, what style I want, and for who I want!

i dont know if this falls into this thread but.....
its so much easier to use a dropper (like those medicine droppers) when you need to add small amounts of water to BC (or really anything)
its so much easier to use the medicine cap cups-for measuring tsp and tbs- no spills like on measuring spoons.

It's so much easier to have a stack of covered boards on hand for when you need them. I use freezer paper or white contact paper almost always. Which brings me to......it's much cheaper to use freezer paper than to use fanci foil. Not as decorative but works great.

It's so much easier to cover a few boards in contact paper and use when flipping out large sheets or rounds from the pan or use when torting.

It's so much easier to make a big batch of simple syrup and store in airtight containers in the fridge for when you need them.

It's so much easier to use parchment triangles for those little amounts of icing because you can easily toss them with no cleanup.

Also...just to throw a few more things in there. When I mix small amounts of icing (color), sometimes I use little punch cups if I have extras on hand so I can toss them. Not very green but I'm guilty. Also, I use takeout cutlery too mix items so I can just toss that as well (again...not so green).

It's so much easier to smoothe cakes when I use cornstarch or powdered sugar to prevent my fondant from sticking than when I use Crisco ... EXCEPT for the big double barrel cakes. SO much easier to get the fondant the right size to unstick and roll off onto the cake when I use Crisco!!!

If you're a nibbler, like me (the post about licking the beaters, etc., really hit home) it's much easier to learn to curb this habit by using a surgical mask while you bake and decorate. I found this out once when I had to make a cake for a friend while I had a nasty cold. The number of times I hit the mask with a dribble of this and a dab of that (don't get grossed out, I'm a fanatic about washing my hands right away!) was very surprising. I used the mask for everything I made for about a month after that and now I don't need it anymore (except when I have a cold!), but talk about mindless habits that can do you in in no time!

Ok someone posted this earlier but I would like to reiterate that it is SSSSSSOOOOOOOOO much easier to buy red and black fondant than to try and make it yourself!

For me it is so much easier to put my tips in a jar full of Hot SOAPY water , put the lid on a shake. Dump water add some more clean water shake again. Rinse. Presto cleano!!

Yes you can put your tips in the microwave as long as they are COMPLETELY COVERED with water. Do NOT for any reason let the water level drop below the tips!

I put my tips in a a plastic baby bottle basket washer and run them through the dish washer, like this ~ http://store.odiz.biz/sadodiba2pa.html

It is also so much easier to use Bakers Joy then it is to grease and flour my pans!

I have got agree with the bakers joy!!!! Love that stuff.

It is so much easier to color MMF while it is still in its liquid state rather than after you have added PS to it.

It is so much easier to level a cake if you overfill your pans and put the cake back in the pan after it has cooled to level off the top.

It is so much easier to just buy black and red fondant than to make it, and after you screw it up 5 times it is cheaper too .

It is so much easier to use foamcore rounds covered in press and seal rather than those flimsy cardboard rounds.

It is so much easier to make figures after a couple of Aine2's tutorials or even a book on clay figure making.

It is so much easier and more economical to buy clay making tools and use them rather than the more expensive "fondant/gumpaste tools."

It is so much easier to rely on your fellow Cake Buddies for support for disasters, because they know best what you are going through and more importantly how to fix it!

It is so much easier and neater to cover your board with RI as a base. it dries hard and it is insanely cheap to make and you dont need a whole lot.

It is so much easier for me to buy a second set of mixing bowls and extra beaters for my mixer to have on hand when switching from cake batter to frosting to RI, etc. rather than have to stop and wash them in between. (no dishwasher)

It is so much easier when working with candy melts/bark to keep a tub of boiled hot water in the sink to drop my spoons & bowls into before the chocolate hardens. Also easier to keep my melted chocolate on a hot plate or mug warmer while working.

It is so much easier for me to construct additional workspace that drops down when needed (like a Murphy bed or a bunk on a cruise ship) and goes away when it is not.

It is so much easier for me to load my recipes and favorite CC pics onto the digital picture frame that hangs on my kitchen wall to read and refer to "hands-free" rather than print them out.

Amen Superwawa! I don't have a dishwasher either!