As for reusing egg cartons... Yes this is potentially hazardous, however i buy my eggs in bulk and they typically come with plastic cover on top as opposed to the usual egg carton material. I run the plastic through the dishwasher to clean andd sanitize before use.

I bought organic eggs only twice just to get the plastic containers and not the cardboard or styrofoam containers. Then I, too, run them through the dishwasher to make sure they are clean. They work great to form the smaller flowers. If I have a larger flower, then I spread plastic wrap across the entire carton of holes. I let the weight of the flower drop the plastic wrap down until I find the right forming shape.

Paper dollies to make an impression on fondant.

great idea with the paper dollies. thanks

Pretty much anything can be used for cake as long as there's a way to make it food safe. I once layed plastic wrap over my fondant and scraped a wide tooth comb over the top to make even spaced impressions for a diamond pattern worked like a charm. or how about glass baby food jars for storage. The small ones work great to bring along extra buttercream or RI on deliveries for repairs. Or you can use them to store your fondant pearls once they are dry. Point out something in your kitchen and I'll give you a cake use for it.

I wrote erlier:
Drywall knife (a.k.a. mud knife, mud trowel) for a wide smoother.

Get one that is stainless steel, then it won't rust.

I save my empty spice jars, remove the labels, and store my small fondant decorations in them. I also use some of my Tupperware that I no longer use for leftovers or other food storage and store cutters, tools, brushes, etc., in them. Also makes it easier to see what's in the container so I'm not opening lots of boxes to find what I need.

I use chopsticks for support. I always ask for them when we do take out, then eat with forks so we don't have rice all over the floor. They are just so handy for so many things around the kitchen. They are easy to cut to size with scissors.

I also collect different size straws and coffee stirrers to cut small circles out of fondant. The coffee stirrers are perfect for eyes. You can squish them if you want an oval shape.

I saved my pumpkin decorating tools, several of them have come in handy.

The cardboard rolls from foil and parchment paper are very heavy duty. I put them on a broomstick handle that I balance between two chairs to dry pieces for bows. They come out a perfect loop size.

But don't forget, chopsticks! They are the best free tool around!

I have been using chopsticks for several different things recently too. It seems my fingers are too fat to get into intricate designs/patterns with fondant. I use the pointed end of the chopstick or shishkabob stick to manipulate or move fondant designs around until I'm satisfied. Worked great when I made a new design for a tiara. My fingers smooshed everything when I tried to move the cutouts about.

I had not thought of the bow loops being formed on the cardboard and then strung on the broom handle. I love that idea. I had been drying my loops on their sides but was not always satisfied with the outcome.

I really want to try to use paper doilies to make designs. I think that would be really creative when trying to make bows loops.

Thanks for sharing, ladies!

I just bought a claygun for 10 bucks with the 40 percent off coupon at Michael's and its an awesome fondant tool,I'm going to use it formaking fondant branches. It comes with about 19 different shape discs.