where and what to buy for cake decorating.

[Twit]

I have just started to decorate my own cakes, I was given a cake decorating book for my birthday after constantly complaining about the quality of birthday cakes in the supermarket.
My question is this; where [online] would you recommend I buy my bits and pieces, and what should I buy?
I have had a look around and am feeling overwhelmed by the choice. What colour paste should I go for? I am also a bit confused about edible sparkle/glitter powder. Some websites say it it inedible, some say it is non toxic and you could eat it.

I have put the left over dried fruit to soak (had just enough to make another cake). The burnt offering cake is looking kinda good... I got it out again to feed it today and it smells divine.

I just need to get some apricot jam so I can cover it, somehow I don't think homemade blackberry jam will do the job somehow

I bought fodant icing for my Christmas cake but I should have got Royal icing shouldn't I?

I've marzipanned it but with just a thin layer as I don't like it. Will that be ok? Going to start making some baubles for the top tonight as I think it could take a while to prefect them.

Oh and the icing was £1 for 500g or £2.15 for 1kg! That's Tesco's own.

I will be using fondant Debi

Have you got a book that you are copying your baubles from?

My Christmas cakes will be covered with sugarpaste and decorated with baubles as soon as I manage to make them (the baubles - I have made the cakes)

...and next Sunday I get my camera back so I can upload photos of my fairy castle

Are you copying from something for the baubles or doing freestyle stealth?

How has this thread got 500+ messages??

If you dig down to the depths of this thread you will find a link to a mould - here

Oh those are lovely stealth. Have you got all the sort of stuff to make colours like those?

I have lots of colours - I think I am going to paint them all and then spray them over the top of the colour with lustre spray, rather than buying lots of lustre powders.

I knew you would have everything to do the job..... I perhaps worded it badly. Right, that is what happens then to get the desired effect like the ones shown - spray with lustre

It could be they have done those with coloured lustre dust but I simply can't afford it. Pearl lustre spray is my favourite thing ever and covers a multitude of sins.

I've made some baubles using the moulds. Found the easiest way was to dust the mould with cornflour 1st. Have made quite a few of each style as I think I'll have to paint a lot before they look good. I got purple and gold and silver colours I think. Some colour and some dust, can't remember exactly what. Need to get a fine paintbrush, bought some cheap kids ones but the bristles were falling out just dusting cornflour.

Also my cake isn't square! I obviously didn't do a good job when I cut the burnt edges off.

Stealth you have to wait till I've done mine before you reveal yours or else I'll be too embarrased to show mine!

Debi do you have suitable clear alcohol for painting?

Also your reveal would have to wait some time to be after mine - some of the cakes have to be done for 11/12 but it will be a close run thing.

I've got 47% Gin, everything else in the cupboard is only 37%. Will the gin be ok?

I'm still not really sure what I'm doing with the colours as I haven't used them before. I've got purple paste and purple, gold and silver dust. And 2 very small paintbrushes that I got today.

And I know i'm being really dumb now but how to I ice it? My book doesn't help and I've only done oval ones before where I did it with 1 big bit of icing and covered any folds. But that won't work with a 'square' will it?

Gin will be fine.

Icing - it's the same principle - ideally one piece of icing and 'ease' it into the shape - if you get desperate work two sides towards a corner and trim at the corner.

cheers. So do I mix a bit of the gin with the dust and then paint it on? I think that's what it says on the instructions that came with the moulds. I'm not really sure why I've got purple dust and paste!

Oh yeap how do you make dust into paint, I need to know for the engagement cake, going to start on elephants tonight[scared]

I used some gold dust as paint the other day (for the shooting star cake), I plonked a lump of the dust into a dish and added rejuvinating spirit a few drops at a time until it was a paintable consistency. No idea if that's the right way to do it or not but it worked!

Does anyone have any good pictures of a sitting father Christmas model? I need to make one for my big Christmas cake and need inspiration on how to make him. I was going to make a reindeer a bit like this one too.

here is one but there is one in my cake decorating book, I'm nearly sure I seen it on someones profile, going to google

Rudolph santa in background

That's 2 separate links, BTW

Moosy - snap - I have no idea if that is the approved method but that's what I do.

Thanks Stealth, how did you make his beard look bobbly?