Practicing on a Dummy

Practicing on a Dummy

I practiced decorating a 10"x4" styrofoam round dummy cake.  It was iced with IndyDebi's buttercream with royal icing piped on to it.  I tried out several different designs ... now my arm and wrist are dying.  I've never really piped all that much besides simple borders.  I definitely need more practice.  A dollop of corn syrup was added to the royal icing which seemed to help with the consistency.  All this was done with Wilton tip #3.  Which do you like best?

curly C's

cornelli lace

curly S's and drop strings

um ... cage thingie and basket weave

dots and swirly border

hearts and other swirly border

... MORE DOTS!

I like the cornelli lace because it's mostly continuous.  

You don't see many points where the tip was picked up.

This would look better with a smaller tip.

I like these swirls because they're a little more interesting.

It wasn't until later that I realized I could avoid the ugly peaks if I drew the swirls in reverse (inner to outer).