Create Shapes without Cutters

If you’ve ever needed a letter, a number, or an image for a cake and thought to yourself, “I have to order that cutter!” Then, you order it and use if for your cake and then NEVER use that cutter again!?!? When I first started cake decorating, I order tons of cutters like this and still to this day, have only every used them once!
I’m here to tell you, STOP wasting your money and apply this hack to your cake decorating arsenal!
The only things you need are a piece of paper (preferably heavy card stock*) and a pair of scissors. If you’re fancy or less artistic, you can use a computer and a document program like Apple Pages or Microsoft Word.
Here is how I did it:
Open your word document and type what you want as your stencil. Print it out then cut it. If you have areas that have center holes, I find using an X-acto knife works best to cut them out.
1. Once you have your piece/pieces, you can roll out your fondant or gum paste.
This video show my number 3 with a wired center. Because I plan on putting this on top of my cake, I used all gum paste as my medium. It’s stronger and dries faster. If you do not have gum paste, you can add tylose powder to your fondant which will give it similar characteristics to gum paste.
2. To place your stencil on your gum paste, use a small amount of shortening to attach it. This keeps your stencil in place while you’re cutting. It can be very frustrating if your stencil moves so don’k skip this step.
3. It’s time to cut! Using a new sharp x-acto knife is key here! I find removing sections as you go helps me, but find what works for you!
There you go! You have the shape, letter, number or whatever you want and the best part, IT WAS FREE!
I used card stock because it doesn’t absorb the shortening as quickly as regular printer paper and you can reuse it.
If you are using this stencil multiple times or you plan to keep it, I suggest getting some packing tape and covering both sides of your card stock and cutting the excess tape. Now, you have a stencil that will practically last forever!!
As always, thank you for checking out my channel! Please let me know if you are interesting in seeing more of my cake decorating hacks!