Royal Icing Oysters

I hope I'm not boring anybody with all these little sea creatures; one seems to inspire another! I piped this tiny oyster with the Ateco tip #98, which is scalloped with grooves on the outer side. 

I stuck a square of parchment paper to a flower nail with a dab from a glue stick. I held the tip against the paper and piped a shell shape by keeping one side of the tip still and moving the other side around in a clockwise motion while vibrating the tip to create ridges. 

 Here's another view of it:

 I piped a neighboring shell next to it, trying to keep them similar in shape:

 I tapped one of them flatter than the other with a fingertip after touching it to a dusting pouch; this will be the side on the bottom:

 After allowing them to dry under a desk lamp for about 45 minutes, I glued a tiny sugar pearl to the center with a dot of icing piped with a round #2 tip

 I piped another ball to act as a "hinge" on the other half of the shell…

 …and then I assembled the oyster. Obviously I got a little crazy with the color, but that's half the fun!

Royal Icing Starfish

I'd venture to say the starfish is the easiest royal icing animal you can possibly pipe; it consists of nothing more than stiff consistency royal icing and round tips. I made them in three different sizes using #'s 8, 10 and 12. The tiny dots are piped with a round #2.  Pipe the starfish on a large piece of parchment paper; I cut these to about 4".

Start the first leg by piping a ball, then elongating it in a random sort of fashion. Hold the tip at a 45 degree angle in the center of the parchment, squeeze until a ball forms, then move the tip along as you see fit. End some of the legs with an upturned tip, like this. You can perfect the tips with your fingertips after touching them to a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar. 

 Pipe each of the five legs by butting the tip up against the base of the leg next to it.

 Make sure to vary the positions of each leg…

 …and don't worry if they aren't all the exact same length.

 Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch, then tap it against the seams where the legs all join in the center. Do your best to blur the lines while maintaining the overall shape.

 Give the starfish ample time to dry; I placed them on a cookie rack on the stove under the warmth of the hood light (a desk lamp would work well, too).

Pipe little dots all over the starfish, if you like. I used a #2 tip, and made the dots larger in the center, and smaller as I piped dots down the legs. 

Royal Icing Sun Hat

I decided yesterday's flip flops really needed an accessory: a sun hat! All you need to pipe sun hats are the same tips and colors from the flip flops (round tips #12 and #3 or #2, and star tip #16), parchment paper squares, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar. Start by piping a flattened ball with the #12 tip; hold the tip just above the surface and perpendicular to the center of a parchment square. Squeeze briefly, and pull the tip away straight up while stopping pressure. Touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap down the peak that will probably form; you'll be left with a relatively flat dot. 

 You may want to use a flower nail for this next step; I wish I had. Holding the tip just to the side of the dot and just above the surface, pipe continuously while moving the tip around the outer edge of the dot. When you reach the starting point, stop pressure and pull the tip away.

 Tap the ending edge down smooth with a dusted fingertip.

 Allow this disc shape to firm up for a while, then pipe the center. Hold the tip at a 90 degree angle just above the center, and squeeze until the icing meets the edge of that circular seam in the middle while moving the tip upwards. Stop pressure and pull the tip away. Stop here if you want a witch hat…

 …or touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap it down into a smooth, rounded shape.

 Allow it to firm up for a while, then start decorating it. First, I piped a #3 band around the crown (I really wish I'd used the flower nail to get this line perfectly smooth; my pressure wasn't exactly steady while I was rotating the parchment with one hand and piping with the other).

 Then I piped a couple of little tails to make the band look more like a scarf tied around the crown.

 Then I decided what I really wanted was a #16 star flower with a #3 dot center to match those on the flip flops.

 I have absolutely got to get to work on some summer-themed cupcakes; maybe next I'll pipe a tiny bottle of SPF 50 sunblock…

Royal Icing Flip Flops

 Shoes don't come any less complicated than flip flops (aka thongs), making them one of the least complicated decorations you can pipe. How sweet would these be on a cake or cupcakes to celebrate summer or the beach? All you'll need are two colors of stiff consistency royal icing, round #12 and #3 tips, a small star tip like #16, parchment paper squares, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 blend of powdered sugar and cornstarch. Start by holding the #12 tip just above and perpendicular to a parchment paper square. You'll want to pipe both "soles" on the same square, so you'll have the best chance of getting them close in size.

 Squeeze until the icing is barely visible around the edges of the tip, then move the tip along and just above the surface in a gentle curve, while decreasing pressure. When you get to the "heel," stop pressure and pull the tip away. If a peak remains, touch a fingertip to the dusting pouch and tap it into place.

Pipe its neighbor, and use your dusted fingertip to nudge them into being as identical as possible. Don't get carried away refining them; absolutely no one will call you on it if they aren't perfect. 

 Make as many pairs as you think you'll need and allow them to firm up for a few minutes. You can speed this process up by placing them under a desk lamp.

 Using a contrasting color and the #3 tip, pipe two diagonal lines from the center to the outer edges (basically an upside-down V). 

 Tap down any unsightly peaks and allow the straps on the flip flops to firm up. The project could be considered done at this point, or you could add some decorations…

 …like tiny flowers piped with a star tip (the smallest I had on hand was a #16; smaller might have been better).

 Finish them off with a dot from the #3 tip. Allow the flip flops to firm up completely before peeling away the parchment and wowing everybody with their cuteness.