Mary Jane, you make it look so easy. I don't have a real steady hand. Do you think using decorating tips might work better for me? And here's another question: Have you ever used those old-fashioned metal decorating tubes that you fill with the icing, and then sort of pump out the icing using a variety of metal decorating tips? Would they work with royal icing? I am really anxious to finally be able to decorate cookies. I've never used royal icing (I do have the meringue powder). Thanks for sharing all your great decorating projects. Hi Beth, If you are new to decorating, I would say Yes, use the tips. You don't have to worry about how big to cut the hole, or stretching the bag by accident. You can get a nice starter set on our website here. I have only used the pump tubes a few times, many years ago. I found them hard to control, but I do use a pump style cookie press to make spritz cookies each year. If you have parchment paper, it's easy to practice piping right on the paper, then scrape up the icing and practice some more. I used to spend hours doing that when I was a teenager. Practice, practice! :) ~ MaryJane

• Reply