Arg, what's the trick to using Rainbow cakes??

Okay, I have two DFX 50 gram rainbow cakes - the neon & regular - but I just cannot seem to get the knack of using them! I can get the sponge loaded with all the colors, but when it comes to sponging the paint on the face I can't get all the colors to show up, and most of the ones that do show are kind of blotchy. What am I doing wrong? Is there some trick to it that I'm missing?

I spray my cake and sponge, make several good passes, then lightly spray the sponge again. When I have trouble I usually find my sponge is too dry or I haven't used enough pressure on the sponge.

Good luck!

I use a sponge paint brush as I tend to squish my regular sponge--Lowe's has a plastic handled one that has a piece inside the sponge that keeps it firmer and easier to use than the usual sponge brushes. I go back and forth on the cake a few times to get it really loaded, and if it's giving me a hard time, I will spray it very lightly...

I spray my sponge, scrunch it up, load it up and then pat, pat, pat...making sure to wiggle a bit to get that purple and red to show up (outer ones on my rainbow cake!)

Practice practice practice! I didn't use my first rainbow cake for a while after I got it because my first few butterflies totally SUCKED. Def spray the sponge...I give mine about 3 or 4 sprays and when you're loading the paint pay extra attention to the ends, then like Jendzs said...pat pat pat, Wiggle! Practice it a few times on your arm or leg....then try on a face. Also, watch SillyHeather's "Pink Eyes" video and see if that helps a bit .

I cut my sponge in 4, and load 3 colors at the time, I use 3 colors up and then the other part of the cake down, when I use the half sponge I can't get all the colors.

Make sure you aren't trying to smear it on with the sponge - always dab, I agree if you aren't getting vibrant colors you need to spray your sponge.

Luz, what a good idea. I may try this for more control. I love rainbows, but hate how the sponge is really just a little bigger than my hand wants to be!

Making sure you have enough paint on the sponge is important too and that you have used even pressure and not had one finger press harder than the rest.

I spray my sponge 3 or 4 times and then spray the cake, too. It also helps to pre-spray the cakes when you first open your kit.

I think I must do it a little differently than most people. When I do a rainbow butterfly, I do each section in two parts. I load the entire sponge but for the top wing, I sort of tip the sponge backward and pat the bottom colours on first (on the eyelid to the brow), then go back and tip it forwards to get the top colours (brow and forehead). For the bottom wing, I do it the opposite - I tip it forward and do the top section (under the eye) , then tip it backward and go back to do the bottom section (on the cheek). Since a lot of children's faces are smaller than the length of the sponge/cake, this works well; I often don't use all the colours I have loaded but it fits their face better. And the colour that gets left out is in the middle and it all blends together nicely.

It sounds trickier than it really is - I find it works so much better for me than trying to get all the colours at once and I am superfast at doing it now. And, I find it easier to get a nice shape around the edge doing it this way.

Sounds like there are a few methods out there. I spray my sponge and the paint and load the entire rainbow on.

For butterflies I pinch one side of the sponge together which creates a curved 'wing shaped' sponge that I can apply the entire butterfly shape in one go by pressing in one place. Then lift it up and pinch the other side of the sponge to do the other eye. Easy!

At first I was adding too much water and not "lathering" enough and I would make a drippy smeary mess. The same with one-stroke. Then something Brian Wolfe said about water control was helpful. He said "you only want as much water as you want paint" and since then I've made sure that I only put down enough water (with a spray bottle on a dry sponge and on the cake) to fill my sponge or brush with creamy, rich paint I've been doing really well. My cakes wear down pretty evenly because I make sure I rub the end colors.

It might be embarrassing, but it would be helpful if you would take a picture of what you consider a failure so we could tell what the issue was. I'm not sure if the blotchy is too much water, lack of water, or lack of sponging. I'm kind of like Fabtastic...I round out the edges of the design by rocking the tip of the sponge and patting out the shape.

Here's a good Lisa Joy Young butterfly video.
https://youtu.be/I_CwiFWblog

I'm more of a Heather Banks loader but it is messy. It seems like Lisa's would keep your hands cleaner. Here's the best Heather video where she actually shows misting the cake. You'll be surprised how little water she uses.

https://youtu.be/ikuNItQHdB4

Good luck. It makes a big difference. I use rainbow cakes A LOT!

D.

I just got my first rainbow cake and I looove it! I did my first rainbow butterfly last week and it turned out great. I think there's a few things to keep in mind:

1. Make sure the cake/sponge is damp enough (but not too damp of course!). Do at least several passes (using a back and forth motion) over the cake with your sponge. I did at least five to get good coverage.

2. If you have round sponges, cut them in half and use the straight edge for the cake.

3. Don't drag the sponge across the face, do a series of quick dabs to press the paint onto the face. For doing the upperlid for butterflies, keep the edge of the sponge on the inner eye in the same spot while rotating the other edge to make a fanning effect.

Hope that helps! Rainbow butterflies are so fun!

I only spray my cake and lay the color down. I f you spray you cake and sponge you may very well end up with it being streaky or blotchy because of too much water. While yes, you do want to properly load the sponge getting all the colors you don't need to make alot of passes over the cake because you are essentially just wasting paint.

I tend to only load along the straight edge of the sponge, because here again loading the entire flat bottom to me is wasting more paint.

I also tend to find that higher density sponges load faster and retrieving the color from them is easier and apply more smoothly