1. When loading a pastry bag, open the top, flowering the top edges over your hand and spoon in your Royal Icing (See Eleni's Royal Icing recipe in our A Bigger View article).  Pull up the top of the bag and use your stronger hand to push the icing toward the tip. Next, twist the top of the bag to create pressure for the icing to come out.
2. If you have little assistants, it is a good idea to tie a rubber band around the top of the pastry bag after you have twisted it to help avoid an unwanted mess.
3. Flood icing is a looser icing (See Eleni's Royal Icing recipe in our A Bigger View article). You can use this to fill out designs the way that Eleni and Sissy do in our episode.
4. To write on your cookies, add more powdered sugar to the your Royal Icing in order to make the icing a little stiffer.
5. Practice your icing designs on parchment paper or regular paper first to get a feel for using the pastry bag and the flow of the icing.
6. Just like Eleni, you can decorate your cookies in stages to help with your design. For example, ice part of your design and let it sit for an hour or so. This way the icing has a chance to harden a bit. Then you can go back to continue your design and you don't have to worry about smearing part of your design or having your colors blend.
7. If you have kids or are short on time (or both!) and want to get right to the fun of decorating, pick up some premade cookie dough at the grocery store. While the cookies are baking and cooling, you can get your icing and pastry bags ready and practice your designs. Then, grab a cookie and start creating your very own cookie art!

Find out more. Check out The Art of the Cookie a A Bigger View.

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