Hi,
I just have a question for all bakery owners and/or experts in the field of dummies... I was asked to make 7 cake dummies for a friend's shop (not cake related shop) and she wants bright colors, she gave me some ideas of what kind of decorations she wants on them, most of them being tiered cakes and most of them have pinks and purples... now, I know those colors fade under direct sunlight and I'm afraid this will happen within the first 72 hours and all my work would go to waste... is there any tricks or can I use spray paint from a hardware store on fondant? (that is if I can find the right shade of color...) I also heard that if I apply luster dust on it, it will help avoid fading, has anybody done this?? And she does not want to protect her windows with anything, and they are pretty big...
Please, I need help, I really want to do this!!!!!!!!! TIA

Purple will fade the fastest! I notice a difference in a day. Not a huge difference, but slightly noticable. Pink will also fade quickly. I have a pink bow that I made last weekend, that I didn't use. It's been sitting on my table for a week, and it's faded significantly. I made a pink and purple cake dummy for contest (picture in my gallery), and did use luster dust, and by the 2nd or 3rd week of sitting on my buffet table, I chucked it - it was so discolored! The luster dust does help a little. Not sure about spraying it. My husband had said the same thing, guess I 'm not sure what to use, and afraid to use it!

I've never used it, so I can speak about how easy/hard it is to work with but...Perma Ice, an artificial icing, is used for dummies and the colors never fade because they are acrylic.

Here's a link.

http://www.countrykitchensa.com/catalog/product.aspx?T=1&productId=1717

The other thing that you can use, and the colors last much longer are the powder colors rather than the gels. After sitting in sunlight all of the colors will eventually start to fade, but the powder colors make the color last longer on fondant and RI. Otherwise you can try doing them with PermaIce.

Good luck! Our thoughts will be with you!

Thank you so much for all your help and shearing experiences.... now, just a Q about this perma ice, that would resemble BC, right? I was asked to use fondant on ALL of them.... any thoughts? Thanks again!

Joint Compound!!!!!

This will last forever and you can color it with acrylic paint so NO fading!! You can mix the color right in and make your decorations.

People use this to make fake cakes that have no edible material on them. They look cute and last forever as decorations!!! HTH

I went to the link for Perma Ice and it says it can be sanded after it is dry. I would think that would give you the look of fondant. (It sounds kind of expensive up front at $50 per gallon, but might be worth a try if it's washable and all. You could have those dummies forever!) I do a lot of woodworking, and the higher the number on your sandpaper, the finer the finished look. If you decide to try it, use something with a superfine 300 grain and your surface should come out silky smooth.