I'm pretty new at working with fondant. I am trying to color the fondant with wilton colors (only ones i could get on short notice) and with the purple and pink all of the red from the coloring is getting absorbed into my hands instead of into the fondant! so the purple looks like blue and the pink is looking closer to orange. i also need to match buttercream to the fondant. when i tested out the color on the buttercream its a completely different color. there is no way i could match the fondant color to the buttercream color.
what should i do??!?!??!

First of all ALWAYS wear gloves when you're dying fondant. Second..what kind of fondant are you using?

DItto to above!
Sounds like your fondant has whiteners in it - they interfere with any red tones and undertones.

oh no! does that mean there is no hope for the coloring?

Depends on what brand you are using and what colour you are actually trying to get.

I am having the same trouble with fondant. I am using a marshmallow fondant and trying to die it red is taking alot of color and making my fondant dry. How do I prevent this from drying out and cracking?

I have found that using a rolling pin works really well because it allows the colour to spread more quickly and you don't get so much colour on your hands. I use my own recipe of marshmallow fondant and the wilton colours and it works fantastic.

As for cracking, you can add some shortening to the fondant to allow it to be a bit more stretchable. If you happen to get a crack or tear on your cake you can also use the shortening to help smooth it out.

Hope that helps!

When trying to match buttercream to the fondant color, you may have a problem if the buttercream is made with butter. This gives the buttercream a yellowish tint which will make the same pigment look different than in your fondant. Unless you can produce a really white buttercream (using all shortening or non-pigmented butter, along with clear vanilla), you'll have trouble doing this. My solution has usually been to add a drop or two of golden yellow to my fondant. Sorry about the troubles with the purple. I'll be watching this to see if anyone has a solution to this, because I have similar problems.

Do u know if u can refrigerate the cake once it is covered in fondant and hope that it won't dry out?

As I said on the other post about fondant that's running right now, some people do, but I've never had it work for me. When you take it out of the fridge, and depending on how humid your kitchen is, it collects condensation and sometimes makes the decorations run or fall apart all together.