What's the process for making a string of pearls out of gumpaste? do you use wire or a certain kind of string?
any tutorials available?

thanks in advance

I am new, so this may not be what others recommend...

But I made a string of pearls by first rolling out the fondant, using a small circle cookie cutter I cut what seemed like a million circles. Then rolled them into balls. ( obviously so each ball is the same size) I let them just harden and then I actually strung them with a needle and thread so they would stay together.

The only thing is I know this isn't food safe, and it was for a cake that I was serving so when it was time to cut I just removed the string of pearls.

I also brushed them with lustre dust which really added to the "pearly" affect. I think you could use the same process without stringing them to make it food safe, though the amount of time it takes to apply each one may not be worth it.

This thread has a lot of good ideas for this:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-666593.html

thank you

many good ideas and techniques. If the string you're making is for the bottom of the cake you may want to try silicon molds like:

http://www.goldaskitchen.com/merchant.ihtml?pid=9015&step=4

Using the link just to show you, many cake suppliers carry them and you may be able to find it in your local store. Working with these is so easy, you place fondant, squeeze and voila have exact size everytime, the only downsize is if that they leave a line to which the pearls are holding and if you're planing to display like an actual string of pearls you many not want it.

This is a good tutorial

http://www.earlenescakes.com/prlinstruct.htm

If you are looking to put them on wires, you'll need to do that when they are dry enough to not change the shape but wet enough so that the wire will go through still.

What I do if Im using them to actually dangle off a cake or something I follow the directions for the mold which is rolling a sausage size of gumpaste or 50/50 works well of fondant/gumpaste. I open up the mold and place it inside and squeeze the two sections together. I cut off the excess. Then I leave them on the counter for about an hour. I take a needle threaded with fishing line and make a whole threw the center of each pearl. You may need to cut off more of the excess fondant on the edge to get it perfect and sometimes I even do this before I leave them sit for an hour. If their at all destored I roll them into a ball again or stick the individual pearl in the mold again. But once their set for an hour they are better to work with. Then you tie a knot on one end or use a drop of hot glue on the fishing line so that they dont come off. Once you get the amount on there that you want, you hang them off of something to let them dry completely before you use them.