Hi,

I'm making a Blue's Clues cake for my son and I want to make character appliques for the cake. I have drawn out the characters on graph paper to the correct size, covered them in acetate, but now I'm not quite sure how to proceed.

If I roll out my colored fondant thinly, and place it over the template - how do I see where to cut it? The fondant is then covering the template. If I cut it by eye next to the template and try to press it into shape, then won't my appliques be uneven?

I'm lost!

I know it's tedious, but I cut the template out of paper and then put it on top of my fondant to cut with an exacto knife. I roll the fondant (or gumpaste) really thin on a textured cutting board, so it kind of sticks a little bit (the top on the fondant is still smooth). Then I pop it in the freezer for a few minutes to get it hard, otherwise it's a pain to cut.

Ah man..get an edible image printer..Much easier....

The best way is to cut out each piece of your template, like a puzzle. Then, trace around each piece. I usually make several copies of the picture, then cut out various pieces from each. Be sure to keep one intact so you have a reference!

Since some of the pieces may be difficult to cut out with the template in place, I recommend using the tip of an Xacto knife or a tiny wheel to trace around the template, leaving just an indent in the fondant. Remove the template, then cut out where you traced.

I always cut my templates out of posterboard then lay them on my rolled out fondant or gumpaste and cut with an exacto knife. If you tape the picture to a window and put your white posterboard over it you will be able to see the image through the posterboard for cutting.

Thanks for the tips!! I love this site! I will be attempting to cut out the pieces tonight. Here goes!

Rather than putting your picture up to a window, wouldn't it be easier to glue the picture to the posterboard and then cut it out?