I am relatively new to cake decorating, and love working with fondant. However, I'm finding that when I cut shapes out of the fondant (especially larger ones), they stretch when I pick them up, therefore losing their shape. For example, I cut out a hockey mask from some mmf today (to which I had added some tylose), and when I picked the mask up off the counter to lay over a roll of paper towel to give it some curve, the mask had stretched, distorting some of the features. I had to play around with it afterwards to make it look good, but I'm just wondering if anyone else has the same problems, and if there are any solutions to this out there? Would putting the shapes in the freezer first for a little bit help with preventing the stretch? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

If you let it sit for a bit like 5-10 minutes it will harden/stiffen up a bit and is easier to move without much distortion.

You could try putting cornstarch or powdered sugar under the fondant, after you have rolled it to the thickness you want but before you cut it. Also I put a lot of my fondant on wax paper before I use the cutters. It doesnt stick and you can pretty much pick it off in about 5 -10 min with no problems.

Agree with letting it sit for 5-10 minutes before moving, as well as cutting on a well-cornstarched surface. If your surface isn 't well dusted, your fondant may stick to it, increasing the dry/set up time by a large margin. And, you still may distort it when you lift it.

When you go to lift your mask, loosen and lift it with a spatula or palette knife so your fingers don't distort the shape.

agree-let it sit a bit

I guess I just got impatient, and it never occured to me to let it sit a bit. I will do this next time! Thanks everyone!