Welcome Sophie

doublecz - I didn't mean to make anyone feel like an idiot. I have that feeling often enough, so I wouldn't wish it upon anyone else. I hope you got the answers to your questions.

Christy - Thank you so much for that link! I think it's definitely worth it for folks who don't want to fiddle around with making their own.

It's interesting (to me, anyway) that their "new" bottle molds don't require a support cast. One of my first bottle molds required a support cast. What a pain in the rumpus room! All I did to solve the problem was add another layer of silicone plastique. No extra support required!

It doesn't appear that their mold can stand up. I left the bottom of my mold open so I could let my bottles dry standing up. That way, the sugar won't pool and it will also naturally drip into a nice point.

Thanks Diane for that eye opener.. I didn't realize that it didn't stand

But could there be a way to rig it?

Who knows... just thought that for someone that doesn't think they could make their own (like me.. I'm so dumb) this might be the best way

I made a full body silicone plastique mold slit down one side. I had some air bubbles trapped inside when making the mold, but this makes the bottle look like it is sweating. It really adds some interest to me. I didn't get it very thick so I made a support for it out of clay. I pour the sugar in and then roll it around until it cools some. I use a hairdryer with a "cool shot" setting to help speed this along. Sometimes I use the air conditioner vent. HA HA You MUST wear gloves!!!! I use an old pair of thick suede gloves and they work well for me. This makes a whole bottle that is open at the bottom. I usually use a dowel through the cake and up through the bottle to help support it.

For these short neck green bottles, I used a regular bottle mold and made a "cork" out of tin foil to create the shorter neck. They were not perfect but looked OK. The caps are fondant and the label is an edible image. When I do Bud light bottles, I just peel off real labels and stick them on my bottles because they are clear plastic.

Ooh jen123 - your cake is the one my friend really liked - the beach scene one... i'm so happy you posted pictures too - thank you to everyone who posted pictures for us 'visual learners' ! I'm liking that idea of the silicone plastique full bottle with the slit down the side - did you make it and then slit it down the side? Was it hard to get the sugar bottle out? And is your still sort of an "empty" bottle and not solid sugar?

I'm not getting this "standing up" thing with the mold.... are you rigging in some way to stand it up? Otherwise, I would think it would pool into sugar puddle at the bottom of the bottle...

And THANKS for letting me know the bottle caps you made were fondant! That helps!

Yes, I made the mold and then cut a slit with scissors. You have to be careful because it will rip easily if it is thin. It is extremely easy to get out... it doesn't stick at all. I don't know about the "standing up" method. I have to keep it moving to avoid puddles. I pour in the sugar and then roll it around to coat the sides. This is a hollow bottle. You have to practice to get it even. You really can't stop rolling until it hardens pretty well...maybe 5-15 minutes depending on if you are blowing cool air in it. You can remove it as soon as it is hard enough to not get deformed. I stand them up on parchment to finish cooling. They don't always stand straight because the bottom is often uneven.

So can you use just a reg. fan while cooling.. like rolling it around in front of a fan?

I just tried for the first time - I made my mold out of the silicone plastique... maybe I didn't make it thick enough... I tried to rubber band it and it kept collapsing on itself..... And how on earth do you turn this while pouring the sugar in??

I also had problems getting the mold off the bottle.... it stuck to the actual beer bottle a bit and I had to repair a little rip.... is my only problem that it wasn't thick enough? I'm so scared now that I don't have enough of this stuff.... I can try making another bottle... but what if there isn't enough of the silicone plastique? What will I do? The wedding is this week! (this is a groom's cake I'm trying to do)

And no - I didn't try to wait until the last minute... I thought this was some special kind of beer bottle and I asked the bride to send me the bottle several times.... she never told me I could go buy some at a local liquor store... it's a Mexican beer and she lived in California - so I assumed it was easily accessible there - but not here in KY. Anyway - that's my little disclaimer there.... I also tried to contact the make your own mold people and ask them for help previously, but I never got an e-mail back

It sounds like it is too thin. Maybe you could put it back on the bottle and add another layer. I don't know if it will stick though....
How many bottles do you have to make?? This sounds like an all nighter.

OOh, that really suchs! I started making a mold this week, but I've only done 2 coats so far!
Can you fit your mold back on the bottle, and add more plastique to your original to make it thicker?Hope you get it done!

that's what jenn123 has suggested too... maybe I should try that... I"m just worried b/c already cut the slit through the bottle..... I wonder if I should try to cover the slit and then cut it again or just make it thicker around the cut....

I think thicker around the cut. You just need to support the main part of the bottle.

alrighty what I did was put the silicone plastique all over the bottle, and then I wrapped the older mold around it. It stuck - but it created some bubbles and pockets. Luckily I remembered I had a little bit of the material left in a "kit" I got last year at ICES. So I used that to patch some holes up - hopefully that will help.

Before I patched the holes, I poured one bottle. I still think it's really hard to pour and hold the mold at the same time.... my bottle came out all discolored... I haven't seen anyone else's be so discolored.... like it was splotchy in parts..... did I just have my sugar too hot? Or did I not turn fast enough? Or too fast? Anyone know? Some parts were really dark, and others had this weird light brown color to them..... it wasn't a very pretty bottle.....

this sounds sooo hard and I have one to do in July

I hope you get it all worked out imartsy

anyone know about the discoloration of the sugar? See my post above....

Anyone?

I've never heard of the bottle being splotchy... what ingredients and how did you cook it?

It's weird - the bottle is fine in color today.... don't know what was up....

However, now I've just made crazy messes with this - I think the sugar is heating up too much or something.... but I'm having trouble getting it dark enough.....

I don't know - I'm thinking of trying to find that other rubber latex stuff and trying to make another mold. I'm just upset and disappointed at the moment at my lack of mold making skills lack of pre-planning (well some of it is due to the bride not sending the bottle or telling me it was easy to get at a local liquor store! - all that time I wasted waiting for what I thought was a "special" beer bottle)

Okay for some reason I am having a hard time loading these pages so if this has already been answered sorry.To the question about making a full bottle out of silicone yes you can. I made a complete bottle and it worked fine. I did not cut it I just stretched it off the bottle. The top neck part was a little distorted but it wasn't really noticeable once I put the label on.
I will try to post the pic of the last one I made. I made a sugar bottle previously without the siliquone plastique but it didn't work as well. It too is a full bottle and is in my pics.
Once again sorry if I am repeating anything but I can't get the pages loaded!

GENERAL LESSONS LEARNED:

1) Ask the customer more questions if you think she's asking for something that's hard to find

2) Never rely on local stores to have anything. Order everything - double - ahead of time - just in case

3) Make sure you have everything you need ahead of time - including the right cake boards and fanci foil or already covered cake drums

4) Pray a lot

SUGAR LESSONS LEARNED:

1) Put down a baker's mat or silpat or something so that if you spill sugar, it will be okay (It took a long time to get hard sugar off the cabinet doors and counter top

2) DO NOT try to clean up spilt hot sugar with paper towels - big mess!

3) Make your mold very very thick

4) Be very very careful about heating up sugar... do not overheat it - if you have a medium high setting, use that instead of high and just heat it up a little longer.... but watch it carefully. I had sugar boil over the cup it was in and all over everything twice

5) Once you pour the sugar in, you can "roll" the mold around in your two hands - and you can lean it different ways to move the sugar around inside... even though it's very very hot (pot holders are a must!), you don't have a long time to work it into the right spots

6) Next time, try baker's sugar.... I read somewhere that is easy to melt. Also next time if I want a really dark bottle, I need to try to use some candy coloring or something - or do you all think I could use americolors?

I'm sure more lessons learned will come....

Since everyone has been sooooo helpful, I thought I'd post a link to the picture of the final results! The labels are from the actual bottles - as well as the one beer cap. I figured one beer was already drunk, and there was still one to go

  http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1231689.html

I haven't read to the end yet, but does the moisture of the buttercream affect the sugar bottle in any way? I wonder if you put it on the cake the day before, would it last until the event?

Sunlover,

I wouldn't put the bottles on the cake until you set it up at the event. I noticed when I did mine that they seemed to move on the cake when I was driving. Of course the ice on the cake covered those spots but to be safe I would wait to place the bottles.

Teri

imartsy - great cake The bottles are gorgeous.

Imartsy...great cake and bottles. Well done!

When I did my bottles I put the mold in a narrow glass so I didn't have to hold the mold while I poured the sugar in. It helped to rotate the mold in the glass. I did a thin coat all around the mold first then poured more in after to make it a bit thicker. The color darkens as it gets hotter and even after you take it out of the microwave. The longer it cooks the darker it gets but it can burn and smell the place up...boy to I know that!

Teri

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_600673.html

On one of the first few pages, the recipe for the sugar said ? karo syrup and ? water. Does anyone else's screen say that? Does that mean equal parts sugar and water?

I wonder if you used 1/2 light Karo and 1/2 dark Karo syrup, if you'd get a nice dark brown color without having to cook it too long?

Or....is the coloring of the syrup how you know when it's done?

These directions are great. I can't wait to try making bottles. Thanks so much.