Can I Make My Own Dummie....
Decorating By JavaJunkieChrissy Updated 19 Mar 2007 , 5:46pm by sweetflowers
I would love to have a variety of shapes and sizes of cake dummies. I've thought of making my own but what would I make it out of. I've never personally saw a cake dummie so I don't know what they are made out of. If anyone has made a dummie would you please que me in?? I'm mainly interested in doing this so I can make cakes and just take pictures to build a portfolio of my work and to post pictures on a web site when I get that started.
TIA,
Chrissy 
They're made of styrofoam. I tried to make one once and it did NOT go well. Styrofoam is a pain to cut. Maybe if you used a heated styrofoam cutter it would work well. A great place to order dummies from is a company called Dallas Foam (they have a web site.) Tons of shapes and sizes and much cheaper, even with shipping, than buying them from a cake decorating store.
I've been trying to figure that out myself endlessly walking the aisles of Home Depot! For now I have decided to just invest in a set of dummies and if I can bear parting with the cake upon completion...I will dismantle and use them all over again. It just seems like you can get dummies for cheap and they end up being cheaper & easier if you reuse them. I am interested to see what other say though.
Someone else recommended using Rigid Foam Board from Home Depot. I had my DH buy it for me last week and hopefully, will try to make some cake dummies today or tomorrow. Seems like the right stuff, just not sure if regular glue will hold the layers together as I need them more thick (they're 1-1/2 inches thick and I want them to be three). DH didn't get me the adhesive I asked for because he insisted that regular glue would work, but then had his doubts when he came home and I said I'd be WASHING THEM in between uses.
DUH! Do most men ever listen? (Sorry, Doug). My DH used to. Oh well after 13-3/4 years......
I use foamcore boards. It's like styrofoam sandwiched between 2 poster boards. They hold up extrememly well. I use the 1/2" boards. They are $4.99 at Hobby Lobby. From one board I can make (2) 14 x 20 boards for my 12 x 18 cakes . That makes them $2.50 each but that's a lot cheaper than stacking several pieces of cardboard. Plus some customers bring them back.
Just cover them in aluminum foil, Fancy Foil or whatever you normally cover boards with.
They can be easily cut with an Exacto Knife, a carpet knife, and there's another knife in the CC forums on a thread called "Foamcore". It's a Hot Knife which they say cuts through foamcore like butter.
I use foamcore boards. It's like styrofoam sandwiched between 2 poster boards. They hold up extrememly well. I use the 1/2" boards. They are $4.99 at Hobby Lobby. From one board I can make (2) 14 x 20 boards for my 12 x 18 cakes . That makes them $2.50 each but that's a lot cheaper than stacking several pieces of cardboard. Plus some customers bring them back.
Just cover them in aluminum foil, Fancy Foil or whatever you normally cover boards with.
They can be easily cut with an Exacto Knife, a carpet knife, and there's another knife in the CC forums on a thread called "Foamcore". It's a Hot Knife which they say cuts through foamcore like butter.
Would that be thick enough for a cake dummy?
Marci,
You could usually attach foam together with hot glue. I have used the white foam in floral department of hobby stores. If you cover your dummy with royal icing, you can just pull the fondant off when you are done and recover without having to wash.
I've never used royal to ice a cake in, believe it or not. Maybe I should try it. I've only used BC or BC/Fondant.
Hey Sugar Plum,
All this time I thought we were talking about cake drums (as in the base) 
. I need to get my mind out of the gutter 
Or I guess I should say that I'm the "dummy".
I order mine from www.dallasfoamonline.com. They are quite cheap and come in millions of shapes and sizes. I also shrinkwrap them so they are easy to clean. I wouldn't wash them...they would probably never dry!! I ice and decorate with buttercream and also "glue" together with buttercream or royal icing.
Hey Sugar Plum,
All this time I thought we were talking about cake drums (as in the base)
. I need to get my mind out of the gutter Or I guess I should say that I'm the "dummy". You sound like me. I like it. 
I order mine from www.dallasfoamonline.com. They are quite cheap and come in millions of shapes and sizes. I also shrinkwrap them so they are easy to clean. I wouldn't wash them...they would probably never dry!! I ice and decorate with buttercream and also "glue" together with buttercream or royal icing.
Shrink wrapping!!! What a great idea!! I have a whole roll of that stuff in my basement. Hmmm
As for Dallas Foam; they are the cheapest I could find, but unfortunately their shipping charges are outrageous. I was going to place an order that totalled $15.15 and the UPS shipping charges were $24.27!!! 
Sorry but I can't see paying 1.5 times the amount of my order just in shipping charges. I'm trying to find someone closer. I even tried Taylor Foam and their prices are higher so the order came out to be$31.01 and $13.21 S/H for a total of $44.22. I need something a little lower than that.
I've used a version of the rise krispy treat recipe to make quick dummies. You just compress it really well (I left out the butter) into your pan and it will air dry hard. Otherwise I would just order the dummies, I have washed mine before. The only problem is they will be yucky after a while if you use BC on them. If you go to Michaels and get a few of the round circles you can stack a few together to make one cake, but that can get pretty expensive. I use toothpicks or hot glue or royal to stick mine together.
I have a friend who used the spray insulation foam from Home Depot, she says it's inexpensive, but I've never bought it. Maybe someone else?
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