I'm going to be making a cake for my nephew's first birthday. I'm going to make a two tier cake covered in fondant. I'm also going to make little presents and a jack in the box figurine to go on the cake.
My question is should I make the little presents and the jack in the box figurine out of fondant or gumpaste? I assumed I could make them out of fondant but then I read somewhere on the net that fondant wouldn't hold well enough for figurines and that I should make them out of gumpaste. Since I have not used gumpaste or fondant before I'm a little confused on which I should use.
Also how far in advance can I/should I make the little presents and jack in the box figurine?
Thanks
Gumpaste will dry faster and harder than fondant. A lot of people will use a 50/50 mix of fondant and gumpaste. I have done this before and it does dry well and fairly quickly. I have not made anything strickly with gumpaste before. I would probably do at least part gumpaste. It also depends upon how much time you have to let things dry.
Hi, and welcome. I mix MMF and 50% gum paste and allow at least 24 hours, depending on the thickness of the piece. The bigger and thicker the longer you want it to dry. It's lots of fun to work with and there's no waste, as long as it doesn't end up on the floor 
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Hello, I use fondant mixed with tylose. It will try hard and gives you time to work it. If you look in my photos the three tier cake. The blanket, gifts, the number 3 and mini cake were made with fondant and tylose. It took about a day for those to dry. The number three a 36 hours to dry.
You can buy tylose at cake decorating stores or on line - sugarcarft.com or countrykitchensa.com
Good luck
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