I have decorated for several years in BC but have not crossed over to fondant for several reasons. I have some how always been able to create what I wanted without it. I knew the time would come when I had no choice...my daughter's kindergarten graduation cake. I am wanting to put a doll on a tiered cake but I want the doll to have a pink flowing graduation gown on. (just like what my daughter's wearing). I searched the forums with no luck. I think my questions are too basic.

Here they are:

How do I color the white wilton fondant that I bought into a light pink? Can you use the Wilton cake colors?

How much time do I have to work with it on the doll before it drys?

Will it eventually dry rock hard?

I wanted to give it a little shimmer with luster dust. How do you put this on? Do you have to wet the fondant first?

I know these are basic questions...but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Michele

well i hope this helps-i can answer some of the q's anyway.
colouring fondant is just as easy as colouring icing...start with a little colour and knead it into the fondant (just like icing start with a little, you can always go darker if you need to)-the colour pastes work great with fondant
if you feel like the fondant is getting dry (i came across this too) add a knead in a bit of crisco shortening to get it back to a smooth consistancy
fondant can dry hard but it takes a few days-a "dress" could keep it folds and drapery but still be soft enough to cut and last i think you could apply luster dust directly on the fondant if it's fresh, otherwise dampen it a bit (not too much or it will get a bit slimy) and then add the dust-hope that helps- i LOVE working with fondant

Hi,
I'm no expert but I recently did my first fondant dec'ed cake!

You need to colour the fondant with gel colours so it doesn't thin it out, Wilton do them and so does Americolor, I used Americolor, just put a bit in the fondant and knead it in well.

Fondant takes a while to dry depending on your enviroment but I'd say you have plenty of time, if you roll it out and make a mistake putting it on and have to knead and roll again then it does dry quite a bit so just knead in some Crisco, and it'll be good to go again! Fondant won't dry rock hard unless you add gumpaste to it.

I havn't used lusterdust as yet but I know you can brush it on dry for a light effect or mix it with clear vanilla extract or vodka and paint it on for a stronger colour, if you just want a light sparkle I'd use it dry
Actually I've just ordered some so i'm looking forward to having a bit of an experiment with it!

HTH!