I have tried and tried to make several different fondant figurines (people, bears, etc.) and I am horrible at it! Help! I can't seem to get their limbs to stay on.... there goes an arm, a leg, on no, the head just rolled off. Am I attaching them when the fondant is too moist, too dry, too....??? I just don't know what I am doing wrong. Any ideas for me? TIA.

Jennifer

Hi Jennifer, first, I don't make my figures with fondant alone. I add 1/2 teaspoon of CMC/ Tylose to 250g fondant. Or you can mix 50/50 Fondant and Gumpaste. Have you seen aine2's vidoes? Here is a link to her blog. She has loads of videos, that I'm sure will help you.

http://www.extra-icing.blogspot.com/

She also sells online tutorials, which helped me a lot.

What do you use as a glue to attach these? Some desolve the paste in some warm water. But I use sugar glue. Its easy to make. Aine2 has a video on that too.

If you need any more info please let us know.

HTH.

Well, I am no where near as talented as Aine2, but I love to make little figures!

I, too, use a fondant mixed with a little gumpaste or tylose powder. It helps the fondant hold shape and dry a little harder. I always attach arms and legs to the body before drying. Then I use a piece of uncooked spaghetti as support and insert it into the body. Then you can have a place for your figures head to rest. However, make sure to allow the body to dry a while prior to placing the head or the body will squish and be quite a bit shorter than designed! (don't ask how I learned this!!! )

However, I have recently (after advice from Serious_Cakes) discovered candy clay. I had only used it for flowers and other accents prior to this weekend. I loved it and it was easier to work with, so I decided to give it a try for some monkeys for a cake due Monday. I have found a new medium that is much easier to model with. I was able to attach all body parts (only used a tiny drop of water on a leg) and create creatures with much more personality in much less time. I even made one monkey to stand on his head and was able to assemble him immediately and he is still standing with no squishing! I will post pictures of them later today, but it might be something you want to try. I think that it is much easier than the fondant creatures I have made!

Good Luck -
Mandi

You can also use a toothpick (in fact it is recommended) to attach the head to the body. Just make certain you poke a hole in the head before attaching it to the toothpick which is extended down into the body. The toothpick should be cut/broken to length before inserting. Then attach a little glue where the head meets the body and stick the head on. If you have to you can also use toothpicks to attach the arms and legs. You should either add tylose powder (small amount) or gum paste to the fondant to give it more stability. When I took the class with Lorraine (aine2), my main purpose was to see how to stabilize my figures. Hope this helps.

Bettina

I would check Aine2...In her website she sells tutorials on how to do them!
Edna