Has anyone tried using a scrapbook paper punch on fondant or gum paste?
They have some cute single punches and also very pretty designs to cut out the edges or corners of paper. Not sure if they'll work for caking though... or if you'd want to eat it after it went through the punch????

I have use them before, I rolled my fondant/gumpaste out very thin. Let it set just a min. or so them I punch it out.

Hope this helps,
Giod Bless,
Sharon

I did and it worked fine. I only use the punch for fondant so there is no cross-contamination.

They also work great on SugarVeil Icing.

I used a couple of mine too (a butterfly and a swirl). I used fondant and had to roll it thin but not too thin (it would tear when I tried to slide it into the punch) and had to let it sit for 10-15 minutes. With gumpaste I imagine you let it sit for much less time. I had to make sure I punched down on the cutter really hard a couple times to make sure it cut all the way through. Some times I had to dig little fondant goobers out of the punch before I could do the next one. It was somewhat time consuming but I could get shapes that I couldn't otherwise get cutting by hand.

I used paper punch on my latest cake. They key is to use a nice medium, I use Fran paste/Nic's recipe. Jennifer Dontz's recipe works perfectly too. Make sure you roll it as thin as possible.

I have also used the scrapbook scissors to cut fondant and gumpaste different edges. Works great.

I had never tried the scissors Rusti, really never thought about it. What a great idea, I 'll have to try it sometime. Thanks for sharing!

God Bless,
Sharon

What is Fran paste?

Fran's recipe can be found in here: http://cakecentral.com/recipes/3063/Modelling-paste

I like to use 50/50 of either Fran/Nic/Jennifer Dontz.

It works fine with MMF or gumpaste too. I usually use MMF and roll it as thin as possible then let it dry for a while. Spray the punch with cooking spray and wipe it off with a paper towel, including the inside (slide the paper towel in like a sheet of paper).

Judi, which paper punch do you use? I had such a hard time using the Martha Stewart lattice paper punch. I sprayed it with cooking spray and had problems after. I'd love to find gumpaste friendly paper punchers, hehe.

It's good to hear that someone's used the punches and that they worked. I was in the craft store buying a few cake supplies and walked by the scrapbook punches. I started drooling over all the cute designs and wondered if they'd work for decorating cakes.

Texas_Rose- thanks for the cleaning tips, that was going to be my next question. Does it harm the punches to put them in water and wash them?

Some of Martha's punches don't punch all the way through. I usually test it on paper and if it's hard to get a clean shape with paper I return it because it's not going to be any easier in fondant.

I like the little dollar size punches, the ones Michaels has in a bin near the front, because you can get so much more detail in a little shape with a punch than a cookie cutter. One of my favorite ones is a tiny leaf, cut them out in fall colors and press on them a bit with a ball tool to make them curl, then make broom-shaped cookies and glue little fall leaves along the bottom edge

Rylan, have you ever seen a lattice cutter for pie crust? I have been searching for one for a while to use with fondant and I think it would look amazing. The last time I remembered to look for one was during the holidays and all the places I found were sold out then.

When I clean the punches, I wash them with water and a little brush, then put them in a wad of paper towel and shake them to get all the water out and once it's dry spray it with some pam spray to hopefully prevent rust. I've been doing that for a couple years now and it seems to work for me.

The fiskars ones that are shaped like a regular hole punch but make different shapes do not work well for me at all. I had a bunch and struggled with them, then a spring snapped off of one and embedded itself partway in my wall and I decided to quit using the things.

Thanks Judi. I do agree, I had to return 3 paper punchers from Martha Stewart because they don't come out clean and some leave indentations. I'll take a look at the dollar punchers you are reffering to.

Oh yes! I've seen the lattice cutter for pie crust. I do not recall where but I just saw it not too long ago. I believe I saw it at Chef Rubber, World Market or Sur la Table. I do remember that they are expensive though.

The plastic ones are cheap, less than $10 but about the same price for shipping as for the cutter itself. I saw a pamphlet where they were using one for fondant and have wanted one since...I'll try to figure out where I saw it and post the link.