I have a first impressions 8mm bead maker and have yet to make a proper bead. I have tried cornstarch in the mold with fondant and fondant mixed with tylose. I have done the snake thing and I still cannot make a proper pearl! If anyone has a tried and true method, I would sure appreciate it.
TIA!
Have you tried shortening?
When I use powdered sugar on my pearl mold, I use a brush to get into all the little spaces.
What exactly isn't coming out right?
Yes, I have tried shortening too...and let the fondant dry a bit. And mixed in tylose etc...They do not look like beads/pearls. They have little lines/points on them from the mold. Does that make sense? I tried trimming off excess too. I am afraid to roll them in my hand for fear of ruining the shape. Maybe I am expecting perfection but the ones I have seen on here, look perfect! I paid enough money for this mold that I am motivated to make it work!
I would appreciate any other tips you have! TIA
HamSquad: Please Please tell me how you made yours? 
I do have one but I bought the 6mm one and they are too small... so I usually end up having to hand roll them...
I roll the fondant.... use the circle cutter... then shape each circle into a bead... to make sure they are the same size....
I also have the little contraption (sp?) that is used to make clay beads... for for the life of me... I have no idea how to use it lol....
I don't treat my FI bead mold with anything. No powder, no shortening, nothing.
I extrude a snake of fondant (or fondant+tylose or gumpaste) and press it into the mold so there is no excess. Takes a good 20 seconds or so of squishing to get it filled properly.
Then, I turn the mold over and starting at one end, pull the sides back. The string of beads falls right out. Continue pulling all the way down the mold until all the beads fall out.
My pearl maker is the blue silicone one. They are all attached in a line by a strip of fondant on one side. Are you talking about a line on the opposite side-as if each side of the pearl were made separately and glued together so you can see a seam where they are glued? I hope I described that accurately.
If so, trying making your fondant softer. I've had that happen to me before. I used a dry toothbrush to get all the bits of powder out of the mold and tried again with softer fondant.
My pearl maker is the blue silicone one. They are all attached in a line by a strip of fondant on one side. Are you talking about a line on the opposite side-as if each side of the pearl were made separately and glued together so you can see a seam where they are glued? I hope I described that accurately.
If so, trying making your fondant softer. I've had that happen to me before. I used a dry toothbrush to get all the bits of powder out of the mold and tried again with softer fondant.
Yes! I have tried that, but I will try again...and try some of the other suggestions.
thanks everyone!
Terri
Hi, made my molds by using the yellow mold putty you buy at Michaels. It works really fast, so you have to work quick. Looked at some tutorials on the web. One was quite interesting, a retainer was made from card board like a cake board. I was unable to download a picture. Will download in picture galleries under templates/sketches. I also used the top of a acrylic paint package for the smaller pearls, pressed in the putty snake, then pressed in the strand of pearls I wanted to duplicate. This putty is foodgrade. When I use my mold, I discover for me, that dusting the mold with pearl luster dust, helped. You should not have to use anything. I think Tonedna does this. To unmold my pearls, I have to slide my finger down the sides to open the mold and bending the mold backwards to relaease the mold, it takes practice. I'm sure the other professional molds works better. I do like the look though of the pearls, especially the larger ones. HTH
Hammy
I use the bead mold, then re-roll the individual pearls by hand and let them dry, they look a lot better that way.
Hi,
I actually have a CK mold, not First Impressions....I tried brushing the mold with lustre dust first and that seemed to help. I also let the fondant dry a bit before putting in mold and that helped too. They were just too gooey. I still end up with all the beads stuck together in a row. So, I have to separate and roll individually. I thought that I could just let them fall out, but that is not the case. The rolling takes practice, but I guess at least they are uniform size! Maybe it was not the best mold to get but it cost me enough! And now I am stuck with it...Thanks!
The beads are suppose to come out all stuck together. Thats the way these molds are designed.
I have both the CK molds and the first impressions. The first impressions are easier to use, and only make a 1/2 bead, when you place these flat side down on the cake they look very nice. If my fondant is too sticky and doesn't want to come out of the mold i place the mold in the freezer for a few minutes and then the beads will pop right out.
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