I want to make a gumpaste zipper for a suitcase cake, and someone suggested in another thread (http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=610780) to buy a zipper, make a mold of it out of gumpaste, let it dry, and then use that to mold more gumpaste into a zipper. Has anyone tried this? Any tips? Would I need to grease the zipper with anything first? Would I need to grease the gumpaste mold with anything before using it with the second batch of gumpaste? Would gumpaste be the best option for both the mold and the zipper, or would fondant be a better choice for either one?

I do know I could buy food grade silicone to make the mold, but I have searched and searched, and including shipping it will cost $40 to get the silicone, way too much for a zipper mold lol. We don't have any craft stores locally. So silicone is not an option.

Thanks!

Just in case anyone would like to know, I used gumpaste to make the mold and it worked great. I sprayed a zipper with cooking spray and squished it into a strip of gumpaste, and then peeled it out right away. I let the gumpaste harden for about an hour, and in the meantime I made a 50/50 mixture of modeling chocolate and gumpaste. I sprayed the gumpaste mold with cooking spray and squished the chocolate/gumpaste mixture into the mold. I put it in the fridge for about 20 minutes, then peeled out the chocolate/gumpaste. It worked fantastic!!! I am so excited! It was so easy and it totally looks like a zipper. It is only a few inches long lol, I was just doing a little one to test. I'll make the real one next week. The great thing about it is the consistency, the chocolate/gumpaste zipper stayed nice and pliable, I can do it in advance and wrap it around the cake when I'm ready. It didn't harden up like straight gumpaste.

Thank you so much for letting us know how it turned out and exactly how you did it. Knowledge is a treasure, thank you for sharing it. Also in YouTube, it shows you how to make a candy mold. It looks pretty easy, I'm trying it soon.

Thank you so much for sharing this! Silicone is very expensive over here as well, so I will try that for sure the next time I need a mold.

Robbe

I'm sure I saw a tutorial somewhere else on this, and am pretty sure it just said to let it dry for several days before using it. I did find this link saved in my favourites, maybe it will help.

http://www.ehow.com/how_7314536_make-mold-fondant-gumpaste.html

Thanks a lot for the info. I've never tried making a mold with gumpaste. This will be a lot cheaper than trying to buy the silicon putty! Just recently started making my own gumpaste with gumtex. WoooHooo! A new toy to play with.

Hi Everyone,

I thought this thread on making a mold with gumpaste was pretty interesting. When you think about it, a mold can be made from so many materials. And in the example given in this thread, an acceptable outcome was derived by using inexpensive ingredients that can be shaped and dried into a mold. Very clever.

Since I am a fan of silicone, lets not forget that it does offer some notable advantages like durability. What if your zipper becomes really popular and you want to make scads of these babies? The gumpaste mold is rigid and delicate and you may find that you have to make it over and over again while a silicone mold is flexible and permanent. A silicone mold can also be used for chocolate, cooked sugar, royal icing etc. while I don't think the gumpaste mold would perform well.

Naemsmommy, I salute you, a very quick and clever solution indeed. Seems to me you have mold making talent. I'd like to get some Silicone Plastique in your hands and watch the addiction take hold. You remind me of Marzipandol - loads of talent from birth.

Dominic

Awww thanks Dominic I totally agree with you about the advantages of the silicone as well. I doubt I will even keep my gumpaste mold once I'm done this zipper, it's just too awkward to store anywhere. But cost-wise, this was certainly an attractive alternative, even though I only get to use it once. The cost of the silicone itself is reasonable, but everywhere I looked, shipping was almost the same as the silicone itself! I am going to keep my eyes open though, and if I ever happen to see some anywhere, I'll buy a ton of it! I can totally see it being a new addiction

"The cost of the silicone itself is reasonable, but everywhere I looked, shipping was almost the same as the silicone itself!"

I agree. If only more companies included the USPS as a shipping option, they'd get a lot more business.

Yes, shipping is a drag.

I want you all to know that I do offer U.S.P.S. as an option. Here is something you can try -- go to my website, www.MakeYourOwnMolds.com and place the materials you want into the shopping cart. Then proceed to checkout. Once you put in your shipping address, the website will calculate shipping options to your location. You will be able to see many options and compare UPS charges and postal charges. This all happens before you put in any credit card or payment information. If the shipping is agreeable with you, you can proceed with the order. If it is too expensive, you can simply abandon the order with no obligation to buy and it surely is not an inconvenience to me or my company.

Dominic

Yes, actually I had checked your site a few weeks ago, but I'm in Canada and the cheapest shipping was around $22 if I remember correctly.

I always meant to come back and post a pic of my cake here. I made the zipper using a gumpaste mold and it worked really well! I should have taken a close-up pic of the zipper though If you look on the left and right corners of the cake you can see the detail of the zipper teeth. In real life it totally looked like a real zipper, I was so excited lol!

wow thanks for sharing, molds out of gumpaste? never thought about that

Thanks naemsmommy for sharing your purse cake photo with the zipper you made from a gum-paste mold. I tried making a zipper for my cake purse. However, I ended up using a frosting comb thingy to make my zipper. Here is the purse I made:
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2256792/happy-birthday-to-a-82-yo-fashionista
Thanks to you I have a new way of making molds for items that I probably will make once or twice. Your purse is so pretty. Again, thanks and Best Wishes.

@ naemsmommy
That is such a brilliant idea, never thought about using gumpaste to make molds.

thanks!

I hope someone gives you an answer to this question. I am trying to find a way to do the same thing. If I find any post on the web I will send you a link.

Ah, I see you did try it and it worked for you. I have some white modeling chocolate made and sitting in tupperware. Now I will make some gumpaste and give this a try. Thanks for sharing!

I actually followed a link that was posted on the web for this very thing, but the page was no longer available.  I got here by googling the fondant mold.  It's a wonderful idea for all the buckets of older fondant that I have sitting around. .

I need to get busy finding trinkets to turn into molds now!