I was so excited about my FMM Funky alphabet cutters and when i tried to use them the darn fondant won't come out of them. I tried dipping the cutters in PS and they still get stuck and they rip...i've tried rolling the fondant out a little thicker than usual so the fondant won't rip and it still does not work for me Anyone has any tips that they can give me on how to get my fondant out of these things...i would so appreciate it. Thanks in advance!!!

Those cutters are tricky and take skill to use..I haven't been able to either so they sit unused!! Some use pins to poke it out and tweezers etc..I think that is a waste of time but if it works!

Here are a couple of video tutorials from 2 of our favorite CC members, tonedna and aine2:

I just got mine. I may give them a try today, but I've already watched the video's so hopefully I won't get as frustrated as you have. Good luck.

i too ordered the letters and numbers. and watched the videos of how to use. and there is now way i can get the gumpaste or fodant out of of those little suckers without using a tootpick which then messes up the letters (or numbers)! i have tried to bange them on the counter like ive seen shown but that doesnt work.
my sit too collecting dust! too bad because they are really 'funky' and would love to use them more!

Aine2 has a youtube video that helps.

i just used them friday .. i used satin ice fondant. colored it purple. rolled out on p/s .... i cut a strip about 2" wide.. i even dusted p/s litely on top.. let set up for a little bit.. the fondant wasn,t paper thin.. but again not too thick.. letting it set up for a little bit is the key.. mine worked good that way... if some was hard to come out.. and some will be.. the pin is the trick ... and not a waste of time.. i did .. happy birthday morgan.. pretty fast. i transferred then onto a cake board, covered in freezer paper.. let them sit for a while .. then just put water on back and layed onto buttercream cake.. hth i used a pastry brush to clean off any dusting powder..they didn,t want any decorations on it. so i made an oval picture frame.. and put the lettering inside that .. looked really nice..

Gumpaste makes it a little easier. Roll it very, very thin and dust the insides of your cutters very well. Doesn't fix it 100%, but it helps! These are so hard to use, but worth it.

I've never used fondant with tappits, only gum paste. Fondant is too sticky. I find I have to roll the GP out very thin. After I roll the GP out, I let it sit for just a short while so it crusts ever so slightly. The videos the pp posted are both excellent tutorials

Wow...that was fast!!! Thanks everyone so much u don't know how much i appreciate this!!! I've been screaming and cursing trying to use these cutters lol!!! A Big thanks to all of you!

I use GP or fondant with tylose mixed in. roll to pasta roller #5 ( thin) . walk away and let it sit for 30-40 minutes. then come back, press the cutter in and rub on counter real hard. turn it over and peel excess junk off and then give it one good tap on the counter and it will come out.

fondant has to be thin enough and dry enough and it will come out every time with no pins needed, I promise! (I show it in Boxes, too)

I've used mine a few times now and the answser is definitely letting them sit a bit. Rolling the gumpaste out thin, let it sit for awhile and then I dip the letters in a little cornstarch. They turned out great.

Melissa

i use mine for both fondant and gumpaste.

i use tonedna's technique; laying down a thin layer of crisco on the cutting board PLUS i take a soft food only brush and dust the inside of the cutter with cornstarch.

i cut and push the cutter foward and back in a very minute motion to make sure my cut is clean, lift, and the letter is stuck to the board instead of the cutter. i do not need to use a pin or toothpick.

the combination of the crisco and dusted cornstarch works every time for me.

diane

I use fondant. I use the little wilton roller with the pink thickness bands on them. Roll the strip out and begin cutting all the letters I need. Once I have cut a bunch and they are still in the cutters then I get them out. Letting them sit in the cutters while I cut the other letters really helps me. Sometimes I bang them on counter, sometimes I use a pin. The toothpick is too big and bulky for therse.

Oh I love those cutters and what I do is add some tylose to my fondant, roll thinly,let sit for abt 20mins then I dip my pastry brush in crisco and brush the inside of the alphabet I want to cut out, press it on and Voila! it falls out at just a slight tap Works for me all the time and I really love using those alphabets.

I can feel you pain!
I bought the 'tubby letters' by patchwork cutters and tried to use them last night ...believe me, for a moment I wanted to put those cutters in the garbage These little letters come on a little square cutter/embosser(sort of) so, you can't pull out the letters (like the Wilton letter cutters)...however I was using satin ice fondant only.
Do any of you own those 'tubby letters' cutters? should I do the same process as with tapits by fmm?

No one has those tubby letters?? or did you all put them in the garbage...?? I'm about to do that with mine

I don't have the tubby alphabets but I think crisco brushed on it lightly will help like with th FMM ones.Pls don't trash them

great ideas.

We've sprayed ours with Pam and it seems to help tremendously, as does adding tylose to the fondant.

If you let your fondant sit a couple of minutes to kind of crust they come out more easily when you tap them to get them out without distorting.

Happy, happy, joy, joy... the song I am singing since I found this post!! I LOVE my funky cutters, but dread using them since they always stick. I would lightly spray cutters with Pam, which would help, but still had to use toothpick to remove then the letters would get all weird shape. The tips on using GP mixture and allowing to crust (which make complete sense in hindsight..... duh, me!!).... now I can't wait to use them!!!!

Thanks for the post and everyone with all the useful information!
~Jaime

Ahhhh, thank youuuuu!!! I'm glad all of you saw my post and my frustration, he,he.
I tried so hard the first time that I think I spent an hour trying to make a simple 'happy b-day' message

Donnagardner, so do you mean to press the letters to the fondant, let them sit for a while and then tap them? how long do you wait?

Ok thank you all this was great help!!!!

I love, love, love my cutters. I roll out the fondant and cut it into strips slightly larger than width of the letters so that there is no wastage. Then leave it to dry for about 30 minutes so that a slight crust forms on the fondant. When I am ready to cut out the letters, I spray a bit of cooking spray on a piece of kitchen paper towel. I prefer not to spray the cutters direct as it can end up with too much of the spray on them. Use the towel to rub over the letter you want to cut and then cut letter out. Tap it out and put aside. No need to use pins, brushes, etc!!

My problem is the opposite! Because the letters come out very easily, it sometimes flies across the kitchen when I tap it out.

I take a little crisco and smear it on the edges. I roll the gumpaste out and then push the letters into the gumpaste. I have a bad one every now and then, but for the most part it works well.

Why don't you folks use gumpaste? It says in the instructions that GP has the best results. It's kind of a given, actually.

I've never had problems. I love those cutters... use 'em all the time!

used them for the first time this week, the first letter stuck so i was not happy, however i let the fondant sit a little bit and from then on they were great. the only problem i had was that i couldn't find my cake tweezers to put those little letters down on the cake.

I have some letter tappits, but could never get them to work for me. I did what Sharon said to do in her Boxes & Bows dvd and as she said in this post.

I got to use them this weekend on a cake (pink & brown cake in my photos), I did how Sharon said and they work GREAT!!! So great that even my 6 yr. old grand daughter was making all kinds of things with my tappits, and I was using fondant only.

I had tried so many ways to use them, but it still wouldn't work....this has been the best way for me to use the tappits, and this will be how I do them from now on. Thanks so much Sharon (Sugarshack) for this tip, love it!
God Bless,
Sharon

I just posted with my funky tappits despair and was answered by icer101 who provided a link to this thread. YAY!!! I'm doin' the Funky Happy Dance!

Wow, I am surprised so many people have had problems using the tappits. Just do as the name implies and "tap" them. I more or less smack them. After pressing down on the gumpaste or fondant (I don't do anything special to it, just roll it out), simply pull back on the end and flick it onto the counter. They come right off. I flip the tappit over before flicking or smacking it to wipe around the letter and remove the rough edges but you don't have to. I am also surprised there are no videos showing this. It would take waaaayy too long to carefully push or cut out the letters.

Edited to add: If it's the first time using the letter, you can dip it in powdered sugar or cornstarch and tap to remove the excess. You may not have to do it after it's been used a few times, until after you clean it.