I have always been told that no question is a stupid question!! So here it is...I have no clue about fondant, but we are going to try it for my sisters birthday cake..so on top of it are ribbons that need to be a little stiffer so they do not fold over. Do I really have to use the gum tex to harden them, or is there something that I can substitute with? For one thing..we can't find it any gum tex locally and it's too late to order it online. I need help..please!! Thanks in advance, Michelle

You could make it out of gumpaste or I add tylose to my fondant to make it harden.

What about candy clay for bows? There is a recipe in the recipe index.
I used candy clay to make roses so you might want to try bows.
The clay will have to harden for at least 24 hours. And I would dry the bows on their sides with tissue paper or paper towel inside the loop.

Just a thought.

I made a bow w/o gumtex. I just used regular fondant and it worked fine. I put tissue in between till it set up and they held up great. I also made curled ribbon and it was also fine. You can see the end result in my photos. Good Luck you'll do great!

Thanks for the help..we are going to see what happens...if it is presentable I will post a pic when it's all over. Thanks again.

There is a tutorial somewhere on this sight on how to make loop bows!

http://www.cakecentral.com/article17-How-to-Make-a-Fondant-Loop-Bow.html

One caution, don't try to do this with marshmallow fondant though. It takes DAYS to harden. Normal purchased fondant (I have used wilton - yuk) will start hardening within the hour.

My mom did the fondant for the first time and it wasnt all that bad. It was quite thick, but it looked ok. The bows dried overnight but since they wree kinda thinck they didnt dry all the way and after about an hour of being on the cake the slowly flatened out. Everyone thought it was pretty cool though...some thought it was a fake cake!! LOL I did my wilton spiderman..whick took more time than the other shaped cakes that I have done. The Decorators Cream cheese icing was awesome though!!! It held up and crusted just like it was supposed to and it tasted great!!! Will get some pics posted as soon as I can get my computer to work right Thanks for the help!!
Michelle