I am attempting to make some christmas candies. I spent forever painting the molds and was really happy with how they looked. I went to put the background color in and all of the parts that I had painted smeared all over. was my chocolate just too hot? I heated it very gradually and only to the point that it was all melted. Should I let it cool before putting it into the mold? I just don't want it to be too thick that it is hard to put in. What kind of temperature or consistency am I going for? I know that the detail parts were hard because I stuck it in the fridge for quite a while before I went to do the background color. Is there anything else that could cause that? Thanks for your help!!! I really appreciate it!

This is what I found:

http://www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/candies/moldingchocolate/howtomold.htm

http://www.allinonebakeshop.com/recipesandideas.asp

HTH

Two things you should do differently - First, DON'T put the painted foreground in the frig for more than a couple of minutes. You don't want it too cold or it may pop out of the mold before you add the background.

Second, your fill chocolate should be as cool as possible without it thickening up, which you already know. Add it to the mold carefully so as not to disturb the foreground. Gently tap the mold a couple of times to get rid of air bubbles.

After I paint the color portion in the molds, I put it in the freezer. The harder the better. Then take it out & put the fill chocolate on top. Tap gently then back in the freezer.