I was embarrassed when I delivered a cake yesterday.For the first time I used pre-tinted fondant. I made a female figurine to sit on the edge of the cake. She had a flowing skirt and for the first time I was really proud of the work. I am not artist and always have trouble with the faces but this time it all came together. I packed the figurine in a cushioned container to be sure it didn't move. When I unpacked it the skirt was in pieces and as I lifted it out of the container even the hair was starting to crumble!!!! It was for a bridal shower and the lady took it in stride but I am still embarrassed as she is a regular customer and was so excited to see "the bride." I did piece the skirt together as best I could but it was clearly damaged. So, what happened? I have worked a great deal with the regular fondant and the homemade and never had this problem.

did you add a lot of shortening to the fondant as you worked it , this can make it crumbly.

I have made many figurines. My past experience has shown me that fondant is not a reliable sculpting medium if it is at all thinned out at any point. Any small tap on hard dry fondant causes a fracture.

Fondant/tylose mixed together changes it completely. You can use Wilton GUmtex instead of tylose if you prefer. If you do not want tylose, then at least use a 50/50 fondant gumpaste mixture. But that is far more fragile.

Thank you Lynne3. I normally use the 50/50 fondant gumpaste combination and never had a problem. I didn't mix gumpaste with it because it would change the pre-tinted color -- didn't think about just adding some color. Live and learn.