HI, I don't have any fondant molds yet, and saw a tutorial for making them out of silicone. I like that idea, but don't really have it in my budget to buy the stuff to do it until after Christmas! ( I have 4 children!) lol

But, I was wondering if I could make crude molds out of salt dough?... The kind kids use to make hand prints and Christmas ornaments for parents. There are some things I would like to have molds for to do autumn decorations and holiday baking.

Has anyone ever tried that?

I have never tried it but I did see on pinterest the other day that they made chocolate molds out of packed brown sugar. Will have to look it up and see how exactly they did it but it should work for fondant molding as well I would think. I was going to try it once I got a chance not only to keep the budget down but also then you can make molds of anything you want.

Here's my pinterest link in case you are interested in the brown sugar molds as well.[http://pinterest.com/cakegirl368/] You can find it under the board Brilliant Ideas. [/url]

Alright. Thanks a lot for the info. I'll go look! If I try either idea, I'll make sure to post back how it worked. I have a little time today to monkey around. hehe

People are probably going to die when I say this (just because everyone seems to be so conservative about what is an isn't food safe) but I once used that fimo clay to make a mold.

Fimo is non toxic isn't it? It has been a long time since I did a craft with that, but, seem to remember reading it had to be non toxic in order to bake it in the oven. ( or was it sculpi?)

Anyways, I have been making napkin rings out of salt dough, and it is so easy to work with. Its simply salt, flour and water. ( all food!) - and its mold-able and able to be sculpted into nice details. I am going to try it tonight, to make mum flowers, leaves and maple leaves. I bet I could even make a stamp, or cutter out of salt dough. Hmmmm.

Basic Salt Dough Recipe
Ingredients:

1 cup of fine salt
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of water (may add more)

Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine the salt and the flour
Make a well in the salt/flour mixture and add the water
Knead until smooth and shape into a ball
When not in use, wrap in plastic or store in an airtight container

Forgot to add, air dry or bake at 200 degrees F* - I like the results better when air dried. They never puff up or get distorted.

I like the cutter idea, let me know how that works! I am always frustrated with the lack of cutters and I live in total metropolis (so it's not like they are in short supply!).

A salt dough mold is a very interesting idea. I wonder if it could be coated in a food safe wax so it would not be porous and absorb moisture from the fondant. I may have to give it a try. Thanks for the great idea!

Thats what I was thinking too! Paraffin would work, wouldn't it?

Here is what I am going to do. I bought some nicely shaped stickers from Wal- Mart that I want to use as the shapes of my molds. I also found some paper flower templates online. ( like for doing scrapbooking.) I am going to cut a potato in half, place the sticker on top, then use an exacto knife to cut it to around 1/4 in deep, all around. Then, I'll make the salt dough and stamp the potato into it, and bake some at 200, and air dry others, then coat with paraffin wax.

To make the "cutters" I plan to just do as above, but then trace around the first outline I make and clear away the outside. I will make the edge about 1/8th of an inch thick, so it should dry good. ( at 1/4 deep with an 1/8" thick edge) We will see what happens.

Save your coins and in a month you'll have $10. Take the $10 and a 50% off coupon from Michaels and get some food safe two part molding clay. It releases the fondant beautifully and won't cling like Salt clay or leave an uneven surface like salt clay would. The mold you make is yours forever and can be washed.

Thanks. I'll try that too. But want to try this, too, just to see how it works. I might try using foam board instead of potatoes though. lol Breaking out of "redneck" is hard to do!

Thank u.