funny that my daughter is currently watching "finding nemo" right now (noticed your dory image)..and i was just thinking about it because i wanted a specific cutter and i could not find anything so here's a bump... 
When all else fails, make your own...cardboard, image, Xacto knife, and wax paper... I'm in the process of making a Coach handbag one for NF's and a fondant cut out
oh tnx puppyloveconfections! the idea now seems endless.. 
Do you mean there is a kit that allows you to make your own manual cutter - rather than using a template & Xacto? That sounds cool!
Do you mean there is a kit that allows you to make your own manual cutter - rather than using a template & Xacto? That sounds cool!
This is what I found:
http://www.cookiecutter.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=124
When all else fails, make your own...cardboard, image, Xacto knife, and wax paper... I'm in the process of making a Coach handbag one for NF's and a fondant cut out
I'm embarrassed to ask but, how do you do this? 
Does this make a cutter or a template that you place on the cookie dough and cut around? 
That is so cool! I needed on a couple of years back to make the "WM" logo of waste management and could have used this kit 
I bought one of the copper ones from Beryl's. It has been great. The only problem I found it that the 'tape' they provide to join the ends can come loose over time. You can buy a small rivet gun, similar to a staple gun, for about $20. this will give you a permanent join.
I think when I buy again, I will get aluminum. The copper is a bit hard to bend. I think the aluminum might be easier.
I used it to make a smaller version of the wedding cake cutter, a tear drop shape for some special leaves, and a larger hat shape for some redhat cookies. Worked great.
I have made about 20 of my own cutters from copper cookie cutter kits. I used needle nosed pliers to make a lot of the bends. I also found that the sticky tape they give you comes undone so I had my husband weld them together. They work wonderful. Its pretty easy if the pattern is not to intricate. Happy baking to you!!
I don't waste my money on the copper kits. I buy several different shapes and sizes of the thin tin cookie cutters--about 50 cents each. They are thin enough that you can reshape them to the pattern you have drawn out. And the ends are already secured together.
I don't waste my money on the copper kits. I buy several different shapes and sizes of the thin tin cookie cutters--about 50 cents each. They are thin enough that you can reshape them to the pattern you have drawn out. And the ends are already secured together.
Wow, I never would have thought of that and it's a GREAT idea. Thanks for sharing.
Mac.... that is pure genius! I LOVE this site 
I don't waste my money on the copper kits. I buy several different shapes and sizes of the thin tin cookie cutters--about 50 cents each. They are thin enough that you can reshape them to the pattern you have drawn out. And the ends are already secured together.
That's a great idea! 
Now my only dilemma will be finding a cookie cutter that's large enough for the one I need to make. 
It's never easy. I know they make some that are 5" and that's the min. size I was looking for. Back to searching. But, worst case, I try the kit.
When all else fails, make your own...cardboard, image, Xacto knife, and wax paper... I'm in the process of making a Coach handbag one for NF's and a fondant cut out
I'm embarrassed to ask but, how do you do this?
Does this make a cutter or a template that you place on the cookie dough and cut around?
Dont be embarrassed! It makes a template. I use the thick cardboard. Get your image, trace it onto the cardboard, cut it out with the knife and use it! You may need to use wax paper adhered to the cardboard with Pam (you can through it out when you are done) to stop the dough from sticking.
Marj, watch out, you're gonna be making cutters in your sleep! 
i too make a lot of my own cutters using a template. trace or draw my design on paper, tape it to stiff posterboard then cover it in contact paper and cut it out. they dont stick to my dough or fondant with the contact paper on it.
i have seen the kits online as well and thought about purchasing one but was in a time crunch and decided to use a template. it worked so well i have done it that way several times since.
I make at least half of my cookie cutters by hand. I use the cardboard/exacto knife method for shapes that I don't think I'll reuse, or if they are really intricate. But I actually prefer to make them out of metal because they are washable and then you can use them forever. To locate the metal, I just looked in the yellow pages and found a sheet metal company. They cut me 50 COPPER stripes for $50. I have found that if you buy a thin enough gauge and work with 1/2" strips - you can shape them a lot easier 
However, I bumped into a friend from grade school at my 20th high school reunion last weekend. He happens to own a steel company. Wow, never thought I'd be so happy to have a friend in the steel industry! He told me that the copper cookie cutters you buy at the store are coated with something which keeps them from rusting, but that the copper I had acquired was NOT, which is why I've noticed rusting on them. Woops! Time to change that in a hurry. 
He said what I should use - here's the big tip - is 304 or 316 Stainless Steel. It's readily available from sheet metal companies. Duh, 
why didn't I figure that out - all of my stainless steel tables are also made of 304 stainless steel!!
Anyhow, I don't know what the costs are for the steel because naturally I'm going to barter w/cookies!
I bought a roll of aluminum flashing in the roofing department at lowes for 6 dollars. The roll is ten inches wide and ten feet long, so I'll get tons of cutters out of it! Just cut strips with tin snips and secure the ends together either with a riveter or heavy duty double sided tape. Voila! For ten bucks all together (tape and aluminum) you can have tons of cutters!
HTH
Diana
) Hi AZlorri - What a coincidence, I just ordered the steel today at this website http://www.mcmaster.com. I searched high and low in town looking for stainless steel, but in the end, I've ordered off of the good old internet. The problems w/the steel I could find: the steel wouldn't be thin enough to be bendable & there would likely be burrs from the cutting. The solution is to go with a coil of steel - which is actually much better because then you can cut the strips to the exact size needed. I went with a thickness of .01 and a width of 1/2." I'm crossing my fingers I chose right! In their search box, type in 'stainless steel coil' and you will see they only stock 301 stainless steel in coils. I inquired about 304 - you can get it from them, but it was about $70 more. From what I could read online, 301 should work just fine (let's hope). BrownMetals.com (in CA) is another internet supplier of the coils as well. I paid $96 for 100' plus $4 s/h.
Here's another suggestion - get yourself a 110V spot welder off Ebay and in a split second, you've got a great bond! I got mine for $90. Happy cookie cutter making!
i tried making them.. and all i ended up with was sliced up fingers.. lol ill stick with ordering them or having my friends husband make them for me
You're welcome. I have spent a ton of time researching this and I'm happy to share it with other cc'ers. If you can hold off for a few days until I receive my order - I can let you know if the thickness will be okay. I'll let you know. Really - the spot welder works awesome! But I know what you mean, it's one of those things guys are used to but not us women. When my father-in-law was showing me how to use it, I had to walk out of the room every time he pushed down on it (that kind of electricity scared me!). It took me about an hour to get up the guts to try it myself, but now it's a piece of cake.
Cut fingers! I know exactly what you mean ... that was my first experience, too. I thought it was just me because so many people have posted about how great the aluminum works for them. Hey, if it works - that's great. But I just couldn't get the edges to be safe enough for me to handle. Also, stainless steel is the preferred metal by my food inspector, so I'm going w/that now.
Nifty. I'll wait to order until you post a review. Because I was a bit concerned about the width. I have a metal ruler here that's about .025 inches thick....and it's *almost* the right thickness. And, it looks like a whole spool is $118 for just about any size (with all the lengths more than 100')
Ok - I just received my coil of 301 stainless today (and I just ordered it yesterday!). My feeling about the .01 thickness is that it is workable, but I would prefer something even more bendable. Because stainless is a harder metal than copper or aluminum, there is much more springback to it. McMaster.com is amazing - I called them and they told me they would be happy to send me out a new coil of a different thickness right away. I can return my old coil at my convenience they said. They are a very, very friendly company to deal with. I'll let you know how the .005 works out.
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