Tutorial - DTC's Lace Press Molds

Hi Everyone!  I am so honored to be part of Decorate the Cake's product test group!  My name is Mark, and I own Morsels By Mark in Montreal, Canada.  This is my first time guest-blogging, but I do have my own sugar related blog where I talk sugar and even interview some pretty famous people in the industry!
I love the line of lace molds available at DTC and they are by far the best quality I have found out there!  On top of great quality, the entire line of products are reasonably priced, shipped in a reasonable amount of time considering they are all made to order, the selection is incredible, and I have never had such incredible customer service!  So, without any further adieu, here is a little tutorial I came up with on how to use DTC's lace press molds:

Materials:

Lace Press Mold

Rolling Pin

Embellishment of your choice (pearl dust, luster dust, highlighter dust) if desired

Molding medium of your choice (I used gumpaste, but fondant or modelling chocolate work also)

Step One

Soften gumpaste by kneading it with a little bit of shortening until it is smooth and pliable

Step Two

Roll the gumpaste out to a little over the same size as your mold. You want to get it to about the same thickness as the depth of the mold. I use my Kitchen-Aid pasta roller attachment on

number 1 or 2. Use a small pallet knife to trim it to size.

Step Three

Place the gumpaste in the cavity of the mold. Press the excess into the cavity and smooth. Use

the press back to apply pressure and emboss your lace.

Step Four

Turn your molded piece out onto your work surface, trim excess paste from edges using an

exacto knife. 



Step Five

 Finish using whatever method you choose. Here I used pewter shimmer dust on the small flower applique, and pearl dust on the large lace border.  For a metallic look (think of those embossed ceiling panels), you can mix some metallic highlighter with some clear alcohol or extract and paint it on.

Tips and tricks:

• To really make the lace pop, I highly recommend using luster or pearl dust to help bring out the pattern of the piece. I also love the way black lace pops off of a red or white fondant background!

• Smaller shaped two-piece molds can be tough to piece together once medium is in base of mold. Before using, use a Sharpie marker to mark registration lines on the mold for easy match-up.

• If using fondant, mix with a bit of tylose to give it some added strength

• If you need to make a lot of smaller applique pieces, I recommend making a template to cut your rough pieces out before molding to speed the process up a bit

• When trimming paste, always make sure your blade is clean and still sharp to ensure a perfect cut

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial - I had a blast doing it!  (Thanks Melissa for inviting me!) Check out my blog and become a follower if you haven't already - I have a few interviews in the works that you won't want to miss.  If you have any questions regarding the steps featured here, or about the molds I used, feel free to contact me - I'm more than happy to help if I can.  And remember to check back here often for updates on new products and more tutorials and other fun things! 


Until next time,
Happy Caking!