Karen's Conversation Hearts

It's still February!  Who says Valentine's Day is only for one day!  Check out these adorable conversation hearts and the finished project !  Thanks Karen!  They are just way too cute!

This mold makes adorable replicas of the popular Valentine candy. To start, color your fondant or gum paste to your desired shade. For this project I made my fondant pastel pink, green, yellow and lavender.

Then press the fondant firmly into the mold. You will have to adjust how much you put in. It should be just enough so it is not overflowing, you want it to be about level at the top edge of the mold.

After you fill the mold, let it sit out about fifteen minutes or so just to let the fondant firm up a bit. Next turn the mold over and gently push the heart out. You may find it easier to push out one corner of the heart and ease the heart out without altering it's shape.

You can use the hearts for your project as they are or you can follow the next couple of steps to make them look more like the Valentine candies. You will need red food coloring, vodka or lemon extract and confectioners sugar. You will also need a fine paintbrush and a fluffy paintbrush.

Using the fine paintbrush, carefully paint the letters of the words imprinted on the hearts. This takes a bit of a steady hand. You may find it helpful to steady your brush with your opposite hand. Leave them to dry for an hour or so before continuing to the next step.

Next you will need to lightly moisten the outside edge of the heart. If you use vodka or lemon extract, it will evaporate allowing the edge to dry faster. You can use water but you will need to be very careful not to get the edge soggy.

Then roll the heart with the moistened edge in confectioners sugar (10x sugar) and also dip the front of the heart in the confectioners sugar. Use the fluffy brush to lightly brush off some of the excess confectioners sugar.

Below are the finished hearts on cupcakes, so cute!