Sand Dollar and Starfish Tutorial

Let's welcome Shena Setzer to Decorate the Cake's product user group!  Shena's project included 2 of our newest beach themed molds the knobby star fish #2 and the small sand dollar.  Shell molds are amoung my favorite to create, maybe because I have to make a trip to the beach!  Thanks again Shena! Love the work.


Hi everyone! My name is Shena Setzer and I have a small home based business Everything Else is Cake. This is the first tutorial for Decorate the cake and I am so excited to be a part of the DTC Panel.

I decided to use the sand dollar and starfish molds on store bought cakes to show that any cake can become something custom and unique.

Tools Needed:

• Starfish and Sand Dollar Molds
• Gumpaste
• small knife or spatula
• small painters brush
• desired pearl or luster dusts
• shortening
• small rolling pin (not pictured)

Dtart by adding a small amount of shortening to the molds. Use just enough to coat the molds and the shortening should remain clear an

d not build up. Next add a small amount of gumpaste to the molds and press firmly and evenly throughout the mold.

Next, trim the excess gumpaste away with a knife or spatula.















This is how it should look before removing the gumpaste from the mold.

To remove from the mold, turn it mold where the gumpaste is facing your work area and slightly bend the mold. It should slowly pop right out. I found with the sand dollar, it was easier to release it into my hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the sand dolllar, I had excess gumpaste that I wasn't able to trim away still in the mold. Here I cut away the extra gumpaste with a small knife.

 

Here is what the removed gumpaste should look like!

 

To add color, use the paintbrush and brush the luster dust directly onto the starfish. Use a small amount of luster dust and make sure to tap the brush before applying. If you have trouble getting the dust to adhere to your gumpaste, use a small few drops of alcohol and mix it with a small amount of luster dust.

 

 

That's it!! Here are the finished products where is basically just attached directly to the cakes. The first is a standard buttercream cake and the last two are snack cakes. For the snack cakes, I "glued" the pieces onto the cakes with light corn sryup.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and found it very useful! I had a lot of fun doing it!! Please visit my website and feel free to contact me with any questions.