Christmas Tree Tutorial #1

Like I mentioned a couple of days ago, I've decided to do a series of tutorials on pine trees. You can use these trees as they are, or you can decorate them to look like little Christmas trees. For most of these tutorials using just plain fondant will be too difficult. Fondant alone isn't as strong or stretchy as something called gumpaste. Gumpaste can also be rolled much much thinner then fondant. So I suggest using either gumpaste, a 50/50 mix of fondant + gumpaste. You can also add a little tylose powder to your fondant. I used the 50/50 mix.

So here we go with tutorial #1:

This is the finished tree... aren't you excited to get started! :)

This project will be easier if you have one of these cutters. It's called a "spice mincer" and can be found in about any kitchen specialty store... plus it's pretty fun to use! If you don't have a mincer, you can use a knife to or a pizza cutter to cut the lines.

Roll your fondant into a cone shape. Don't worry if it's not perfectly smooth, we'll be covering the whole thing with little loops anyway. So no one will notice.

Roll the fondant into a large rectangle shape.

Cut the fondant with the spice mincer across the long way or horizontally. (If I cut a second time on the same piece, I'll leave a larger or smaller strip in between the two passes. This way I can see it and won't accidentally use the wrong size in my project.) Next use a pizza or pastry cuter and cut the strips into even vertical sections. I also cut a few smaller sections for the very top of the tree.

Fold the strips in half and make lots and lots of little loops. The ends of the loops will stick together better if you moisten them with a little water or gum glue. (Cover the cut strips and finished loops with plastic wrap as you work to keep them from drying out.) The number of loops you'll need will depend on the size of your tree.

Attach the loops to the tree starting at the bottom. You'll need to use either water or gum glue to make these loops stick to the tree.

Each time you start a new row, stagger the loops as you attach them. This way they won't line up in a straight line.

Continue all the way up to the top of the tree. I used the shorter loops for my very last row. I also stuck one on the top of the tree to finish it off.

There you go... have fun! 

Next tutorial coming soon.