Friday, January 21, 2011

How to make a fondant teddy bear {Tutorial}

As promised, here is my way of making a fondant teddy bear.  Now, by all means, it may not be the 'correct way' (is there a correct way?), it's just the way I've decided to do it.  Feel free to adapt and change it as you go along so your bear has it's very own personality.  So let's get started.  Depending on how large or small you want the bear to be, adjust the amount of fondant accordingly.  Just try to make sure that the body parts are in proportion.  This is also my second attempt at making a bear so I'm still learning too.  :)

I've broken it down into 8 pictures and I'll explain along the way.

1.  Make a large tear-drop shape for the bear's body. 

2.  Make a smaller oval shape for the head.

3.  For the legs, start with a tear drop shape and then using your thumb and forefinger, pinch the bottom part of the tear-drop to shape it into a foot.  This is shown in Picture 3 (before and after).

4.  Make longer tear-drop shapes for the arms.

Now that we have the main parts done, it's time to piece teddy together.


5.   Gently stick a piece of spaghetti or a toothpick into the bear's body.  If you're using a toothpick, then please let whoever it is you're giving the bear to know about it.  Otherwise a spaghetti stick would be safer and edible.  Attach the legs with a bit of water from a brush to the bottom of the body.  Attach the arms around the top of the body with some water too.  You can arrange how you want your arms to hang.  Mine are going to hold a heart.
  
6.  For the head, flatten a small ball of fondant for the snout.  Use 2 tear-drop shapes for the ears.  Attach the ears by poking a small hole into the sides of the head and inserting the ears with a bit of water.  I usually like to flatten them out a bit more once they're attached and make them more oval.  You can also use a ball tool to imprint a small dent into each ear if you like.

7.  Run a stitching tool up the bear's front body, over the top and bottom front of the head and snout.  If you don't have a stitching tool, use a knife to gently run a line or a toothpick to poke holes along like a stitch.  Or you can leave this step out.  I used the broader end of a piping tip as a curve to indent a smile on the snout.  Now gently attach the head to the body with a bit of water, poking it into the toothpick (or spaghetti).

8.  Add final details for the eyes and nose with a bit of black or brown fondant (or even blue, your choice!).  For the nose, roll a piece of fondant in the shape of an oval (or triangle), and for the eyes, two tiny balls of black fondant.  I made the heart by rolling a tear-drop shape then denting the broader part with a toothpick.  Shape it to the way you like it.  I used a couple of heart sprinkles for the bottom of the feet.

And that's it, your bear is complete!  Add your own personality to it by changing colour or size.  Have fun and do let me know how it turns out!  :)  

If you found this tutorial useful, I would appreciate some comments on it.  Thanks!

58 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this tutorial. I have been looking to make a fondant teddy for a while and your pics make it easy to do!

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  2. Great tutorial! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Love your teddy bear. Thanks for the easy tutorial!

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  4. Thank you. This was easy to follow and my bears turned out awsom!!

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  5. Thanks for the tutorial, I like to see pictures to follow rather than a video so this is great. I make a baby blue one as a topper for a christening cake and it looked great. Thanks again.

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  6. I'm glad you found my tutorial useful. Thanks for the visiting! :)

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  7. This is awesome, so easy. Thanks for sharing

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  8. Hi Monica,

    You are the best. I have been struggling and you made it so easy, awesome!!!

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  9. It's my pleasure! Thanks for you lovely comments and for dropping by! :)

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  10. I used this tutorial to make my first every teddy and it turned out brilliant. Thanks so much!

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  11. Hi Anne, I am glad I could help! I would love to see some photos of the bears you have made. :)

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  12. wow! thank you for sharing your talent! my son turned one and I wanted to make a teddy bear topper! Thanks to you, i can make one now:o)

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  13. That's great to hear. I'm glad you found my tutorial useful. :)

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  14. Thanks so much for the tutorial! This was exactly what I was looking for and it came out really cute!

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  15. Glad to hear it Katie! Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  16. Yea, so proud of Monica she is doing fantastic work. Love from your Irish Friend Trish, Glengarriff.

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  17. Thanks muchly! I used it to make a womble for my friendys bday cake... turned out amazing!

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  18. Great to hear that! :) Thanks for stopping by!

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  19. Wow. Thanks. This will really help me in the slumber party cake I have to make

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  20. This will really help me with a bear I have to do for a slumber party

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  21. I am sure your slumber party cake will turn out great. Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  22. I'm new at this and just have a question...is this all just fondant or is gum paste used...i guess i am having an issue with know when to use gum paste and fondant together? BTW this is an awesome tutorial!

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    1. You can use gumpaste when making figurines. They dry really hard but are not so suitable for eating. If you are going to eat it, then you can use fondant straight out of the packet. It won't dry as hard (depending on the weather and humidity), but it will be a lot tastier! :)

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  23. awesome, im goin to make these teddybears to decorate my daughter's birthday cupcakes

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  24. Oh My GOSH!!!! I made a teddy bear for my cousin's 3 month birthday and it turned out great! Thank you so much.

    P.S.It looks super cute with a ballon in it's hand made out of a toothpick and fondant.


    Thank You!!!!

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  25. Thanks for the comments. I am glad the teddy bears turned out great! :)

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  26. I would love to see a picture of the teddy and balloon. It sounds awesome! :)

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  27. I think these pieces are just lovely!

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  28. Thank you for sharing this tutorial, very simple and easy to follow. Can't wait to try it out for a christening cake I am making next week.

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  29. Hi your tutorial looks easy I have an upcoming cake to make for a baptism :) by any chance do u know where they sell brown fondant?

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    1. You can get coloured fondant at most cake decorating stores as well as some supermarkets.

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  30. Thanks for sharing this. My little boy would love this on his birthday cake.

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  31. Gracias por compartir. Me será muy útil.

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  32. thanks for sharing and giving clear easy to follow step by step instructions, i need to make 3 blue & white bears for my grandsons christening cake. they are so cute thanks again x

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  33. thanx you have made it simples x

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  34. Gracias por compartirlo, es precioso!!!!

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  35. What a fantastic tutorial! I'm going to make some polar bears to top my xmas cakes.

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  36. thank you so much for this! i have a very cute little blue teddy now!

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  37. ur are awesome for sharing your knowledge to us .Will try it out as my first project in using fondant.
    Thks a lot and enjoy ur tutorial .

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  38. Great tutorial! Thanks for sharing Monica =)

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  39. Thanks! It was great!

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  40. After I make figure, did I let it air dry,how many days ahead can I make it,and hoe do I store it till needed? New at using fondant. Thanks!

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  41. Hi Monica - we made three tonight for my daughter' teddy bear picnic cake - they ok fabulous! With grateful thanks for your tutorial x.

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    1. Aww I'm so happy to hear that. Thanks! :)

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  42. Thank you. I used your pictures as guide to make a graduation teddy bear for my nephew with homemade marshmallow fondant. The white bear with black flowing robe and hat looks super cute :)

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    1. Your bear sounds so cute Rita! Thanks for stopping by!

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  43. I just used your bear tutorial to make a fondant bear for the top of the cake I made for my nephew's first birthday. It was easier than I thought, and your instructions were wonderfully clear. Thank you!

    I would love to post a photo to this thread, so you can see, but I can't figure out how to!

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    1. Hi Livvie, thanks so much for your lovely comments. I'd love to see your bear! Would you be able to share a link to your site? I don't think photos can be posted to a thread but I'll find out. :)

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  44. Thank you so much. Just got into baking and wanted to make my friend a christening cake as a gift. This is the easiest tutorial ever!!!

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    1. That's wonderful! Thanks for commenting, I do appreciate it. :)

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  45. Thank you for d relevant information. Is very useful

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  46. Wow thanks for sharing. i will be doing these with the kids this weekend.

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  47. Thanks for this..very useful...

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  48. Lovely thank you

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