I've only worked with fondant, and am a bit scared to do gumpaste... can you do the same flowers with fondant that you can do with gumpaste? Following the same directions and using the cutters and molds?

gumpaste is fondant with gumtex added to it. You can roll it out thinner and it dries faster and harder. Have a try, it will make your flowers more beatyfull.

I mostly do Fondant because I like the texture and I can take my time. Gumpaste is only good for flowers etc.. but not to cover cakes..I like the texture of Fondant better, it is smoother, but more fragile. To me Gumpaste has a dull finish and texture. but it is more sturdy.. Either way it will work... be brave !!!

Hi Calejo..........Try the gumpaste.....I use it all the time for my flowers and anything that needs to be sculpted or formed in a mould. It's a little more elasticy(?sp) than fondant..& it's no good to cover cakes with, but I think you'll like working with it.. Just be sure to cover it well, it dries out fast. Hint if you're going to tint it,,,,,put the coloring in with your water & gumtex, it mixes better.

Thanks everybody, I think I'll try my first set of roses this weekend. If I add color in the water and gumtex, I should still use paste coloring, right?

just a quick tip i learned in school.. if you like workin with gumpaste and want a glossy appearence after ur flowers are fully dry, hold them over steamy water

Actually gumpaste is pretty much fondant with a hardening agent added to it, not always Gum-tex. There are various agents added made from a few different sources. There are various gumpaste mixes and recipes out there. Tylose is another hardening agent used. Some folks add Gum-tex powder to the fondant for a bit more of a hardening effect than fondant has, but not quite the same as actually making up gumpaste to model with.
I think you can absolutely roll fondant out just as thin, if not even thinner than actual gumpaste. The difference is gumpaste will harden up much faster and will be more solid than fondant with some Gum-tex powder added to it or fondant on its own.
Fondant roses will still be edible and your teeth will survive whereas gumpaste flowers though technically edible, are not usually eaten and become very hard. For larger items you really do want to make these out of an actual gumpaste.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

Calejo,

You can make all the gumpaste flowers w/ fondant. I learned tulips, daisies & dafadils. I really want to learn magnolia's & hydrangens (spelled wrong). They are sooo pretty!!!!

Let us know how you liked gumpaste~

Have you got directions for making magnolias? I'd like to see them if you do...I love magnolias! Janice