You can use Gum Tragacanth in place of Tylose powder and I have heard others use Gumtex, but I have not tried that and am not sure if the proportions would be the same.

I am always happy to help when I can, but it depends on the category. I have worked with gumpaste for about 7 years, that doesn't make me an expert and there are people who's flowers ar so good they leave me in the dust. Flowerguy (Stu) is an example of that.

I have worked with IMBC for about the same amount of time but have only been trying my hand at fondant for about 4 years. I love the way it looks but it is a hard sell in my area. People either don't care for the flavor, or they aren't used to chewy covering on a cake. So I am sure there are many here who know much more about working with it.

I've been working with chocolate off and on for about 10 years, I have fun with it but I am not a chocolatier. There are others here who have gone to culinary or pastry school who know volumes more than I do about chocolate.

I took Ewald Notters pulled and blown sugar class 7 years ago, I love the looks of it but again, I am no expert there either. Jeff is the one to ask for help with sugar.'

Need to find a post or picture in the gallery? JanH is the one I would call on, she has a memory like a steel trap.

Thanks again.. I'll let you know how it turns out. I wish I could take a GOOD class.. There's not much around me though.

In the case of the daisy.. is it best to assemble the flower and prop the petals while it's drying or to dry the pieces apart and put it together? I am sorry to ask SO many questions.. really I am.

I made Nicolas Lodge's gumpaste recipe for the first time yesterday and what a difference in the way it feels and behaves over the Wilton gumpaste! I had only ever used the Wilton powdered gumpaste mix until they started producing the ready-made, and both forms worked for me but I'm signed up to take a 2-day flowers class from Nic in a few weeks, so I figured I'd go ahead and make what I would be working with. It's so wonderful! It rolled and ruffled beautifully, and it is so much whiter than Wilton GP.

I have a question for anyone who has taken a Nic Lodge class, where all supplies are furnished: do we work on cel boards and with cel pads and all these recommended items? I was surprised that his Potpourri of Flowers book did not contain a list of recommended supplies. I went ahead and ordered everything from Global Sugar Art listed here, though.

Thanks,
Sherri

Thanks for the comparison Cakepro.. I am going to get some tylose and make some the Nic Lodge recipe.. I am growing weary of the mix and it's tendancy to be rough around the egdes.. it's frustrating the hell out of me.

Okay.. the Nic Lodge gumpaste rocks the cazbah. The mix crap is just useless compared to this recipe. I didn't even let it rest overnight and it worked SO well. (I just HAD to try it out) It felt different even just kneading it.. it had an elasticity to it that the mix was lacking. You can really thin it out.. I mean you can abuse it and it doesn't rip or you don't go right through it.

THANK YOU SHIRLEY!!!!!! I was about to get mad and throw in the towel with ruffling and making a rose.. but this makes it MUCH easier.

It really does make a big difference to have a good recipe that works and to have good quality tools. Have fun!

wow! thanks for sharing!

Okay.. here is take two with the daisy.. I know the middle isn't very realistic, but the cake is more on the whimsical side.. I actually wish I had made the middle look like a button now.. but I already made 7 so there's no doing it over now.. LOL. I also made a palm tree for my volcano wedding cake.. take a look and let me know what you think.. honestly.

These look wonderful! Where did you find the instructions for the palm trees? I'm going to have to make the Nic Lodge recipe and play around with it.

I just made the palm trees up as I went along. It was easy really.. I took a piece of brown paste and rolled it into a log. Then I stuck a wire up the middle and rolled it a little more so that one end is bigger than the other. Then take some small scissors and snip at it all the way up then bend the trunk into position using the wire. Then I did the same with the lighter part but made sure that the cuts were long and thin and attach that to the top of the trunk and make 5 holes around the top of it for the leaves to go into (I used my exacto knife), and let the whole thing dry. Make the leaves and snip out some pieces for the fronds and then let them dry.. and then stick them into the lighter part with edible glue. I dusted the trunk with chocolate brown petal dust and I am also going to brush the leaves with forest green for some accent. I was so stoked that it worked out.

Thanks for the instructions! I saved your photo to put with them in case I need a palm tree. Palm trees are pretty scarce here in the top of Texas - I wouldn't know where to begin!

Those are beautiful. Great job, jkalman.

You should be proud!




Holly

Great job, jkalman!

I taught a polymer clay class to kids over the summer, and we made palm trees with scissor-snipped trunks. It was great how their eyes got huge when I showed them that. LOL

Your palm tree leaves are beautiful! Very tropical!

Hi, everyone!

I hope this post is still active; I have a quick question.

I just got started with gp flowers, and I tried to make hydrangeas with my metal cutter. Problem is that all my petals break off because the middle is so tiny. I've tried the gm thick and thin, but it still breaks

Do you think I have a bad cutter or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks for the advice

That isn't the cutter I use. Here is the set from Global Sugar Art, if you notice, the center is slightly opened. With your cutter all I can suggest is when you roll your paste, try and roll it a bit thicker in the center. The only other thing I can think of is to take something round like a screwdriver and force it through the center of that cutter to open it up. Now understand I have never done that and you take the chance of breaking off one of the petals on your cutter. Here is a link to the set carried by Global.
http://globalsugarart.com/product.php?id=19020

Shirley, thank you so much for the reply.

This is hard enough without faulty equipment (as you mentioned in regard to the cheap plastic ball tools)! I'll get the quality cutters now that I'm aware of them.

Today I moved on to the frangipani, which is going a whole lot better... Gotta love the little pasta machine for uniform rolling!

Thanks again, your advice is so valuable to us beginners (even at 42 I'm always a beginner at something!)

Glad to help. We are all beginners at some stage. I was 61 when I took Ewald Notters sugar class and 62 when I took Nic Lodges gumpaste flower class, so you are never too old to learn.

Thanks for that info Shirley, I have been using the plastic tools and have found that these tools are indeed not sufficient. I shall try to purchase these metal tools but here in Australia I find it hard to locate these items. If anyone knows where I can get them please let me know. Cheers

Nice to have found this thread. I fell in love with gumpaste! Nick L recipe is great I love how white it is. I started out making roses before I knew better. I was obessed with getting it to look realistic. Finally! I will be putting in a supply order including the metal tools. I've been working with plastic and yuck. CC hasn't been working to well for me since the changeover. Glad this came up again.