Your welcome Stephanie. You may have to find these at several different sources, but once you have them you will begin to enjoy doing gumpaste flowers. Having the right tools makes all the difference.

The site you posted on here, can I get the metal viening tool on it?

Thanks!!

I'm not sure what you mean by a metal veining tool. There are metal ball tools for thinning and ruffling petals, silicone veining presses for veining the flowers.

Hey Shirley, have you ever heard of using one of those Dollar Store placemats for making the ridges to insert the wires? I think I read it in an ACD magazine. She just cut slits in the placemat and then rolled the gumpaste over it. I've actually been thinking about this rolling thing and have an idea in mind. Once I get it made I'll send you a pic and see what you think.........

I hadn't hear of that but is certainly sounds interesting and cheap!
I always say cake decorators are the mother of inventions because we find the oddest things to use for our cakes and they work!

I am a true fan of yours you are so talented and so willing to share your knowledge with others.I really appreciate your wisdom and love to see your work.
Once again I thank you for being such a wonderful asset to CC.

Let me add my "Amen" to Shirley being a kind and generous help!

Aren't you nice, thank you so much!

SHIRLEY YOUR CAKES ARE AMAZING!!!!!!!!!
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU SHIRLEY FOR THE HELP THAT YOU HAVE GAVE.IT'S NICE TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WILLING TO HELP OTHERS.I'M NEW TO CAKE DECORATING AND I'M TRYING TO TEACH MYSELF.I'M HAVING ALOT OF FUN BUT MAKING FLOWERS IS WHERE I NEED THE MOST HELP.I WANT TO TRY TO MAKE GUMPASTE/FONDANT FLOWERS.IS THERE A BOOK I CAN GET TO TEACH ME AT HOME?

COULD YOU PLEASE E-MAIL ME @ [email protected]

THANK YOU
STACY

Hi Stacy Lynn, my nieces name too but she spells hers Staci.
I would be happy to email you but finding a beginners book on gumpaste flowers isn't easy. I wish they still had the Sugar Bouquets VHS tapes around, if you ever see one on eBAY called A Bakers Dozen by Rosemary Watson and if it isn't sky high it is a good investment. You can occasionally even fnd a few of her flower cutters and veiners there. Global Sugar Arts is carrying Sunflower cutters and veiners and they are similar. I do have some worksheets I am willing to send to you. Please be careful putting your email in a post. I feel you can trust our members but you never know who is online in a forum and for privacy it is better to pm your address.

Thank you Shirley for all of your info!

I TOTALLY second Shirley's recommendation of a good Cel Board. I struggled until I got a nice one from Cake Craft Shoppe.

http://www.cakecraftshoppe.com/showprod.asp?catid=27&mcatid=8

It was a little hard to swallow the $30...but definitely WORTH IT!!!!

Next, i need to check into the metal ball tools. I have had good luck with the FMM tools as well. Thanks again Shirley! You are an inspiration!

Your very welcome. I know the intial expense of the tools is scary, but I assure you they last nearly forever. I have had all of mine for 7 years and they are still in perfect condition and they are like pack mules, they just keep going.

I tell people to look at it this way. Any hobby has an initial investment in equipment, whether it is golf, fishing, bowling or cake decorating. The nice thing is, once you have them you are set to go. Not saying you won't want more cake toys, I still do even after 48 years of doing this. Something new comes along and I tell myself I just HAVE to have it, but it is really more like I WANT to have it.

Yikes! A video of hers went for $56 on eBay.

Hi Shirly - THANK YOU SO MUCH for your helpful tips. I purchased the Wilton flower kit and I have already found quick fixes to make my flowers a little nicer... I'm still learning, but practice is best.

Could you plesae tell me where you purchased your Cel-Board & Metal tools? I've search google, but keep coming up with computer stuff for the Cel-board.

Like you, I believe in quality and small investiment will prevent frustration and wasted money. Coupons always help too when they can be used.

New at this but eagar to learn - Sonja

Thank you for this input. It's a great help for newbies as my self. I'm a baker apprentis but tries to learn as much as possible at home. I can only say that everyone here is great at explaining even the small details.
It's a great help. So thanks

I would not recommend the Wilton flower kit. It is not good quality and you won't get crisp edges with the cutters. And the plastic ball tool just isn't good at all.
You will find nearly all the tools I have listed in the gumpaste kit are available at Global Sugar Art. http://www.globalsugarart.com/catalog/index.html

Look on the front page menu for gumpaste tools, then modeling tools.
Page 2

Cel Board #16795

Cel Pad 2- #16793

Cel Pin XL #16790

Page 3

FFM Dresden Tool #17238

Angled Tweezers #18551

Page 4

Celcake Ball Tool Medium #18717

Celcake Ball Tool Small #18839

Shirley I wanted to say thank you again for taking the time to share this infromation with everyone.

I'd like to pick your brain a little more, if you don't mind. I know there are hundreds of flowers out there which means tons of cutters and vieners and flower formers and such. So I was wondering what do you think are the best flowers for a beginner to start with? What are some flowers a beginner should avoid?

I'm trying to make a list of some things I'd like to get or atelast look at/for at the convention. I picked up some rose and rose leaf cutters last year, but was confused by everything else. It is very easy to grab one of everything, but of course I couldn't afford it. So I thought I'd try to make the most of my shopping and purchase things that would be used and not something that was too hard for a newbie to do and get frustrated and not attempt for a while.

Any suggestions and thoughts are much appreciated! Thanks!

Your welcome TS. I think the first flower every decorator wants to learn to make, whether in BC, Royal, or gumpaste is the rose. While I think roses made with the All in one or Easy rose cutter are a pretty fast way to make a pretty rose, I don't recommend beginning with that flower. I would start with a Sweetpea, Freesia, Carnation, Calla Lily or Hydrangea. Something without a lot of thin petals or intricate centers. Then once you feel confident in your ability, move on to the more involved flowers such as the Rose, Gardenia, or Stargazer Lily, etc.

Thank you again, Shirley!

Yes, thank you Shirley for always helping out with some really good advice! I got the things on your list (except for the large metal ball tool- they were out) and have really enjoyed working with it. Check out the stargazer lillies and freesia flower pot I did for Easter! I had the courage to try them because of all your good advice. It was so much better with the right tools! Thanks so much for helping me and others not to waste our money but get the good stuff that we need! You're the best!

MM, those are really lovely! And yes, doesn't having good tools make all the difference? I just can't see investing in cheaper ones that don't do the job for you. Because they are an expensive investment, if a person can only buy a few at a time, that's the way to go. Buy just a few really good quality items a few at a time until you have a complete kit and it will last for years. Glad I was able to help a bit. I am always so pleased to see someone try gumpaste flowers, and once you get the knack of how they are done you want to learn more and more, and more intricate ones as well.

hi everybody
im new to cake decorating , i just finished my wilton3 and will start fondant and gumpaste class next wednesday and wanted to thand everybody in this forum for being so helpful and willing to share their tips

Hi and welcome to CC. And your welcome, there are many helpful and friendly people on this forum.

I would love to learn how to make the gumpaste flowers. I have a wedding cake to make in June, my first. We just don't have a good teacher here in the Baton Rouge area. All classes are rushed and overloaded with students!

Two books that I found recently that helped me a lot w/making gumpaste flowers are "The Well Decorated Cake" by Toba Garrett 2003 Sterling Pub. and "Pretty Party Cakes" by Peggy Porschen, 2005 Clarkson Potter Pub. I'm also lucky enough to be in a Cake Club here in the SF Bay Area w/ Shirley and we learned to make the simple 5-point "filler" flowers at our last meeting. That helped a lot, but Toba Garrett gives the same info. w/good photos on page 79. Peggy Porschen's book has gorgeous cakes - she's done cakes for Elton John, Mary McCartney's wedding, etc. I find that the gumpaste roses are easier than I thought they would be. I make my own petals, no cutters. If you have a real rose to look at, it helps too. If you take one apart and look at a petal it makes sense how you want your gumpaste petal to look. I used luster dust at the end which added a lot to the finished look. Good luck - you might try Amazon .com for the books - I found them at Borders and Barnes & Noble bookstores. I'm hooked on doing flowers now - a new addiction! (Better than TV in the evening!)

Thanks for the info.

Whats gumpaste?

Very similar to fondant but can be rolled very thin and dries hard as a rock. It's used to make realistic looking flowers and other decor.

Shirley,
Many, many thanks for sharing your wealth of knowlegde. I am excited about taking a two day course with Nick Lodge in Sept. I am glad to have a list of useful tools to help figure out what to buy.

Thanks again for the valuable info.

Melissa