Okay, I'm wanting to make some figures with fondant/gum paste (numbers, candles, etc) that I need to be able to stand on the cake and not fall over. I also am wondering how to do it without having one side of the shape flat (from laying on my drying surface). So,

1. How do you make things stand on our cake?

2. How do you shape and dry without having a flat spot from the drying surface?

You could get a styrofoam block and if you are making something with a skewer on the bottom, stick it on the styrofoam to dry. That's if it is stable enough to stand on the skewer, of course.

When I need a number or figure to stand up depending on the thickness I stick a toothpick or one of those white sucker sticks in them. I put the stick or toothpick into the figure while it drys then if it needs to keep a shape on all sides I put in into a styrofoam cup or lay it on a foam pad depending on what it is. Good Luck!