just wondering what kind of wire you all use to attach things to cakes. For example, fondant balls on the ends of long wires. Hope that made sense. Do you just use green florist wire? Is that toxic?

thanks!
c

Green / white florist wire is what I use... anything from 20 - 30 guage; depending on what is sticking out at the other end... as far as I know it's not toxic... if it was in a cake for months, perhaps it would do something, don't know -- someone else might be wiser on this than me though.

-- Fi

I can't say with any certainty what is safe or not- and I guess part of it depends on how paranoid you are ! I do know that to be safe, a lot of people will either wrap their wires in plastic wrap or insert straws into the cake then put the wires in the straws. Coffee stir straws are perfect for this and that is what I will be using when I do my friend's wedding cake next Saturday (wish me luck)

Amber

thanks! i'll give that a try!

In South Africa, and the UK it is considered a health risk to put wires straight into a cake. I stick a flowerpick into the cake - a little plastic tube bought @ the florist shops- and then put the wires into that.

ok, I used some black beading wire I had, and put them in coffee straws in the cake. (thanks amber!) They spin around, but that's kind of fun. I tried to secure them with royal, but I guess I didn't use enough...

thanks you all again!

Glad to hear that worked for you- and it does sound fun! Maybe next time if you want the wires to be stationary you could try using a little piece of fondant or gumpaste instead of royal

Amber

I finally posted my cake pics in my photos...check it out! I definitely need more practice...

how long did you have to let your bow dry and did you add anything to it? I love the cake and need alot more practice to even get my cakes looking like yours, its beautiful!

Thanks! I wish it could have been neater, but I need more practice!

I really should have let the bow dry more...overnight maybe. It dried for 5 or 6 hrs. It was just mmf, and I think that it was too soft...next time I'll make my mmf properly (stiffer) or add some gumtex or something.

My gumpaste flower wires are wrapped with floral tape and just laid on the cake surface. But if I need to hang them on the side or edge I use paper or cloth covered florist wire, or regular wire from the hardware store if I need real strength. I wrap mine in plastic wrap but have also heard of dipping the wire into melted white chocolate, for the section that would be inserted into the cake and allowing the chocolate to set up before inserting.

I probably should have wrapped them in plastic wrap too for added protection, but I was tired! LOL that white chocolate method sounds interesting...

I use regular floral wire but I put a straw or a hollow plastic dowel in the cake and put the wires into that. It works very well. When you pull out the straw or dowel, the cake comes out with it, so the wires never touch any cake that will be eaten.