I am new to gum paste and have spent quite alot of time on CC and other websites to get information on where to start first. I just thought I'd ask you experts to point me in the right direction. I want to know what should I invest in first? What should I not buy? What is a good book on this craft??

I already feel addicted!!!! Help please!

What are you trying to make with gumpaste - flowers, or figures?? That would reflect, I think, on what tools you need although I'd assume the basic flower tool kit would be a good start. I've never used any books--I'm a gp novice myself, mostly just use it for figures, so I can't help you there--but those tools have definitely come in handy for just about anything I've ever tried to make out of gp or fondant, both figures and flowers (heck I've only made one flower). Hopefully someone else will chime in here w/some more pointers!

I can say to first maybe just invest in a package of Wilton premade gumpaste just to give you a feel for how the stuff works. If you like it and see yourself using it a lot, somewhere around here or the internet you can find a recipe for Nic Lodge's gumpaste, which I've seen many CCers swear by.

I'd also suggest you search the forums for tips but I can't think of what search terms you'd want to use in order to narrow down your results...plus any threads that include posts from Oct 27, 2007-March 14 2008 have corrupted data so you could end up with a lot of dead links anyway. Hmpf!

I got started by buying the wilton flower kit it comes with a book and tools
for about 20 bucks it got me started now I use the gumpaste to make figures there are lots of molds you can use and I buy clay molds and use them to. I used the wilton people mold to make the baby shower cake in my photos and all of the furniture I made out of gumpaste have fun with it I do

there is a post on here some where for a basic starter kit for flowers. I think Shirley posted it originally.

What i think is needed

A ball tool (i like metal)
a needle tool
cell pad (used for thinning petals)
cutters for the flower you want to make (rose isn't the easiest)
Wire
wire cutter
dusts
paint brushes
flower former

Then if you start to really get into it
a cell board (has groves for wiring flowers)
petal veiners and more and more cutters

There is a topic - Gumpaste tool kit for flower making under cake decorating. Sorry if I knew how to connect the link here I would. Try a search. But it does list what you are looking for.

What I would consider the MUST have list is this:

cel-board (a non stick board for rolling out gumpaste)
non-stick rolling pin
cel-pad with holes (for thinning and ruffling)
metal ball tools
cel-pins in a few sizes
dresden tool
stamens in various sizes and shapes
wire snips
needle-nosed pliars
wire in gauges 18-24 in white and green
floral tape in white, green, and brown
small paint brushes
petal dusts
cutters (duh )
poly-fill (pillow stuffing) for drying petals into shape
cel-formers (eventually)
an artists pallet with 6 or more cups (for mixing petal dust with vodka
a nip of vodka (for drinking when you get frustrated and mixing with petal dusts)
veiners (eventually)

You certainly don't need all of it to get going.. but I would recommend getting a cel-board, rolling pin, cel-pad, dresden tool, and metal ball tools for MUST have tools. Nothing rolls out gumpaste better than a cel-board. Buying one was the best investment I made.

I got the Wilton gumpaste flowers kit that has a book with it and I bought a package of premade gumpaste and I think that is a good place to start. You can add to your supplies later.

I've had trouble though with the Wilton premade gumpaste because sometimes when you buy it the corners are dried. Only use the parts of it that are somewhat pliable. If you use the rock hard corners and mix them into your gumpaste as you knead it, making flowers can be difficult.

Once you get nice tools (and by that I mean mostly the metal ball tools) you will understand why they are a must. The wilton kit is okay.. but there is no comparison to nice tools. You can't ruffle as nicely with the platic tools. And there's no rolling the gumpaste paper thin without a cel-board.

Also.. here's a link to a great gumpaste recipe.. it take about 5 minutes to make and works WORLDS better than the wilton pre-made (or any other mix I have tried as well).

http://www.nicholaslodge.com/gumpaste.htm

Thank you all so much. I will continue my search on CC and buy the basic GP tools.

I mostly want to mold figures and simple flowers as embellishments for my cakes.

I must try the Nic Lodge recipe, thanks for suggesting it.

You will love it. It is NOTHING like the wilton stuff. It is smooth and elastic and you can roll it ultra thin. I tried the wilton pre-made, the wilton mix, and the CK mix.. all crap. Using Nic Lodge's recipe made it so much easier to make the flowers. I found I was fighting against the other gumpastes but with this recipe is seemed to work with me.. if that makes any sense at all.. .