Hi, I am still a novice at making gum paste flowers and my sister-in-law has asked me to do her wedding cake with asiatic lilies (the wedding is next year so I have PLENTY of time!). I found some cutters and a veiner on one website but was hoping to hear from someone experienced with this particular flower. Any tips or suggestions - what are your preferred tools for making these lilies?
I'd also be interested in tips on how to put the petals together. In the past I've always just lightly pressed them together at the flower's center and let them dry. Is there a 'better' way of doing it or is that typically how it's done? Also, I have a pretty good idea on how to do the stamens of the asiatic lily but I'd love to hear what works for others! Thanks so much for any help/advice you can give. 
Sarah
I am making some stargazer lilies, which I think are similar but may be a little larger, for my brother-in-law's wedding cake. I'm using the stargazer lily cutters from Global Sugar Art and I've been pleased with the results. When you use these cutters, you cut each leaf separately, as opposed to the lily cutter that comes with the Wilton set where you cut the entire flower and then fold it around. However, I am using the veiner that came with the Wilton set. I think it's actually meant for doing orchid veins, but it looks OK on the lilies too. I've been using a 32 gauge wire (wrapped in white floral tape) as a "stem" for each leaf. When the leaves have dried, I wrap all the stems together with additional green floral tape; you'll need 6 for each lily. Depending upon how thin you roll your gum paste you may also need a heavier gauge wire.
For the stamens, I'm using the long, pointed dull brown stamens from Global Sugar Art, which have white stems with brown tips. For the pistol, I'm coating about 1-1/2" of a 5" piece of the white floral wire with whatever color gumpaste I'm using by rolling it between my hands until it's just coating the wire.
Here's Feefs illustrated tutorial on Asiatic/Oriental gumpaste lilies:
http://www.fira.com.au/Oriental-Lily
HTH
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