Calling all CC'ers

I was wondering if you could help me with a problem I'm having with fondant & wire? I need to know what gage wire to use for the star & heart & ball cut outs & how thick to roll my gumpaste or fondant cut outs. I have a Bratz cake to deliver tomorrow & I planned to decorate with fondant cut outs on wire but I bought either the wrong gage wire or my cut outs are to thick. When I tried them last night & almost started bouncing cut outs off my kitchen walls, I was frustrated They kept falling over, tearing up and sliding down the wire. Can you please tell me also if gumpaste is better or fondant cuts outs, I have both ready to use? Thanks again.

I would personally use gumpaste, since it dries harder faster. I don't know what gauge of wire you are using, but I think it would depend on how thick your pieces are. The heavier and thicker the piece the heavier the wire would need to be to support it.

Also, if you make a little hook on the end of the wire that you are inserting into your decoration, it will help it to stay on. Dip the hook end onto a little gum glue or water, shake off excess, then insert it.

Good luck!

I've had the same problem and the only thing that worked for me is using gumpaste and letting it dry a little to harden before putting the wire thru the bottom.

Make sure the gumpaste is thick enough to put the wire thru but not so thin the wire shows thru.

Also I have put a little royal icing on the end of the wire right before I put it on thru the cut out. This will act like glue and keep it from sliding down

HTH

Hi there! Cut outs on wires is a matter of trial and error. I tend to use wire gauge number 28 or 30 for small cut outs if I want them to be upright and 20 or 22 if I have larger or thicker cut outs. What I do is to roll my paste out to between 2mm and 4mm and cut out the shapes I want. Then dipping my wire tip into a bit of sugar glue or water, I wipe off the excess and grasping the cut out between my thumb and index finger, I insert the wire into the cut out (about half way up the cut out should ensure that it stays in place). Leave on a flat surface to dry overnight and insert into the cake.
Apologies for the long winded explanation but I hope this helps.
PS You can use a mix of fondant and gumpaste to help the paste dry quicker, or you can use all gumpaste if you want the cut out thinner but sturdier.

I have never had an occassion to make the balls, but i have done alot of gumpaste flowers and you make alot of cones for roses so it sounds like the same principle.

Re: Sliding problem. Are you hooking your wires? They shouldn't slide if you are hooking them. If you are hooking them, you need to put a little edible glue for the gumpaste or water for the fondant on the hooked part of the wire before you insert the ball. This will give the ball something to grab on.

Also the heavier the ball, the heavier the wire. 22 or 24 guage for heavy and 26 or 28 guage for lighter balls.

Hope this info helps.

Good luck.

Thanks everyone for your help. I have both gumpaste & MMF, so I'll try mixing both. One more thing. What is sugar glue? I planned to make royal icing tonight to help, but if this sugar water is easier & faster I wil try that.

Oh! I finally made a frozen buttercream transfer for this cake, so I can't wait to post pictures for feedback I must say, it was not as hard as I thought it would be. I have a backup plan for the main cake characters (laminated Bratz cuts outs on sticks) just in case the transfer doesn't work as I planned, but so far I peeked at it & it looks really cute.

Ok, so you have the fondant/gumpaste on the wire what do you use to stick the wire in the cake? I have used straws and they fell through the cake and out the side. What should I be using?

Sharon7, what I used to keep the wire in the cake was straws. I cut small cocktail straws to the height a little shorter than the cake & stuck them in the cake & put the wires the the straw. It worked well & I only know that much from reading other posts here, so thanks CC for all your help.