Hi everyone:

I went to the store today to buy some cake decorating supplies. I am wanting to try some flowers or other shapes sometime and thought I would buy the stuff to make them. At the store, they have Wilton Gumpaste Mix and they also have Gum-tex. What is the difference? Do you use these things on their own? Mix them together? Mix them with fondant? ??? I really can't figure out when you use the different things. It would be great if someone who knows about these things would post a chart or something that says in what case you should use each of the different products.

TIA!!!

the gum paste mix will make gum paste by adding water....the gum tex is if you are also using glucose (I think that's what it's called) and you make it yourself with powder sugar...i think the recipe is on the container..........you can also add a little bit of gum tex to fondant to make it get harder like gum paste

I dont suggest using either product. I think it will end up discouraging you because its too hard to work with!
I suggest you use something like a premade paste to play with (Satin Ice) or make your own using tylose powder (you can get a recipe for it on Nick Lodges site).

so gumpaste is hard and fondant is not, but if you hadd gumpaste to fondant, then the fondant will get hard. Is there an advantage to one thing over the other?

Gumpaste is used to make like-like sugar flowers and other items of decoraiton.
Fondant is often used to cover a cake - it will dry fairly hard but no where near what gp does. Many decorations and some flowers can be made w/it.
Adding GumTex OR Tylose to fondant will yield a medium sililar to gp.

As was mentioned you would be much better off getting something like Satin Ice or make Nic Lodge's recipe for gp than buying Wilton's stuff.

When I took my classes, we learned that gumpaste powder was to make actual gumpaste, while gum-tex powder was to be added to fondant to give fondant better hardening properties than it has just on its own.

I have been working with gum paste for only a few months. I started off with ready to use Wiltons, but wanted cheaper because I wasn't all that good, so I picked up Gum-Tex. I made a batch and it was so soft and hard to work with, dry brittle and frayed edges; I thought I wasn't getting any better and was ready to give up. I only have Michaels locally so Wilton was what I was stuck with. I got annoyed that each version uses different ingredients and I just didn't know what "good" gum paste should be like. I still have an unopened can of Wilton gum paste mix, but now that I've ordered Tylose and made the Nicholas Lodge recipe, I love, love it! I can make things that actually look nice! I think I will only be ordering more Tylose and the Wilton stuff can go.........well you know where!