Hi there,

Im going to try my hand at making gum paste animals, and i was wondering, if i have spots on soemthing ( say a spotted elephant lol) how would i stick the dots on the main animal? can i just use water?

the best thing to use would be sugar glue. You can make it easily by putting about a 1/4 tsp of gum paste into about a tablespoon of water and letting it dissolve then just using a paint brush paint the glue onto the spot.
This glue will last for a week in the fridge sealed.

so i just plop in some gumpaste and its ready to go? ill try it thnks!

Break the gum paste into really tiny pieces and it will dissolve into the water and make the glue. It might take about an hour to get it all dissolved.

what about painting the dots on? A lot a times I just paint the dots on like on my giraffe in my gallery. Saves drying time for sure. If you are careful and mix a little color w/alcohol it evaporates and dries relatively quickly and I like the finished look. Just my opinion. Hope this helps Good luck!

how much alcohol? and how do you guys stick legs and stuff ok? ive just been trying toothpicks

I use gum arabic mixed with warm water. I find it holds better than just the water mixed with the paste. I also like using lemon extract over alchohol. Just because I dont like the scent it leaves behind or while its being poured (I know, people are going to say that Vodka doesnt have a smell but I can smell it!). I also like the lemony scent of the extract! I use about a 2 teaspoons of extract to about a small amount of dust (about the size of an pencil erasor head).

I just use a few drops. It really doesn't take much when you are painting color or luster dusts or shimmers. You want it painting consistency. I myself have used toothpicks but as a general rule I like to use floral wire. I build my basic shape and then add the gum paste a little at a time and sculpt it to the wire ( for animals etc.) I would suggest that you purchase yourself an inexpensive clay sculpting book. Like for FIMO etc. I have found you learn a great deal about putting characters together and the building methods work really well for gum paste / fondant characters. To attach parts you should use a gum paste glue or an edible glue made from tylose. I am sorry I don't have the link but if you google edible glue there is a great tutorial that shows up on YouTube. In some cases you can get away with using just water although I don't recommend that if you are wanting sturdiness. The biggest key to gum paste is to let your figures/flowers dry completely or as close to in order to get the best results. I know I wrote a lot sorry I really hope some of this info helps. Good Luck

ok ill try it!!

thanks

To make edible glue you can either use tylose or gum arabic. I use a teaspoon of it and about a half a cup of warm water. I will put it in the microwave for thirty seconds. No Youtube needed!!