My gumpaste keeps cracking. It is nice and smooth when working with it and rolling it out, but when it dries, it is all cracked up. I used the Nicholas Lodge recipe. Any suggestions? Also, what can I apply to it to give it a nice shine? Thanks for your help!

cant help with cracking as it dries im afraid...
for a shine you can pass it through some steam, its a gentle shine. for a real shine you can apply confectioners glaze.
xx

Your gumpaste needs to be the consistency of chewing gum (stretchy when you pull it ,not breaking apart ) before you use it - so keep adding shortening & kneading it until it reaches this state....then it won't crack after it dries.

Hope this helps