Are Wilton Gumpaste Flower Classes Worth The Money?

Decorating By sweetcravings Updated 23 Apr 2009 , 10:14pm by Maris307

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sweetcravings Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 5:00pm
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Well, i've come to realize that as much as i try my gumpaste flower efforts have failed. I spent hours this week with a gumpaste flower book in one hand and gumpaste in another trying to make stephanosis (sp?), forget me nots, lillys and they all pretty much suck. icon_cry.gif I dunno what i'm doing wrong but they look horrible. Up untill this point i have been pretty much self taught and never needed to take a class but now i think the time is near. icon_redface.gif I'm tired of wasting gumpaste and needless hours trying to perfect something that i clearly am doing wrong from the get go. So, I was wondering if anyone has taken any Wilton gumpaste flower courses and what you thought of them? Are they worth the money? What types of flowers do you learn?

Suzanne

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Lee15 Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 6:44pm
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I am not certain about Canada, but here in the US the only gumpaste flowers that Wilton teach are the rose, daisy, carnation and a fantasy flower. If you are having such a difficult time, it's not a bad place to start. You should learn some basics from it.

I studied gumpaste flowers with Scott Clark Woolley and his flowers are life-like. He has several videos that may help. They are expensive but so worth it.

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CookieMeister Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 6:51pm
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I tried gumpaste flowers on my own - I think I tried using the instruction from a Nicholas Lodge book (I checked it out from the library, so I can't remember what book it was), and failed miserably. I am taking the Wilton course in May, plus a 2 day intensive course on gumpaste flowers next weekend. I'm stoked about it.

But - have you looked on Youtube for some instructional videos? I bet there's some stuff out there. You could give that a try, and if it doesn't work, then sign up for the class.

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Chef_Rinny Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 6:54pm
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I personally did not find the gumpaste class worth the time. They only teach the very basics. I think it depends what you are looking for. I'm currently saving up to take a more professional class icon_smile.gif

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aggiechef Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 6:54pm
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My Wilton instructor is actually trying to talk the local Michael's into letting her teach a gumpaste flowers only class sometime soon. She's only going to open it up to the ones who've taken the fondant/gumpaste class, and she's going to teach it once a week for four weeks (like the other Wilton classes). I'm in course 4 now and we start making our flowers tonight. I'm excited about it, but the class doesn't cover enough flowers. I hope she gets to teach the class. I'll be the first one to sign up!!!! icon_smile.gif

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sweetcravings Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 6:55pm
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Thanks,
Yes, i tried watching tonedna's video on the lily and i have to say that is probably the best looking one i made. My highlighting with dusts ruined the whole thing. My gumpaste roses aren't horrible but they aren't anything to brag about either. The 'filler' flowers were just plain bad.

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brincess_b Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 9:35pm
post #7 of 11

i didnt do a wilton class, im in the uk, but the i did a class in the uk, and without it, id hae been in a right state! she was a great teacher, so taugt us the flowers she had planned, and gave loads of advice.
so aybe it depends how good your local wilton instructor is, even if you oly do basic flowers, you should get the tips and confidence to be better at the advanced ones. or maybe find out if there are any independant teachers in your area.
i dont know what your problems might be, but the biggest lesson i learnt was to roll your gum paste *superthin* so you can virtually read through it.
xx

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pattycakesnj Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 9:44pm
post #8 of 11

I agree with brincessb, if your teacher is good is the question. If not, it may not be worth it. but it is a good starting point.

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mbt4955 Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 9:53pm
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It certainly won't be a Nicholas Lodge class, but at $17.50 (at Hobby Lobby in May), I figure you will probably get what you pay for and you might get a whole lot more. Since you have been working with gumpaste, you probably have at least some of the supplies that come in the kit and you might have items that you can substitute for all of them. It wouldn't take much for me to get $17.50 worth of new knowledge when it comes to gumpaste.

I have taken a gumpaste class from Nicholas Lodge and he is amazing. I have taken a fondant class from Bronwen Weber and she was great.

Guess what ... I just signed up to take the Wilton class ... because it is $17.50, I already have the supplies that it calls for (at least most of them) and I would like to learn how to make carnations and fantasy flowers. icon_biggrin.gif

EDIT -- I just noticed that the OP is in Canada. They might not have Hobby Lobby there, which could definitely change the price of the class. Learning basic gumpaste skills is a huge help in going on to make other flowers from books and videos. If you want a starting place, I think it would be good. If you want to make more advanced flowers. probably not so much.

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blondeez Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 9:57pm
post #10 of 11

Sweetcravings.. Im so glad you asked this. I was wondering this same thing

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Maris307 Posted 23 Apr 2009 , 10:14pm
post #11 of 11

I signed up for (and took) a fondant/gumpaste flower Wilton class which taught the cala lily, the fantasy flower and the carnation. I didn't know which flowers we were going to make and by the time I took the class, I already knew how to make the flowers.

Edna's tutorial on Youtube is the best! My cala lilies looked like cala lilies! The fantasy flowers I learned to make with a Wilton book.

I think it depends on what your expectations are.

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