Ok, I am fairly new here and I was wondering what most people use to make decorations and flowers for their cakes? Is fondant or gum paste a better choice? Also, do you make your own or buy the preprepared? Thanks.

I'm not sure that one is better than the other ... could be just personal preference, could be that it depends on what it is you're trying to make and how it's going to be used.

I've only used fondant for decors, but they've been pretty simple ... stars on wires, misc other stuff. If I wanted gumpaste flowers on a cake, I'd buy them. The cost of buying them vs. the labor cost of making them turns this into a no-brainer for me.

Hi, when I make flowers, its always gumpaste. If I'm doing cake with dots then its fondant. But for fondant ribbon, I add a little bit of CMC/Tylose powder to give it a bit of strength. You also can mix 50/50 fondant and gumpaste and use that to make your flowers and other accents. I never make these pastes myself. But in the end it comes down to personal preference like Indydebi mentioned above!

i'm a long time baker but strictly a newbie hobbyist at decorating and so i make gumpaste flowers for the enjoyment.
my favorite is making my own gumpaste using nicholas lodge's recipe.
http://www.nicholaslodge.com/gumpaste.htm

If you don't mind my asking, if you buy the ready made gumpaste and fondant, what brand is the best to buy?

I can't help with the question about buying it premade. I use the simple MMF recipe for fondant and N. Lodge's gumpaste recipe.

This is the difference between the two for me:

Fondant is for eating, gumpaste is not. I use gumpaste for flowers and bows. I use fondant for drapes, stripes, dots, etc. If it's on the cake and will be eaten, then I use fondant. If it's part of a topper, then gumpaste.

Gumpaste or fondant with gum tex, tylose or CMC are for things that need to hold their shape. Such as drapes, flowers, bows, figures and so on.

Fondant is for items that don't have to hold their shape, such as the flat accents on the cake.