I am new to gum paste flowers and need some help know which petal and leaf cutters to buy and what veiners to get. I am intersted in doing roses, cymbidium orchids, and other flowers.

Thanks for your help.

Ruth Brown
Concord, CA

Welcome to CC, Ruth! You WILL get addicted to this site.

There are SO many numerous items to choose from. You have an interest in roses and cymbidium orchids. I'd say, then, start with those. Within each, there are varying sizes. What we've done is we've tried to buy smaller sets and larger sets so we have some contrasting sizes. As you get into it, you'll find you may want to add more sizes.

For roses: If you want to do petals by hand, look for the sets where you've got the graduated petal sizes. If you want to do a quickie, get the five petal cutter in two to three sizes. Create a bud on a piece of wire and stick it through the center of a small rolled out 5-petal piece and assemble and then keep adding larger sizes.

I'd highly suggest some of the DVDs from Nicholas Lodge, Sharon Zambito, Jennifer Dontz, and the other great sugar artists. Nicholas Lodge's newest DVD, Filler Flowers, was what got me extremely hooked. He does stephanotis, violets & violas, mini orchids, petunias, prinulas, morning glories, and cherry blossoms. Although small, they're quick and could be added to roses. After that, I just started exploding with interest.

HTH

Paul