ok i am hoping to pick y'alls cake expert brains a little!

first question - gumpaste cut outs.

do you cut them BEFORE baking and constructing your cake or after?

do you let them dry out after cutting? if you cut them before - what do you do with them until you are ready to put them on the cake??

this seems to take me the longest. i am thinking if i cut them out first, well in advance, then baked the cake when i needed it and just decorated i would have better results. i still get frustrated with that part plus run out of time and end up with cakes not nearly as decorated as i would like

i am determined to make my fabulous hubby a super cake for valentine's day figured i better start getting this correct now hahahha!

i attached a pic of my daughter's bday cake - pretty plain but i swear it took HOURS and DAYS and lots of cursing ACK! i also attached my fall cake - the design on the top is the ONLY thing on the cake boo!

The answer really depends on a lot of factors. Gumpaste dries out very fast and if you are just cutting out things to place flat on a cake, I would use fondant, much more edible. I would cut out ahead of time, cover with plastic wrap and pop in the freezer for a few days until I need them. If you use gumpaste and need the cutouts to bend around say a round cake, then they can't be dried out. If the cake is flat, then it wouldn't matter if the gumpaste is dried, ((thus you could make them ahead of time) HTH

Good planning always makes for a more complete cake. The more you do ahead of time will help with the anxiety of thinking we will run out of time. I always decorate and complete my cakes the night before they are due, the icing has time to fully crust and I have never have had problems with transportation. Gumpaste dec. can be made weeks in advance just store in a dry/cool/dark area (like a closet shelf) the darkness helps so your colored gumpaste/fondant does not fade. I have had good results with fondant mixed with a little tylose on some projects. It all depends on the rigidness you require for that item. The snowflakes in my photos were made with a tylose gumpaste recipe with very good results, made them 1 week ahead when completly dry I applied color and sparkle. My bows are made with fondant/tylose they are a little more delicate to work with but hold up fine with royal icing as glue. I live in a very humid climate and this has worked for me. Expirement and see what works for you. Have fun and Good luck...