got out that pink gumpaste today to play with it again.  It seemed that the gumpaste after aging, was much easier to work with than when it was fresh. The consistency was actually more like firm chewing gum than floppy fondant.  Much easier to manipulate the petals, especially after letting them dry for a minute or two.

Oh also, I got them down to a #5 thickness on the KA pasta roller.  I also got a metal ball tool and it works much  smoother than the plastic one.

Also the gum glue that I made with the tylose and water was really like glue.  It was easier to control the amount that applied to each petal, as I could brush some on, and when it looked too heavy I could run the brush over it again and pull some of it off.  That 1 tbsp. of tylose made enough to do about a thousand flowers!!

Got the Japanese toothpicks, put them in the cores with a touch of glue and let them sit and dry for two days before adding the petals today.  I'm very happy with those toothpicks.  The gumpaste cores stayed in place, nice & solid, and it was easier to add the first layer of petals.

I'm letting them dry as suggested, then I'll add a second layer of petals.  Someone also suggested getting all of the first petals the same height, so I worked on that today.  I'd say that I was a little more aggressive in pushing the petals up and in place. 

It takes up a lot of room, making little sugar flowers.  A big work table would be nice.

Everyones tips and suggestions are appreciated, and they made it work out better for me.  These little roses are better because of you.  Thank's to you all. 

getting better and better -- i'm sure someone mentioned the spoon thing -- to let petals rest in spoons momentarily before assembly -- and you probably already know you can do foam cores instead of gum paste anytime you want to save on time and the amount of gum paste used and lighten the weight of the finished product -- especially nice for large flowers --

i just cut foam into the teardrop shape and squish the edges in -- you can buy them too but foam is easy to come by  --

anyhow it's nice to see you do so many new things and have lovely sweet success too --good stuff, mb

Wow, MB - These are MUCH better!  Very Pretty.  

I make my centers from Model Magic- It's nontoxic but definitely not considered edible so that needs to be considered.  It's cheap, you can make a ton of different shapes.  I know Michael's carries the small packs or you can get a larger bucket (4 packets) from Amazon.   Just another alternative for centers.

FYI for when you get your petal dusts - If you find a color is too bold for what you want, you can cut it with cornstarch for a lighter shade.

I was looking around for that crunchy foam this week to poke wired & toothpicked flowers in to dry, Duh, It finally hit me.......

go to a place that sells silk flowers for flower arrangements.  Found a block of foam at Wallmart.  (no Michaels here.)  So that problem is now solved.

Hi MB - a little tip from me - take some drinking straws and cut them into halves or thirds - then push them into the florist foam (we call that "oasis" here).  That will give a little strength to your wired or toothpicked flowers - you just put the wire or toothpick into the straw and then push into the oasis - they won't go anywhere with the support around them!

Kathy

@DaysCakes Thank You.  There are tons of straws in my house.  I won't have to go shopping for those.....for a change. Do you have to push the straws down very far?

I just added 3 leaves to each rose, just as a little something extra on the base, as they are going on cupcakes.  Actually rolled them in the KA to a #5 I think, so thin...(I think that this gumpaste may be much stronger than my mind wants to believe).  I remembered to frill the edges with the ball tool, before putting them in the double leaf press so they won't look as clunky as the first batch.  Dang, I  put some of them on the rose upside down - veins out - it's always something when I'm on a new process.

Just have to laugh at myself, it's the only sensible thing to do. 

AThey're looking fantastic, you should be proud of yourself.

And when you say it's always something with a new technique, I feel your pain too. I feel like I need a list of instructions, step by step, that I have to read and re-read until it all becomes automatic.

Laugh at yourself by all means, but join the chorus! If I don't laugh some days I would cry!

HI MB - I push mine in about an inch - it just gives you somewhere to "park" the flower while you work on the next one - remember though to leave enough room because those little blighters take up more room than you might think when they are finished and you don't really want them touching each other too soon.  I have no idea about rolling out on a machine - Lol - I just roll mine by hand.  I also use my palm to ball tool the edges -  I use a tiny bit of white shortening on my hands to stop the petal from drying out.  They're looking good tho'!

Kathy

AHi MB, lush roses. :-)

Palm Kathy? You mean we don't have to use those horrible foam pads?! When I made my strangled cabbage I couldn't figure out what purpose the foam pad was serving, it gave me no resistance and generally did my head in. Maybe it's not supposed to give you resistance, I don't know, only used it once. I'll be picking your brains for my wedding cake I think. :-D

AYou mentioned a pile of cornstarch on a towel. I've made a little baggie of the white stuff with a piece of pantyhose, it's good for dabbing on the work mat and loading up my fingers if the paste is sticky or if I use too much glue.

You might want to hide the baggie when the Feds come knocking though....it looks a little suspicious.....

Hi Maisie!  I do use both - but I'm an old-fashioned girl as you know and the way I was taught to do roses was to ball tool each petal in the palm of my hand - the paste is so thin that you can almost see your life line through it! Haha.  I do use the pad as well though - since I am now "of a certain age" I am always so hot!  If your hands are very hot - then use the pad.

Haha winniemog - love it!  Might try that idea tho - thanks!

Kathy

Hmmmm pantyhose........haven't had any hose for about 35 years now.   seriously!    or worn a skirt

I've been using the Wilton paper ones with the drawstrings for powdering the gumpaste.

Thanks @maisie73.  I can see the improvement, and I'm thankful that it's visibly progressing with each attempt.  When the sun comes out tomorrow I'll show you the progress on the leaves.

{ps: I'm watching the movie 'Pacific Rim'. Charlie Hunnam was born in England, what a hunk, thank you for letting him make movies here  WooHoo.........}

I do it by hand when I made the modeling chocolate roses, just pressing the petal edges with my fingers.  However now that I'm learning to use the KA pasta roller I'm going to try thinning them down with that next time.  Maybe I can get a better petal curl that way.

MB I save all that dense foam that surrounds electrical appliances etc, when you buy them, and poke my flowers in to it.  Some bits have straws poked in and left and some I just poke the flowers and leaves straight in to.  Eventually they fall apart when you don't use straws but, heck, it was only going in the bin anyway.

I bought a pair of those stockings that only come to the knee to put my cornflour in.  No-one wears panty hose here.  I take that back.  The new girl at work had a pair on yesterday.  I actually got down on the floor to look (she is very petite) I was so amazed.  She thought that was hilarious.

AI use the palm of my hand too, sometimes it's easier to do that. I definitely never use the foam that they sell for that purpose, just the white craft board if i'm doing that.

I'm going to send you a little of my gumpaste to try out, @MBalaska. Technically you're supposed to let gumpaste sit overnight to let the gums set up so that's why yours was stiffer after it sat for a while...I use it straight from the mixer but it definitely does set up harder when it's older.

wow, kara, your etsy store is awesome -- you've got so many cool things --except the creepy finger but i know i'm just agreeing with you it's creepy -- there's all this beautiful and bridal-y stuff then this shocking dis-membered finger --but perfect time of year for it too i guess  i'd suggest you put the chicken wings up before the finger -- would kind of soften the effect -- what flavors do you offer in the wings?  

but so many flowers and how to's and molds, wafer paper items, etc. -- really lovely but where's the gum paste -- 

@ mb -- did you get that group of petal dusts you were thinking about? i think the way costumeczar has hers laid out makes more sense -- there's this spring flower basic set --

https://www.etsy.com/listing/192449996/petal-dust-set-for-spring-flowers?ref=shop_home_active_2

 then you can add other sets as ranges of color to use for gum paste items (as i think these dust are non-toxic) --but this is a more intelligent way to collect them -- focus in on each project rather than buy colors you may never use --

unless you already bought the other ones  

Those are really nicely done. What color did you use for your leaves? I can never get a shade of green I like for my gumpaste leaves. 

here's the $64,000 question -- and not that i make them either -- i'm just saying -- where's your calyxes? 

Here's why I can't photograph at night.  Alaska really does not have much sunshine, so photograph lighting is a problem for me.  See these two photos of cupcakes.

This was the exact same batch of colored icing !!!!! 

The ones on the left  were taken about midnight when I got done making them.  The ones on the right I made the fondant buttons the next day and photographed in sunlight.

NO comparison.  One looks bright pink, one looks muddy brown.   You can see that I have to plan my photos to get better coloring.  Photography is another whole ballgame........