For all those who decorate with little "helpers" around you will know how much those little fingers want to touch everything. I just finshed 4 days of making a gum paste flower arrangement for a cake and was carring it downstairs (on top of my supply box...not smart) and my daugher decided that she wanted to help carry a flower. She is nearly 3. Well, I moved to quickly to prevent her from grabbing and SMASH!!! I freaked thinking that all my hard work just landed in a scattering of pieces, but luckily it was my class arrangement that I was using as a guide. Still very disappointed but glad that my hard work is still safe. I think maybe my daughter will listen to me next time....she jumped as much as I did.

Aaahhh.....poor little girl (and flowers!).

Ohhh, sorry to hear that everything didn't make it through the fall.
My son is soon to be 4 and ALWAYS wanting to "HELP". Although I want to be as supportive as possible of his creative nature, I also want all my cake in one edible piece.
So then I feel badly and we have to bake a whole other cake.

I know how you feel! (though I didn't loose 4 days work!) I made some rice paper butterflies with royal icing bodies, and put them in a cardboard box in the utility room. Unfortunately I put the box on top of the washing machine and forgot it was there when I switched the machine on! It vibrates like it going to take flight when its in the spin cycle and of course the box (and my butterflies) fell to the floor! All the bodies broke, but luckily the wings are fine, so I'm going to try and re-pipe the bodies (if I can get the remaining pieces of icing off!)

I can't even blame my 3 year old - all my own stupid fault!!

Kelly

I love working with gumpaste and have seen many beaurtiful cakes in the Wilton books showing the cake to be covered with gumpaste flowers or leaves. I know you can eat the gumpaste but who wants too? So the question is: What happens to all of the decorations? How do you tell the people you can't eat the decorations?

Second question: Where are you getting rice paper?

Thanks so much for all of the posts that are so helpful.
Happy baking to all of you!
~betty