I've been trying to make gumpaste orchids. I've only made very simple flowers before, but I am happy with how the individual petals come out. The problem is when I try and put them together, the petals break. Is it because they're not dry enough? How long do I need to let them dry before assembling? From what I've read and watched on youtube, the instructions are to let dry, but how long is that and how dry does it need to be?

This is the tutorial I watched:
How to make Orchid Flower -- gum paste with or without cutter Phalaenopsis -- May "Leopard Prince"

I cut the shapes out, but the bridges between the petals break everytime. Is it better to do individual petals with wires? What size wire? Or do the petals need to be thick/thin?

Any advice would be great!!!

Thanks!

Any advice would be awesome!!! Please!

Alan Dunn says in all of his books that he lets the petals dry to the consistency of leather: not hard. He has detailed instructions for moth orchids in a couple of books.

Go to amazon.com or amazon.co.uk and search for "alan dunn". Some of the books have "look inside" feature for you to peruse, this usually includes the template pages.

You might also try little piece of very fine wires in the legs of the "moth" until you learn how to assemble them.

It depends on the flower you are trying to make. Some you need to let dry completely, some you need to let dry to firm but not completely dry so you can still manipulate it.

The paste you use makes a HUGE difference. Commercial paste is brittle, extremely fragile and hard to work with. I never knew that until I took a master flower making class and the instructor passed out Nicholas Lodge's paste (homemade, recipe all over the internet, Google it). Since I switched it's a whole new world. Most high profile cake artists that are known for their sugar flowers use this recipe.

Good luck!

Correction - I don't actually know "most", but I know "a lot".

If you can't get the Nicholas Lodge recipe...or even want to mess with making it...I don't usually recommend Wilton products but I highly recommend Wilton's premade gum paste if you're not already using it.
It rolls really thin, it's pliable, doesn't crack and it dries quickly.
Just my two cents!

Thanks.

I am using gumpaste I made using Wilton's gumtex and glucose. Maybe I can add some shortening. Because I don't think that the petals were ever at a leathery stage.

Thank you for for pointing me in the right direction. Next time I'll be better prepared. For now I used gumpaste to reattach the petals that broke off. Now that I've painted it it's not too obvious. Not great, but at least I have flowers!

Since suggestions were made about different types of gumpaste to use, would MMF w/ tylose powder be better/easier? Is the one I made using Wilton products not that great?

I really don't like the Wilton powder for making gum paste. I find it creates a very brittle product.

I love the Wilton pre-made gum paste. It's very workable and I like the results I get with it. I keep some on hand--in the freezer--as a late night back up--LOL.

Nick Lodge's recipe is wonderful when I have the time to make it.

Rae