I have been wanting to try petal dust - or painting on fondant with the mixture of alcohol and petal dust, but I can't get the petal dust unless I order it online. I read somewhere that you can just take chalk that an art student would use - as long as it is non-toxic - and grind it up and use it that way. It would be much less expensive... Has anyone done this, and if they have, does it taste different, and is it O.K. to do?

I have heard of it and i've used it to dust my practice flowers. I don't know if it will work when mixed with alcohol for painting - i've never tried that.

Debbie

Hi,

I heard about this too, on another website ...

But I think just because it is non-toxic, does not make it edible... So I will not use it.

Karen

Thanks Karen for replying. I am confused because petal dusts say that they are not intended for eating either. They say for decorative purposes only.... so I am wondering what the differences are between the two.

Hey, me again..

I found this old post...read it and I think you'll get your answers...hope you find what your looking for...


http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-480-.html

Here's my $.02...

I can't tell you how many kids I've seen eat chalk. It's made non-toxic for a reason. Since I don't know what petal dust is made of I can't tell you what the difference is, but if this is for a grown-up or even a mostly grown-up party, I wouldn't worry about using chalk. I've seen it used in books on gumpaste flowers, I guess mostly because they are not expected to be eaten, but I don't think it would really hurt anybody if it was eaten in small amounts.

Thanks Charleydog and alimonkey! The old posts really did help. I think I've come to the conclusion that I should buy luster dust seeing as I plan on using it to paint fondant - not just for gumpaste flowers. Thanks for all your help!

You probably already know, but if you're painting fondant it works best to use 80 proof or higher liquor to mix the dust with. The alcohol evaporated quickly and dries fast, so your fondant shouldn't get all mushy.

I thought non-toxic chalk was safe to eat since the basic white chalk can be eaten as an anti-acid(That's basically what an unfalvored tum would be). Maybe its the dye they use to color them?

Have you eaten basic chalk as an anti-acid? My cousin's kid had reflux for a long time, and he was a chalk sucker. See - he knew something we didn't!

My $.02.
If you wouldn't make, decorate and eat ityourself. don't do it for someone else. That's my opinion. Just the thought kinda gross' me out
Michelle

I guess the key would be to know exactly what is in each to compare. I wish CakeCentral had a doctor on board to tell us if it is good idea - it's about the only thing they don't have! Anyways, it would be so much less expensive to just go get a whole chalk set for almost the price of one or two petal dusts....

I found this link.... includes a list ingredients for lustre dust. Not sure if it is of any help
http://www.candylandcrafts.com/dustingpowderindex.htm
Karen

Thanks karennayak!

Here's the ingrediants for the powder: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxide, Carmine, Mica

Titanium Dioxide: Its basically a crystal that in powder form usually used for opacity ,and is used for paints, ink, food,sunblock, cosmetics, ect.

Iron Oxide: It's Hematite and is a mineral (picture: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/spotlight/images/hematite_br.jpg )

Carmine: That's red beetle used to get red dye for cometics, food, ect.

Mica: "A group of minerals consisting of hydrous silicates of aluminum or potassium which are common in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Mica vary in color from pale brown or yellow to green or black and characteristically split into very thin leaves. Sheets of mica used in insulation and electrical equipment because of their resistance to electricity. The transparent forms are used in lanterns, the doors of stoves, etc." ( I got that here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&oi=defmore&defl=en&q=define:Mica)

LOL! I'd rather eat chalk now!

If it doesn't have an FDA stamp of approval for human consumption...it means that its NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.

Doesn't make it ....EDIBLE if it's NON TOXIC.

just an FYI.

and before they had all the luster, pearl and powdered colors out there. People actually used ground up chalks to "ACCENT" their gumpaste flowers.

Gumpaste flowers were used as a KEEPSAKE. They were made out of sugar paste or whatever edible medium because real flowers ...some can be TOXIC.

Others have been sprayed and fertilized with ONLY GOD KNOWS what.

So...just because it states its...NON TOXIC..doesn't mean you should injest it..after all....I'm sure my comptuer desk is NON TOXIC..but do I want to EAT IT? Nooooooooooooo!...blah!

I would still make sugar paste flowers over sticking real flowers in my cake! I know that's not in everyone's budget or realm of knowledge...but I for one stand firm..

NO FRESH FLOWERS ON ANY OF MY CAKES! I have devised means of using them without having them actually "TOUCH" my cakes!..lol

Well you learn something new everyday, OMG!!!!! Can you beleive we eat this stuff?? Goes to show you, what you don't know won't hurt you...
Thanks for the wealth of information guys!!

I agree - how funny is that?

Just to feed my curiousity i'm going to go furthur and experiment a little with chalk, tums, and a little dusts.