I have recently started cake decorating and am handpainted images on the cakes. I have only been using liquid food coloring because I have it and don't have to invest more money since I don't know if this will be a full=time thing, however, I can not get some of the colors I want because it does not mix like real paint does. Any advice on how to get colors....I basically only have the primaries and green and have a hard time with colors like purple, pink, dark blue,etc.

well, the gel paste wilton colors are not that expensive at walmart. They are a little over a dollar each at the walmart in bremerton. They have a fairly good selection there. They will last a long time as well. you just mix a bit of it with any alcohol based extract or a little vodka. You could buy just the colors you cant mix on your own and then your investment is only a couple of dollars total.

Petal dust works really well when trying to mix the colors together to make another. The only fixable problem with then is that you get more of a watercolor effect than an actual painted effect. I used petal dust on the hundredth birthday cake in my photos to see what I'm talking about.

I'm not really sure what to tell you, as I can't paint anything to save my life, but I'm thinking you could buy the petal dusts and mix them with alcohol and use those to paint with. I made a gum paste tea cup, I have yet to post the picture, but I just painted it with petal dusts that were mixed with alcohol and it worked out great! Plus, there are soo many colors to choose from! And if you want some colors that are metallic or that sparkle you can get some luster dusts as well! I know they can be a bit pricey when you have to buy a lot at once, but they last a long time!! I'm sure others on here will be able to help you out a little more, but I thought I would try at least!

Plus, I needed to tell you that your cakes are amazing! I so can't believe you can just paint on them like that! You are an artist! I can't wait to see more of your work!!

Freddyfl, Funny that you are from Bremerton too. Small world...and my husband is a submariner too. I also know another lady that does cake decorating that I met through my daughter's preschool. Thanks for the advice about the wilton colors.

Heiser73 andReenie,

Thank you for the suggestions that you offered. I will have to take a look at the petal dusts and luster dusts. The next cake I will be working on will be for my daughter's birthday on the 30th of this month. I was thinking about chinese koi fish or goldfish.

Just one more thing.....where do I get petal dust?

You can get petal dust online at many different places. You can buy luster dust here at CC for a great price, but I don't think they offer petal dust. Here is a small thread that missyek replied to and gave a great list of places to order cake related things online...I'm pretty sure they all have petal dusts. You can always check ebay as well..I've ordered some there as well. Good luck and let me know how it goes!

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-168731-ordering.html