Just a tip that may save you some $$. I make my my own petal dust by using non-toxic artist chalk. Rub in on a fine strainer and it becomes a powder. I use a small mesh "tea ball" strainer. I found small plastic storage containers at Michaels. I bought the ones that screw into each other and make a stack. You could also get the plastic ones with a flip top. Do the grating on a papertowel and then place the powder in the jar. Voila!! Instant petal dust. If you want a color that is lighter, add some white chalk or cornstarch and stir. Or you can combine colors to get the color you want. There are sets of 72 colors of chalk that sell for around $15-$20. So I could, techinically 72 colors plus the containers for around $30 - $35 dollars. Also, after you use a color you can clean the brush by rubbing it around in some white cornstarch. This gets out the color and you don't have to wash the brush and wait for it to dry again. Here is the picture of the ones I made:
Thanks for the tip! I have been wanting to get some of the dust...just didn't want to spend tooooo much money!
Thank you for sharing this. It is such a great idea.
I took the Wilton Master Decorating Course in Chicago and we were taught how to use the chalk there. It must say "non-toxic" on the packaging. The question of food safety was asked and the research that the Wilton company has done reports that it is safe to use.
I took the Wilton Master Decorating Course in Chicago and we were taught how to use the chalk there. It must say "non-toxic" on the packaging. The question of food safety was asked and the research that the Wilton company has done reports that it is safe to use.
That's good enough for me!
BTW, Go Gators!
I took the Wilton Master Decorating Course in Chicago and we were taught how to use the chalk there. It must say "non-toxic" on the packaging. The question of food safety was asked and the research that the Wilton company has done reports that it is safe to use.
i've seen wilton suggest using chalks too. i think its mainly recommended for things like gumpaste. (flowers etc, that people dont normally attempt to eat anyway), but i personally wouldnt use it on fondant that would be eaten. i dont think it would be a food safty concern for me, more of a concern that it would taste like, well...chalk. lol.
i've been wanting to grate some chalk too. i need some black. good idea for the poster who mentioned using the percent off coupon!
thanks jeking for sharing this information on making dusts. it really is a money saver.
I personally don't do this, but I know cake decorators who use powdered eyeshadow in place of luster dust. They only use it on decoration that are almost never eaten anyway. I did use some on a dummy cake for the flowers and it works just like luster dust/pearl dust. Sometimes I wonder if it isn't just as safe ingesting a miniscule amount of stuff that you put on your eyes, for goodness sakes??
Thanks for the information! Does it dissolve in water so you can paint with it? Or not?
i would think so...when my kids use sidewalk chalk, i wash off the driveway with a hose...it seems to do the trick just fine so i imagine it would disolve.
jeking, do you paint with it or just use it dry?
I personally don't do this, but I know cake decorators who use powdered eyeshadow in place of Luster Dust. They only use it on decoration that are almost never eaten anyway
I was told that Luster Dust is actually mineral powders and some use it for eyeshadow haha, I imagine if it's food safe then it is face safe. The chalk sounds like a neat idea, for GP flowers and such 
Okay jeking, I got all excited to make my "dusts" just like you did, but then I looked at my containers. I bought the ones like you mentioned that stack, but every set I purchased is cracked. Some aren't so bad, but at least 2 have severe cracks, big enough that the dust would be able to fall out. So I am wondering if I should return all of the containers, or just the sets that are severe.
And my Michaels didn't have the 72 count chalk, but they did have a 48 count so I purchased that one. I can't wait to use them. I am wondering though if these are fine enough to go through an airbrush machine or not.
What an idea!!!!!! I love it. Can't wait to try it!!! Thanks for the tip!!!
the eyeshadow idea sounds great. we eat lipstick off our lips why not eyeshadow?
I have used both the chalk and eyeshadow for my flowers made of gumpaste. I know the mineral eyeshadows do have some of the same ingredients as the dust. And if the chalk is safe for kids it has to be okay to put on the gumpaste items. I wonder what the petal dust is made of anyway. Maybe it is just cahlk with a fancy name. Anyway, it does lend itself to a myriad of colors. Also, the eyeshadow sponge brushes are great for putting the color on flowers especially the edges of roses.
I think Jeking deserves a gold medal for this idea! I went to Hobby Lobby and bought the 48 count chalk using my 40% coupon for about $3.00. I couldn't find small containers that I liked. so I found some packages of kid's paints on clearance for 50 cents, washed them out, and cut them apart for my containers. They aren't big enough for the whole stick of chalk, so I just store what's left in the original box until needed. I made labels for each container so refilling will be easier. Also used a pestle and mortar to crush the chalk.
With the eye shadow, I know most of the eye shadows are ok to ingest. In high school all my girlfriends and I made our own lip glosses by mixing eye shadow in with the gloss. It worked great then and I am sure it would work fine for this use as well. Thanks for the tips It is a great idea!
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That's such a brilliant idea. Noone would ever attempt to eat gumpaste flowers and decorations (at least I would hope not) If it's ok to put wires and wire/paper stamens in gumpaste flowers why not non-toxic chalk - WAY cheaper and you can customize the colours - I'm definitely going to try this.
It is fine to use on gumpaste items. I wouldn't use it on something that was going to be eaten, though. Non-toxic is not the same as edible, and non-toxic items are not prepared with the same standards as food...for example, if a rat poops in a vat of chalk, do you think they throw the whole batch out? But then again, I wouldn't eat eyeshadow either.
Here's another money-saving tip...you can use non-toxic markers to draw on gumpaste once it's totally dry. It's great for drawing the features on figures or writing on a gumpaste plaque or adding small details to something.
If you want shimmery or metallic chalk, have you looked in the scrapbooking aisle lately?
...for example, if a rat poops in a vat of chalk, do you think they throw the whole batch out?
Hate to break it to ya, but if a rat pooped in a vat of food they wouldn't throw it out either. There is a certain percentage of "animal foreign material" allowed in food manufacturing.
...for example, if a rat poops in a vat of chalk, do you think they throw the whole batch out?
Hate to break it to ya, but if a rat pooped in a vat of food they wouldn't throw it out either. There is a certain percentage of "animal foreign material" allowed in food manufacturing.
Yes, but food manufacturers are inspected and regulated. Chalk manufacturer's probably aren't. Also, foods are canned or cooked at temperatures designed to kill germs.
I know gross things happen to food sometimes. My husband used to work at HEB's distribution center and one night a man's finger was severed and ended up in a batch of creamy creations ice cream...but they did throw out the batch, finger and all.
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