Help! Im Suppose To Make 38 Roses For My Course Iii
Decorating By 2txmedics Updated 8 Nov 2006 , 4:16am by TooMuchCake
I have tried and tried, it seems my roses come out thick at the bud base, Ive even tried making it smaller...and my fondant wont keep its shape....I manage to form rose petals...put them on and then they seem to wilt down and not keep the shape!!!! 
How can I work my fondant to make roses??? ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED!!!
I looked soooo simple in class the first day.
What sort of fondant are you using? If you are using homemade, I have no experience with that but I finished doing my roses a week ago.
You have to mix 1 tsp of Gum Tex to every 12 oz of fondant as this makes the fondant easier to work with.(or so the book said)
Also, did you let the rose center dry for about a day first? You will need a solid base for them (or it is easier at least)
What I did was do them one layer at a time and for me it was easier but I have heard people say they do the whole rose one at a time instead of assembly line style like I did.
My reasoning was so the petals would sort of dry before I added the next layer so it wasn't all smooshing and difficult to work with.
There are way more experienced people here that might be able to help you better but perhaps this will give you a start....
If I think of anything, I will respond...
HTH
Jane
is it cheating to use gumpaste? would your instructor freak out? i find it actually easier to make roses from, the directions for making it are on the inside of the gumpaste can, i would buy the gumtex, not the premade gumpaste (cheaper) although this will take a day longer. make sure your adding the gumtex to the fondant, makes it much easier.
The way I do mine is "free hand".. meaning no cutters or molds. And I find that better for me, because I like big Roses, and I feel very comfortable doing it this way. I do not like the uniform size of the petals with the cutter. If you take a real Rose flower apart, the petals are all different shape and size. What I do is roll up a circle, flat pc. of Fondant, and just keep adding petals around it. I do not do the cone shape base.
I do mine this way. Cutters produce small Roses. I like my roses nig.
You have to make sure the fondant is super thin. I meant almost transparent. My teacher in Course III made us roll it super thin on our mats then cut out with the flower cutter and re-roll that little flower a couple of more times with the roller. It was hard to get it off the mat, but my rose dried almost before I got home that night. Maybe that is the trick. The thinner the better.
Ok, Im gonna try all the advice everyone gave me and use whats best for me...I thank you all very much for all your information and help...I well let you all know...I guess late tonight or tomm....TKS!!! 
After you make the base and it has hardened.
1. Gumtex to fondant
2. Roll fondant out thin
3. Cut pieces with the flower cutter and use flower tool (ball end) and roll over the petal part of the cut flower piece. This will thin out the petals.
4. Use clear vanilla to "glue" each petal to the base.
There are instructions in the course 3 book.
Thank you all so much, Ive practiced all night long yesterday with advice from in here...I guess what Im doing wrong is: Im using the wilton fondant the instructor gave us in class to play with. I didnt want to waste it, since its expensive....so I decided to do my roses for my final cake.
Im thinking its missing gumtex, or gum paste...that might make a difference, cause THEY WONT GET HARD...very little...they still wilt if I take them out of the refrig.
They are starting to look like roses, instead of carnations...but now they wont get hard. and Ive gone with using the big cutter, and then cutting petals completely, rolling them out to thin...and I was also gluing them using paint brush/and light water. So maybe I need to make MY fondant, wiltons and add the gumtex....
I haven't been doing decorating with fondant and gumpaste but about a year. I THINK your problem might be putting them in the refrigerator. I don't put any gumpaste or fondant in the refrigerator. I allow it to completely dry at room temperature. Others here with much more knowledge than me will know more about this.
...lessoned learned....so does this means those I made are ruined now??? 
Well, maybe not ruined... leave them at room tempo for a couple hours, don't touch them or try to dry them as the fondant will get very very sticky from the condensation, just leave them alone for a while OR you can also put them inside the oven, oven OFF and light ON, only the light ON. This will hepl dry them faster. Also, make sure you add the gum to the fondant, this will make your life much much easier and as somebody also said, use Wilton's fondant instead of home-made. I know it tastes nasty but is easier to work with! HTH and good luck, please let me know if I can be of any more help to you!!
I make the base for my roses with fondant and some tylos (I think this is the same as your gumpaste....not sure) then let set really hard for at least 24 hours. I use a handmade, tylos based modelling paste for the petals. I roll out paste on a cutting mat, dusted with corn flour, roll so thin you can see the lines on the mat through it, cut out first two rows of petals, cover ones not using and paste. I frill the petal edges, only a little for the inside petals and more for the outside petals. Once first two rows of petals are on hang upside down on a stand, cut out rest of petals and frill. This gives first rows a bit of a chance to dry and hold form. Then holding flower slightly upside down put next one or two rows on, then hang to dry for a couple of minutes.. check if petals need more shaping, quickly re-shape (don't play too much or petals will crack) and hang upside down again to dry
Hi, I saw your comment on my rose photo and thought I'd pop in here for a sec and see how your roses are coming along. Mine were for competition, so I did everything the hardest way, making individual petals out of gumpaste, dusting them with petal dust, and veining them front and back with clean real rose petals.
For an edible cake, though, fondant roses are best if you aren't worried about getting them super thin. If thinness is important to you, go with gumpaste, because you can roll it thinner and it will stay upright better than fondant does at the same thickness. I like Satin Ice gumpaste, but I'm told Wilton's gumpaste is pretty good. I've never tried it, though.
If your rose centers aren't drying as fast as you would like, or if you are in a hurry, use jelly beans for the centers. They stay on toothpicks but are easy to get off the toothpicks for eating, and come in so many colors. Use regular Easter-type jelly beans for big roses, and Jelly Bellys for roses made with the step-saver rose cutter.
I also use my ball tool a lot on the petals to get them good and furled, and I often add extra petals.
Also, if you're making your roses on wire (remember to tell your customers there's wire in there!), you can dry the first couple rows of petals with the rose upside down. Bend the wire and hang it over a drying rack. When those petals are dry, turn the rose upright and add more rows of petals. My son made me a drying rack out of unused KNex toys.
Deanna
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