This cake was a while ago - but I either used waxed paper or parchment for the snowflakes. The curls on top are actually part of the top fondant layer.... I put the fondant on the cake and then cut wedges in it (like a pie) and rolled it back on to little wooden dowels and let it dry overnight. I have never used gumpaste - so I can't tell ya what works better.....
Wow - good luck with the 2 cakes and be sure to post a pictue when you are done!!

OK, I did my snowflakes for the upcoming cake and used the silicone parchment. It worked perfectly! They slid right off. No sticking at all! I don't understand it, but I put cake sparkles on all the snowflakes except the ones I practiced with, well, the snowflakes with the sparkles on them are VERY strong while the ones without are much more fragile. None of my sparkly snowflakes broke, while I had a couple of the non-sparkly break for no reason. Hmmmm.

I will post cakes when I'm done. I am ready for this week to be over!

Thanks for all the help guys! the cake went off without a hitch! Here is the pic I promised. Both cakes were due on saturday, it was a marathon, But all is done and delivered! I will have them in my photos soon.

Maybe mine were chunkier, or I piped them on plastic bags instead or parchment, But none of them broke! Since your in a bit of a pinch, use buttercream and shove it in the freezer instead.The cake is in my gallery.

OMGosh! I wish I'd heard about the plastic wrap sooner! I just did a cake (posted on CC) for my doctor's office on Thursday and made double the snowflakes I needed and still broke a ton of them! On my cake, you can see 'pieces' of the broken ones that I used anyway. Everyone thought it was great, but it was so frustrating!

Thanks for the tip! and good luck to any and all future snowflake-makers!