So far the gumpaste flowers I have made are: roses, hibiscuses, calla lilies, orchids and daisies and the next one I want to try is a lily. When I looked at GlobalSugarArt.com I was overwhelmed by the all the different colors and shades, so my question is what colors do you think would kick up a notch the flowers I have already tried and which ones are good future investments? Another question is what is the difference between the Global Sugar Art luster dust and the Sunflower Sugar Art luster dust? I looked at the names and the colors and they all look the same, but the Sunflower Sugar Art ones are .50 more expensive.

Also, is what is the difference between luster dust and pearl dust?

Thanks!

I'm a dust junkie!!! I have bunches of colors as well as all the shades of red for roses, etc. I love the terracotta red petal dust... you'd be surprised how much it inhances the center of a flower. I have started ordering Sunflower even though it is .50 higher. I just find it goes longer --I think it seems finer and therefore easier to apply. On the GSA website, what each of the dusts do is explained which I find helpful. Petal dusts are matte. Lustre dust gives a dewy look. Pearl dust is shimmery. Global Sugar Art explains it better though. I did a Wizard of Oz cake and painted Dorothy's shoes with a mixture of Raspberry Lustre Dust and Vodka, it made them look just like the real thing!

Luster dust will have more of a shimmer effect where as a pearl dust will have more of a pearized finished. Then a disco dust have a look of glitter.
As far a kicking your flowers up a notch, any kind of shading you do helps give a more realistic effect to them. So you want to have some highlighted areas where the "sun" would be hitting it and then darker parts where the light doesnt get to them like the centers. Also, if you look at a realistic flower, you will see that there are many shades of the same color along with other colors. I usually have a ton of different shades of the same color.
Im not sure why the price difference with Sunflower and Globals but i know that Sunflowers comes in a differeent container than the other. I also wasnt aware that Global had their own brand. I thought it was CK brand?

Thanks for the replies! So it seems the consensus is that it is a good idea to get two different shades of a color so it looks more realistic. Here are my remaining questions:

Are there any particular pinks or reds that you would recommend for roses?
What greens would you recommend for leaves and vines?
And finally what colors do you just love to use because they make the prettiest flowers?

Thanks for you time!

For roses I like to use Old Rose, Cosmos and magenta. Depending on the color I choose I sometimes use Abergine. For leaves I love foilage green, forest green, euphorbia, spring green and mushroom.
I actually love to airbrush my roses first and then after they've dried I will go over them with my second and third colors. Especially for red roses. That way the paste doesnt change its consistency from all the color you would have to add to achieve the correct shade.
I also do not color my paste first. I do everything plain and then color them after its dry. I like this method that was taught by Chef Lori at Wildflowers by Lori. She does everything like a watercolor effect and it truely makes them more realistic.

Thanks!

Anyone else?

I just looked at GSA again and I noticed that it comes in a 4 gram size, about have many flowers will that make?