I made some gumpaste Nicholas Lodge recipe. I made some white rose bases and gutm out some numbers without color. Plan to color latter. Pianted on. My question is why do the numbers look so dry and blah when they dry, like elephant skin?

You probably didn't get the recipe *exact*. Try adding a bit of egg white &/or some Crisco - not much - just enough for it to become like well chewed gum

It may also be drying out too fast. I have experienced that same elephant skin texture if I continue handling it after the surface has started to dry (which happens quite fast). It is for this reason that I usually will blend in a touch of fondant to my gumpaste to keep it pliable a bit longer. I get less cracking that way as well and am able to work in finer details on flowers and characters. Hope this helps!

You may also want to set the colors by steaming them over boiling water (or a steamer) for a short period of time. This sets the color and also brings out any the glow in the paints (if you used pearl colors). Don't let them steam too long or they'll melt. If you haven't used a pearl color, you may want to brush the flowers with a pearl color and then steam them. Steaming makes them come alive.