OMG I NEED HELP!!!! or tranquilisers - lol

have been caking since November 08 and have NEVER had a problem with gumpaste figures - i add gum tracaganth to my fondant and it is perfect, easy to use, dries hard, lovely and smooth, etc.

now, im doing nothing different at all, but in the last week, i tiny bottle, the head of a figure and the stem of a chalice and a tiny perfume bottle and a tiny handbag which i handmade with gumpaste have cracked open like a tree trunk.

i just dont understand im so angry!! i spent so much time on these things and then a day or two later they are wrecked. its literally like a hugh crack like when a tree trunk opens up and is almost trying to tear itself apart.

has this happend anyone, could it be a bad batch of gum trag?? i think this is a new jar i opened recently.

Please help im at my wits end and have a whole pile of figures sitting which im just waiting to find a crack in

bump - please help

bump again....please, anyone??

if it helps, i notice that the gumpaste dosent even seem to be drying properly - its sort of dry on the outside but its completely moist like it was just made on the inside even after 5 days so i think the moisture is swelling against the dry outer shell and causing the huge gaping cracks (like the tree trunk). also it smells kinda sour?? even though it's newly made gumpaste from newly made fondant and i have kept gumpaste for weeks before without incident. the only think i can think of is that it is a bad batch of gum trag or that the rise in temp of a few degrees recently - could that cause this?? but we're talking the temp at the highest has been 21 degress not anything like what most of you guys are working in though very different for us from what it was like in winter and spring

seriously please help me - i have 3 figures to do for next week and a whole pile of stuff to redo for this week which is unusable

maybe make a new batch, or try Nicolas Lodges recipe and mix that 50/50 with plain fondant, thats how I make my modelling paste.

The sour smell makes me think something in that batch is off!

this is the second batch thats what's worrying me - the only thing that is the same is the new pot of gum trag. i just dont understand it im so frustrated i could just give up and im so worried im going to get a complaint by someone whose figure broke i just emailed the seller i get my gum trag from to see if they had had any problems and also bought a jar of cmc so hopefully it will come in time for next week's figures

its just the weirdest thing ever - in 8 months i have never had a split or crack and now everthing is literaly bursting in front of me

I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles. Hang in there. I'd put away the gum trag. until you can figure out later what is wrong with it.

Definitely go with everything new since you do not have time to mess with it. I love CMC and use it in my gumpaste. I make mine from scratch though, but I have worked with it in fondant.

If you are going to add it to fondant, make sure you leave it overnight and then work with it, so that it can become one with the fondant. Ha.

I'm off to bed. Hope you have a better day tomorrow over there in beautiful Ireland.

beautiful ireland - lol not so beautfil waiting in the pelting rang for the bus every morning...grass is always greener i suppose

have used cmc before with my fondant and it was fine but then my gum trag was always fine too - very frustrated.

how do you all store your gumpaste - is it somewhere cold as opposed to room temp?? i have it all wrapped up in plastic wrap and then in a plastic bag in a kitchen cupboard and its been fine before.....

I am in a sugarpaste class, so I make a double batch of gumpaste. I keep mine in the fridge wrapped up tight and in a sealed container until I am ready to cut off a bit for class. What I have out for class, I use within 2 weeks. Mine has egg whites in it, so I know it won't keep too long outside the fridge.

I was wondering if perhaps the gum trag wasn't kneaded in very well in that batch and maybe it cause the split. ? Just a thought.

I aslo store mini in the fridge, as it also contains egg white, the same as the above poster.

You should try it with tylose (CMC) instead, I add that to fondant to make modelling paste and never had any cracking problems.

How's the weather? I've never worked with gumpaste, but my CMC fondant can act weird in the summer do to temps and humidity.....maybe that's the culprit?