I made GP from the recipe on the side of the Gum-Tex can like I always do. Added Wilton black and got ....DARK FOREST GREEN, even after adding an enormous amount of black. Then I started over and added Americolor black and got (after MUCH adding), finally something like black.

Added Wilton 'violet' and got....initially a nice lavender, made some flowers, but... as I worked with it, it began to look like periwinkle, then more bluish, so I added more violet, and the more I added, the blue-er it got. Now the whole piece is exactly the same BRIGHT BLUE as a CH Powdered Sugar bag label. And I mean BLUE!!! bright shiny royal/deep sky blue.

WTF!!!!??? I have a purple and turquoise cake due Fri, and I do not have time for this!! The Americolor turquoise, btw, worked fine.

Has anyone had this happen?? I never have...

I'm going to have to go buy some gp ready made and start over but I need to know what the deal is? Could the colors be outdated? Why would it be purple first, then change to blue? I wasn't working with any other colors, and the color isn't old.

violet is a blue dominant purple, so it can definitely make things blue! There is another purple you can get from Americolor I think, but I can't remember what it is called. You can add some reddish pink or red to it to make it purple though. I am a big color mixer and I'm picky about getting shades right - if after adding pink or red it is too dark of a purple you can always mix it with white gumpaste to make a lighter shade (do a little at a time to get it how you want).

As far as black, some blacks are made with a lot of green so when they are in lower concentrations in icing it will be green. You have to add A LOT to get it black. The Americolor super black is the best, but you still have to add quite a bit to get a really deep black color.

There are just certain colors that are difficult but I have found Americolor to bet WAY better than Wilton. I have not used other brands so I don't know how they match up.

Good luck!

thanks, but mixing colors on this one won't work, as the fondant on the cake and the GP accents have to be exactly the same, and I need the shade I started with, which is a nice light violet (like the wilton container!..ahem). Adding red to the horrid bright blue that I got, made it dark blackish murky purple.

I'm going to buy fresh colors and store bought GP and hope it doesn't happen again. It's always something...especially when you're low on time and patience..!

thanks anyway though!

Colors are subject to fading fast in daylight and even in florescent lighting. Mae your things and put them away for safe keeping in the dark to avoid fading. Things can drastically fade in just 20 minutes in a room with indirect natural light.

Would you be able to airbrush your flowers?

You better make gum paste from scratch again and add the color during the mixing process.
That said, I always buy black, red and other 'difficult colors' to avoid this stress and hassle.
Good luck!