Help. I'm finding it difficult to cut out letters from gumpaste freehand. Recently made StarWars and an Arsenal football Club cakes which required lettering in a specific style (no tappits/ cutters here!). It took me forever and the gumpaste dragged when I cut it with the craft scalpel. As the StarWars logo needed to go on the front of the cake I couldn't let it dry before cutting. I tried tracing the pattern on first and also cutting out the printed letters and cutting round the pattern. Both time consuming and fiddly. Hoping someone out there can offer some advice or tips please.

I am sure you dont have to wait till the gumpaste is rock hard to cut out. place lots of corn starch under the gumpaste after you roll it out and keep it there for a few minutes till it hardens a bit. (dont roll yr gumpaste too thin. Trial and error. if it does harden too much once the letters are cut and you want to place them on the cake, a wee bit of steam may make it a bit flexible. if you are making a round shape cake, you may want to dry/keep your lettering on a curved area, like yr cake pan on its side. - Just a thought.

Thanks Suzied for the advice, I will give it a go.