Must have tools for sugar flower making!

When I first started making sugar flowers I had no idea what tools I would need besides gumpaste. I had to purchase them as I went along and that made it harder to finish. To make sugar flowers you must have the right tools. Keep in mind that different flowers will require different tools..

Gumpaste- I use Satin Ice gumpaste. You can always make home made gumpaste but I never have time. You have to make these ahead of time to let it set.

Foam pad- If I had to choose one tool that I can't live without it would be this. I LOVE my CelPad from CelCakes! Can't make sugar flowers without this bad boy. I've tried other foam pads and nothing even compares to this. The firmness of the foam is perfect. It has 2 sides, the dark yellow side has the coated surface I use for frilling & the other side is a heavy soft foam. This is the side I mainly use for thinning petals Trust me this is worth the money!

Ball tool- I have them in different sizes for different size petals. I prefer the metal ball tools than the plastic ones. Metal ones are heavier, smoother and provides good pressure when thinning petals. The plastic ones can work as well but the seams on the ball drove me nuts! It left marks on the gumpaste.  I use a medium size ball tool and Sunflower Sugar Art offers them in variety of sizes.

Work surface- I use a vinyl board to roll, cut, vein, pretty much almost everything I have to do with gumpaste. I also have a Cel Board that I use as a work surface.

Cel Board- Okay call me crazy but I have 2 of these. The small one I bring with me on trips or for use during lunch at work. This is the one tool I was a little hesitant to get. This is used to create grooves on the back of leaves and petals for easier insertion of the wires. I tried making the bottom of my petals thicker so I can insert the wires but found it looked unnatural. Now I just roll the gumpaste over the groove and it creates the "spine" for me. As mentioned above the other side is used as a work surface. It's smooth and nonstick. A must have!

Dusts- there are different types of dusts. Luster, pearl & petal are the ones I mainly use. I create my own custom color at times & mix different dusts. They give your flowers different hues & highlight them where needed. Sugarcraft.com has a great page where they explain the difference between each dusts.

Tylose glue- this is a stronger form of adhesive for sugar flowers. It's edible and easy to make. I use 1/4 tsp of Tylose and 2 tbsp of warm water, combine together, stir and let set in the fridge overnight. I also use this to mix with fondant when I need a quick gumpaste. Sugarlane.com has a page where it explains the difference between tylose vs. gum tragacanth.

Wires- One thing to remember: The smaller the gauge number the thicker the wire. I use an 18 gauge to insert into the buds for support. A 24 & 26 gauge is what I mainly use for petals. The wires are either cloth covered or paper covered. I don't really have a preference and comes in white or green color.

Floral tape- It comes in different shades of green and also comes in white. I used this to gather and wrap stems. You can also use this to wrap wires if you only have in white color and need green.

Cutters- This is something I have a lot of! But if you were only going to get one I will suggest getting a set of rose cutters and leaves. They are versatile and can use them to make other simple flowers. There are different kinds of rose cutters. A 5 petal rose cutter like the one shown here from JEM & individual rose petal cutters. I also sometimes use circle cutters. It just depends on how I want my sugar roses to look.

Veiners- Makes flowers and leaves more life like. Especially useful for making leaves. The ones shown here are for peony flowers & hydrangea leaf. The green one on the bottom right is an all purpose veiner that I use for roses.

Buds- I use foam buds for the centers. I do make gumpaste centers as well but you have to make this ahead of time. They come in different sizes depeding on how large you want your flower to be.

Miscellaneous items: other small items that you will need are scissors, X-acto knife, cornstarch.

*If you would like to know where I get my supplies, need tips or have any question just send me an email at eileenfrycakes@gmail.com. I'm here to help! Thanks and happy sugar flower making!