One in the oven- I won second place for most artistic in a local competition called Creative Confections. Big deal around here- all the local pastry chefs. Two categories- cakes and tortes and plated desserts.
M- I love marzipan but it is way more costly than gumpaste so I stick with gumpaste. I use a very strong version with gum trag so that they don't break as easily. I have found that even if you have a heavy hand, if you thin the edges enough, no one notices how thick the rest of it is- nice optical illusion.
The very hardest part of the whole cake business has always been photography. I am getting better at it but it is still my greatest challenge. Getting a great camera solved the majority of my problems but not all of them. I keep telling myself that one of these days I need to take a class.
Isa- if you can do a marzipan rose, you can do a gumpaste rose. You might want to experiment with the recipe or consistency of your gumpaste. If you have hot hands use a firmer paste, if you have cold use a softer. You may want to start with a softer gumpaste, also, to give you more play time. The faster you get, the firmer your paste can be.
Thank you everyone for the nice comments.
