Lightly grease a clean work surface with some vegetable shortening, put a little on your hands, and knead the gum paste until smooth and pliable.

Roll the gum paste out until it is quite thin; about 1/8" or a little thinner.

Using the middle sized rose petal cutter from your set, cut out 5 petal shapes per rose base (example, for 4 roses you would need 20 petals). Remove the excess gum paste from around the cut-outs, shape into a ball, and wrap in plastic. Set aside. Cover the cut rose petal shapes on the table with plastic until ready to use.

Lightly dust your foam mat with cornstarch to prevent the petals from sticking (I like putting it into a little homemade cheesecloth bag to make this most simple). Remove 1-5 petals from under the plastic at a time, and gently thin/frill the edges of each petal with the frill or ball tool (also dusted with cornstarch).

Dampen the base of one petal with water on the veined side, and wrap it (vein side in) around your pre-made rose bud, with the edge of the previous petal in the middle of the new one.

Moisten the tip of another petal on the veined side again, and tuck the edge of it underneath the first petal (vein side in), securing it to the bud at the moistened base. Repeat with the remaining petals, and frill the edges out with a cell stick or your fingertips. (See photos in this tutorial for reference.)

Stick the toothpick end into styrofoam so that the rose can stand upright, and allow the medium rose to dry completely (12-24 hours) or at least for 1 hour before continuing on to the next step.

The thoroughly dry roses will keep in a cool, dry place for several months in a closed container. Humidity will cause the roses to "wilt" and you may not be able to keep them.