gum paste flowers

Gum Paste Sunflower Tutorial

November 9, 2021 By Ashley Leave a Comment

Recently, I was honored to be featured on the cover of the September/October 2021 issue of American Cake Decorating Magazine. While there is a tutorial on how to make the cake in the magazine, there isn’t a tutorial for the large gum paste sunflower, the main focal point of the cake, included with the tutorial. So, after many requests, today I’m sharing tutorial for my gum paste sunflower.

Gum Paste Sunflower Supplies:

2″ styrofoam ball – The type of styrofoam ball you use for this project is important. Avoid the foam used in floral arrangement as they crumble too easy, they are a pain to use and are not sturdy enough. I don’t recommend using these for any sugar flowers.

There are two types of foam balls that are pretty easy to find. Smoothfoam, and more of a generic, softer foam ball. Smoothfoam is too hard to be able to insert the wires into the foam. If all you can find is Smoothfoam, you can punch your holes with a scribe tool before inserting petals. I have linked the foam balls I use.

Foam cutter, or sharp craft blade

Gum paste – light brown, golden yellow, mid-green

Petal dusts – burnt orange, golden yellow, hunter green, brown, dark brown

Dusting brush

Floral wire – 20 gauge (1), 26 gauge (12 wires cut into 5 pieces)

1/4″ width green floral tape

scribe tool

small craft scissors

Exacto knife, or straight edge modeling tool

Ball tool

Small rolling pin

Groove board

Firm foam mat with holes

Dahlia petal cutters – (4.5cm x 2cm) and (3cm x 1cm)

Dahlia veiner, JEM veining tool, or sunflower petal veiner

Daisy cutter

Shortening

Hot glue gun

Sugar glue

Bumpy foam

Step 1: Cut a piece of 20 gauge floral wire in half. Activate the glue in the floral tape by pulling on it gently, and tightly tape the two pieces of wire together.

Step 2: Cut the 2″ styrofoam ball in half with the foam cutter or sharp blade. You only need one half for the sunflower.

Step 3: Lay the 1/2 sphere flat side down and punch a hole in the top of the ball with the floral wire. Fill the hole with hot glue and insert the wire into the ball, pushing the wire through until it just reaches the flat surface. Do not push all the way through. Let the glue dry completely.

Step 4: Knead a small amount of shortening into the golden yellow gum paste until the paste is smooth and pliable. Roll the paste over the groove of a groove board.

Step 5: Gently remove the paste from the board and lay groove side up on a smooth surface. Center the cutter over the groove and cut out the petal.

Step 6: Dip a 26 gauge wire into sugar glue and inset it 1/2″ into the groove. Press the paste neatly around the wire to adhere, being careful to keep the shape of the petal.

Step 7: On the foam pad, thin the edges, elongate and widen the petal with a ball tool.

Step 8: Lay the petal into the veiner, vein side down, and press down on the top of the veiner firmly.

Step 9: Place the petal onto some bumpy foam to dry completely.

Step 10: Repeat steps 4-9 to make 55-60 petals. Give the petals more variety by slightly curving the tips of the petals back and some more forward. Give others a bit more movement by giving them a subtle twist shape. Dry completely.

Step 11: Dust the petals all over with the golden yellow petal dust, focusing on the edges of the petals for most of the color.

Step 12: Dust the base of the petals with the burnt orange petal dust, concentrating more of the color towards the very bottom. Dust the color upward, tapering off the color for an ombre, more blended look.

Step 13: Knead a small amount of shortening into the light brown gum paste until the paste is smooth and pliable. Brush the 1/2 sphere with sugar glue. Smooth the paste onto the 1/2 sphere.

Step 14: Use a ball tool tool to make an indentation in the center. Using a modeling tool or the backside of a sharp blade to small cross hatches over the surface, including the center indentation.

Step 15: With small scissors, snip into the paste at the very edges about 1/4″ deep, making small and delicate cuts, overlapping and layering them to give the edges a frayed look.

Step 16: Dust the entire surface of the sunflower center (don’t forget the backside) with brown petal dust. Dust the edges and the center with the dark brown dust creating a bit of a shadow effect.

Step 17: While the paste is still pliable, insert the petals into the foam ball center. Cut the wires of the petals to 1/2″. Dip the wires in sugar glue, wiping off any excess. Insert the first row of wires into the foam, right behind the frayed edges.

Step 18: Repeat step 17 and place a second row of petals, staggering them in between and behind the first row. Let the sunflower center dry completely.

Step 19: Make the first row of leaves for the calyx. Knead a small amount of shortening into the green gum paste until the paste is smooth and pliable. Roll the paste out on a smooth work surface.

Step 20: Cut out the leaf shape with the small dahlia cutter.

Step 21: Thin the edges of the leaf shape and curve the leaf with the ball tool.

Step 22: Repeat steps 19-21 to make a total of 15 small leaves.

Step 23: Brush each leaf with a small amount of sugar glue and space the leaves around the outer edges of the foam center, behind the last row of sunflower petals.

Step 24: Roll out more green paste over the medium size hole of a firm foam mat with holes. Remove the paste from the mat, and lay stem size up.

Step 25: Center the daisy cutter onto the paste, stem in the center, and cut out the calyx. Place the calyx stem side down into the large hole of the foam mat. Thin and elongate the calyx leaves with a ball tool.

Step 26: Brush the leaves and the center of the calyx with sugar glue. Insert the wire of the sunflower into the center of the calyx, down through the stem of the paste.

Step 27. Adhere the calyx to the center, staggering the calyx leaves in between the first row of leaves.

Step 28: Adhere the stem of the paste to the wire, by twisting the paste onto the wire and blending with your fingers. Let dry upside down completely.

Step 29: Dust the calyx all over with green petal dust. Dust the edges of the leaves of the calyx with a little bit of brown.

Step 30: Steam to set the color.

This does make a large sunflower, but you can make them using smaller foam balls and smaller petal cutters. Note that I use dahlia cutters for this tutorial and not sunflower petals. I think sunflower petal cutters are a bit thin for the sunflower look I’m trying to achieve so I love working with the dahlia cutters. I use these cutters for a few flowers. They’re good to have on hand. I don’t believe in buying cutters for every flower I make so it’s good to repurpose ones you already have.

Remember, unless you are competing, you can still make a realistic and amazing looking sugar flower without having the exact supplies for a specific flower.

If you make a gum paste sunflower with my tutorial, let me know! Drop a comment or tag me on Instagram. I love seeing your bakes and creations.

Enjoy!

Ash xx

For more sugar flower tutorials, check out these posts:

Gum Paste Holly and Berries

Gum Paste Dogwood Branch

Gum Paste Blackberries

How to Make Sugar Flower Petal Formers

May 13, 2021 By Ashley Leave a Comment

Petal formers are a necessary tool in order to give your gum paste or wafer flowers the proper petal shape for a specific flower. There are a variety of commercial petal formers out there but sometimes specific ones can be hard to find and they can be expensive. Especially when you need need a lot of petal formers for multiple flowers.

In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to make 3 different types of sugar flower petal formers, how you can adapt them and what you can use each former for. These boards are easy to make, fairly inexpensive and the materials are easy to find at your local craft store or Amazon.

Spoon Petal Formers

This is a pretty common former already used in the sugar/wafer paper world. I have boards with both regular plastic spoons and also one with soup spoons. Typical spoons are more oblong and narrow, which work best with petals that are more narrow with a slight cupped shape. I like to use this type of spoon former for drying and shaping anemone petals, rose petals, lisianthus petals, alstroemeria petals and more.

Soup spoons are more rounded and deeper. Great for shaping rounder petals with a more prominent cupped shape. I like using these formers for drying and shaping ranunculus petals, inner gardenia petals, smaller peony petals, English rose petals and more. I find that I use this former more often than the spoon former.

Flower Formers — Spoon Board Petal Fomers

For the spoon boards, you will need: 9×12 piece 1/4″ foam board, cardboard, or fiberboard, a low heat hot glue gun, wire cutters and spoons and/or soup spoons. Cut the handles off of the spoons with the wire cutters. Discard the spoon handles. Place hot glue on the bottom center of the spoon and adhere to the foam core. Be sure to evenly space the spoons. Flip the foam board over and repeat with the soup spoons. You can adjust the formers on the board if you misplace one by gently sliding it in place while the glue is not set.

Foam Ball Petal Formers

I use foam ball formers quite often, mostly for larger cupped petals like magnolia petals, large peonies and English rose petals. You can easily use any size foam balls you would like, but I find that any petals that need to be dried and shaped under 2″, can usually be done on spoons or bumpy foam. It’s not as easy to find formers for much larger size cupped shapes – 2 1/2″, 2 3/4″ and 3″ so I find that smooth foam balls work perfectly.

This board can also be adapted to use egg shaped foam, which are good for making longer and more cupped petals such as tulip petals.

For the foam ball former board, you will need a piece of 1/4″ foam board (or cardboard or fiberboard) – I used 9×12, but you can definitely use a bigger board to add more foam balls or multiple sizes if you would like. You will also need smooth foam balls and low heat hot glue gun. Place a liberal amount of hot glue on the bottom of the foam ball and adhere to the board. Space the balls evenly on the board, leaving space in between for overhanging petals.

Optionally, you can cut the bottoms off of the ball to make it more sturdy against the board. The best way to do this is by using a foam cutter tool that essentially just melts through the foam. Just cut off 1/4″ off the bottom, then glue. Fast and no mess.

Acetate Formers

Think of this former as similar that of an apple tray former. These formers are larger with more shallow wells, perfect for drying and shaping poppy petals, peony petals, Japanese magnolias, orchids, and more. You can form the acetate to make shallow or deep cupped petal formers.

You can use either food safe acetate, usually found in rolls, or you can make these with thin, flexible cutting mats. You can get both of these on Amazon and you can also get the cutting mats at the dollar store.

For this board you will need a 1/4″ piece of foam board, cardboard, or fiberboard, a low heat hot glue gun, and scissors. Cut the acetate into 4″x4″ squares. You can round off the edges if you like ( like I did in the photos) or you can leave them as is.

Cut two cuts in the acetate about 1/2″ opposite each other for a shallow former, or 3/4″ for a deeper former. Place a small dab of glue on one side of the cut, crossing the other side to overlap onto the glue, pressing gently to adhere. Watch your fingers because the glue will be hot. Repeat with the other side of the acetate. Repeat the process with remaining 4″x4″ pieces of acetate.

Place glue on the bottom of the acetate cups and adhere them to the board. Alternatively, you can omit the board and just use them as they are. They’ll be a bit easier to store without the board as well.

If you make these sugar flower petal formers, let me know! Drop a comment or tag me on Instagram. Any questions, feel free to DM me or leave a comment below.

Ash xx

For more tutorials, check out these posts:

Gum Paste Blackberries, Leaves and Blossoms Tutorial

Floral Piped Royal Icing Cake Tutorial

Gum Paste Dogwood Branch Tutorial

Gum Paste Dogwood Branch Tutorial: Part Two

June 17, 2020 By Ashley 1 Comment

Here we are at part two of the dogwood branch tutorial. In part one, I covered how to make the dogwood bracts, centers, leaves and small buds. This second, and final part of the tutorial will cover making the blooming buds, dusting the flowers, buds and leaves, then compiling the arrangement along with some final touches. You can find part one of the dogwood branch tutorial here.

Make the blooming dogwood buds:

1. Make a cone shape with a small piece of white gum paste. Place the tapered end into the second smallest hole of a foam pad with holes (Mexican Hat method).

2. Roll the paste thinly over the hole. Carefully remove the paste from the hole and place flat side down, stem side up. Center a 4 petal cutter over the stem of the paste. Cut out the flower. Remove any stray pieces of paste by running your finger along the edge of the cutter.

3. Place the flower stem back into the second smallest hole of the foam pad. Use a ball tool to elongate and cup of each petals.

4. Remove the flower from the pad. Brush a small amount of sugar glue in the center and bottom edges of each petal. Insert the wire of a dogwood center through the center of the flower, taking care to guide the wire down through the stem.

5. Cup the tightly petals around the center.

6. Hang the buds upside down to dry completely.

Dust the dogwood centers:

1. Dust the centers liberally with moss green petal dust.

2. With a small bit of burgundy, lightly dust a few areas of the center to give it a bit more of a realistic look and a bit more depth.

Dust the dogwood bracts:

*Be sure to apply dust sparingly as you dust the bracts. The goal is to build and layer color. This is how you make sugar flowers look more real. You can add more color, but you cannot remove it once it is on.

1. Lightly dust the center edge (the indentation we made) of the bracts with moss green.

2. Lightly dust very edge of the indentation with the brown dust, right over the edge of the moss green. The color should look gradient with a fine brown edge that continues to moss green.

3. Along the edges of the bract, with the exception of the center indented edge, and about a third of the way down the sides of the bract, very lightly dust with the dusty pink. Brush from the edges towards the center so that the color tapers off. The edges should be where the majority of color is. You’re going to be inclined to be a bit heavy handed here, but don’t. Less is more.

Dust the blooming dogwood buds:

1.Liberally dust the gum paste “stem” of the bud, tapering the color upwards, about halfway up the flower. You want the color to be darkest at the base of the flower nearest the wire.

2. Dust the base of the flower nearest the wire with brown, about 1/4″ up from the bottom of the bud.

3. Lightly dust the edges of the flower bud with dusty pink, dusting downwards to create a gradient of color, about 1/4″ down.

4. Just the very edges with moss green to mute the pink and give it more of blooming appearance.

Dust the small buds:

1. Liberally dust the small buds with moss green dust.

2. At the base of the buds, near the stem, liberally dust with brown dust about 3/4 of the way up from the bottom.

Dust the leaves and tape the wires:

1. Liberally dust front and back of the leaves with rose leaf green.

2. Activate the glue of the moss green tape by stretching the tape. Tightly tape the wires of the blooming buds, and larger leaves with the tape, finishing about halfway down the wire.

3. Tape a small leaf beside each small bud, taping about halfway down the wires.

Compile the dogwood flower:

1. Place the bracts two at a time, opposite each other, underneath a dogwood center, and tape with moss green floral tape. Place the remaining two bracts underneath and on opposite sides of the first two, and tape all the way down the wire. If you are using two different size bracts, place the larger ones first, opposite each other. Then place the smaller two opposite each other, underneath the larger two.

Create the individual stems of the branch:

1.For the first stem, tape together two of the small buds, staggering them so they’re not too close together, with the twig brown tape.

2. Tape two leaves onto the stem, also staggering them.

3. Finish the stem by taping on one of the dogwood flowers. Continue to tape all the way down the stem. Set aside.

4. For the second stem, tape a blooming bud to a small bud, staggering them so they’re not too close together.

5. Tape two leaves to the stem, opposite each other and slightly staggered, followed by an additional leaf. Tape all the way down the stem. Set aside.

6. Create the main branch by taping together a blooming bud with a leaf, staggering them.

7. Add another leaf to the stem. About 2″ down from the leaf, add the second stem ( the stem with the small and blooming bud).

8. Tape the stem with the flower to the main branch, about 3″ down.

9. Tape a 20 gauge wire to the branch, just below the flower. This will reinforce the branch and keep the branch from toppling over.

10.Tape an additional flower to the branch, followed by a leaf.

11. Add the third and final flower to the branch, taping all the way down the wires. Cut off any excess wire. You want to leave about 5″-6″ inches of stem to be able to insert the arrangement into a cake.

Final touches and finishing the arrangement:

12. Dust the branch with a combination of the leaf green, and brown dusts to blend the areas where the two different color tapes meet. This will make the colors look gradient and the branch more realistic.

13. Use a travel steamer or a tea kettle to *carefully* steam the arrangement to set the color. Be careful not to burn your fingers in the steam. Just carefully wave the arrangement through the steam to remove the chalky appearance. You don’t want the arrangement to look wet – you just need minimal steam. Let the arrangement dry completely.

Many of the techniques shared in this tutorial can apply to many other flowers and flower arrangements. For more tutorials and resources, check out these posts:

Essential Tools for Making Sugar Flowers

Gum Paste Peony Tutorial

Gum Paste Blackberries, Leaves and Blossoms Tutorial

September 23, 2019 By Ashley 4 Comments

I’m absolutely thrilled to be sharing with you an amazing new flower paste/gum paste. Created by my friend and fellow sugar flower artist, Arati Mirji of Sweet Symphony, this sugar flower paste was gifted to me to try and I think it’s absolutely fabulous. It’s incredibly easy to work with, rolls out very thin and allows ample work time before drying. This paste doesn’t dry right away and will stay flexible, much like a bean paste, for a short amount of time. Compared to other name brand pastes, Flower Paste by Arati Mirji is considerably softer than what I was used to, but I found that it wasn’t at all sticky, it stretches beautifully and holds veining exceedingly well. It took me no time to get used to it. It also holds color, gel and petal dust, better than any commercial paste I have used in the past. Even dry, the thin petals seemed strong and light, and I even dropped one when assembling with no damage. This paste is perfect for both beginner flower makers and advanced, and has quickly become my favorite.

For a recent sugar flower collaboration, Still Life Sugar Flowers, hosted by yours truly, I created an autumn, moody inspired arrangement filled with poppies, ranunculus, David Austin roses, nasturtium, forget me nots, cosmos, dahlias, leaves, vines and blackberries. I love making gum paste blackberries as I think they look amazing in sugar arrangements. Today, I’m sharing with you a tutorial on how to make my gum paste blackberries, blossoms and leaves using Flower Paste by Arati Mirji.

Supplies:

Gum Paste/Flower Paste (I used gel food color to tint the paste.): dark purple, moss green, magenta, dark green, pale yellow and white, Floral Wire: 22, 26, 28 gauge (green or white), Moss green 1/4 width floral tape, Small rose petal cutter (1/2- 3/4″ size), Rose leaf cutter, All purpose leaf veiner, Firm foam pad, Groove board, Rolling pin, Jem veining tool, Small craft scissors, Small seed head stamen, Petal dusts: moss green, blush pink, plum, mocha, golden yellow, rose leaf green, aubergine, Paint brushes, Clear alcohol – such as Everclear, Confectioner’s glaze, Ball tool, Craft pliers, Sugar glue, Piping gel

To make the green, pink and dark purple gum paste blackberries:

1. Form a piece of paste the size of a small gumball into a cone shape.

2. Bend the end of a piece of 22-gauge wire into a hook with craft pliers.

3. Dip the hook into sugar glue, wiping of the excess. Insert the wire into the thick end of the cone shaped paste.

4. Twist the paste onto the wire, removing any excess paste. Set aside to dry for a hour or so.

5. Roll a bunch of small balls, (4-5mm) to create the detail of the blackberry.

6. Working with one blackberry at a time, brush a liberal about of piping gel onto the cone shape. Working from the base of the cone at the wire, place the gum paste balls working around the cone and up towards the top.

7. Once the cone is completely covered with the balls, carefully and lightly squeeze the blackberry so that the balls flatten slightly and fill in any small gaps on the cone. Take care to keep the blackberry shape while flattening. Set aside to dry completely.

To make the gum paste blackberry leaves:

1. Roll out a piece of dark green paste over the groove on a groove board. Remove the paste and lay the paste groove side up on the board.

2. Center the rose leaf cutter over the center of the groove and cut out. Remove an stray pieces of paste by running your finger along the edge of the cutter.

3. Dip a piece of 26 gauge floral wire into sugar glue, wiping off any excess. Insert the wire into the groove of the leaf.

4. Place the leaf into the double sided veiner and press firmly to vein. Set aside to dry on bumpy foam.

To make the gum paste blackberry blossoms:

1. Fold 9 double sided seed head stamen in half and secure with floral tape.

2. Make a hook at the end of a piece of 26 gauge floral wire. Using the pale yellow paste, roll a small piece into a cone shape. Dip the hooked wire into sugar glue, wiping off excess. Insert the wire into the tapered end of the cone shape. Work the paste onto the wire so that it’s firmly adhered.

3. Make small cuts all over the cone using small craft scissors. Set aside to dry completely.

4. Once the center is dry, fan out the taped stamens into a circle shape. Insert the wired center through the stamens and tape with floral tape down the wire.

5. To make the petals, roll out a small piece of white paste over the groove of a groove board. Remove the paste and lay groove side up on the board.

6. Center the cutter of the top of the groove on the paste and cut out the petal with the small rose petal cutter. Remove an stray pieces of paste by running your finger along the edge of the cutter.

7. Dip a piece of 28 gauge floral wire into sugar glue, wiping off any excess. Insert the wire into the groove of the petal.

8. Thin and widen the petal using the ball tool. Vein the petal using the veining tool, giving the edge a slight ruffle for movement. Set aside to dry completely.

9. Repeat the steps to create (5) petals total for each blossom.

Dust the blackberries:

1. For the unripened green blackberries, dust the berries liberally with the moss green petal dust.

2. To add some variation and to resemble a ripening blackberry, dust some areas, like the tip of the berry, with the plum petal dust.

3. For the ripening pink blackberries, dust the berries liberally with the plum petal dust.

4. To add some variation and to resemble a ripening blackberry, dust some areas with the aubergine petal dust.

5. For the deep purple/black ripe blackberries, mix a bit of the aubergine dust with a few drops of clear alcohol to create a paint. Paint the blackberries for a dark, saturated blackberry.

6. Dip the blackberries in confectioners glaze to give them a glossy, realistic appearance. Dry completely.

Dust the leaves:

1. Liberally dust the leaves with the rose green petal dust, concentrating on the edges and center of the leaves.

2. Tape the wires of the leaves with floral tape.

3. Steam the leaves to set the color. Set aside to dry completely before assembling.

Dust and assemble the blossoms:

1. Dust the stamen and the center of the blossoms with golden yellow petal dust.

2. Dust the top of the center with a little bit of moss green dust.

3. Make an edible paint with the mocha petal dust and clear alcohol. Brush the tips of the stamen to add a little bit of color. Set aside to dry.

4. Dust the base of the petals with the blush petal dust.

5. Place the petals one at a time, spacing them evenly around the center, and taping with floral tape all the way down the wire.

6. Steam the assembled blossom to set the colors and let dry.

Assemble the arrangement by taping the components with floral tape.

I hope you guys try this paste and love it as much as I do. For any questions regarding the tutorial or additional products used, let me know in the comments. Also, check out my Essential Tools for Making Sugar Flowers post for more information on supplies.

If you make gum paste blackberries, leaves and blossoms using my tutorial, let me know! Leave a comment in the comment area below and be sure to snap a photo and tag it #littlevintagebaking on Instagram. I love seeing your Little Vintage Baking creations!

For more sugar flower tutorials:

Gum Paste Peony

Gum Paste Olive Branch

Gum Paste Olive Branch Tutorial

March 21, 2019 By Ashley Leave a Comment

Foliage and greenery focused weddings have been a super popular wedding trend the past couple years. Wild and whimsical foliage themed arrangements have been on the rise for both elegant and rustic style weddings, and wedding cakes adorned with greenery are just as trendy. A bridal favorite addition to bouquets, centerpieces and decor is the ever popular olive branches.

This gum paste olive branch tutorial will have you making quick, easy and beautiful olive branches, perfect for a trendy foliage focused wedding cake and looks great on semi-naked and rustic style cakes. Pair the olive branches with flowers and sculpted sugar citrus for a Mediterranean themed wedding. Or wrap sprigs of olive branches around cake tiers with a gum paste berries and figs for a rustic autumn style cake.

Olive Branch

Gum Paste Olive Branch Tutorial Supplies:

26-Gauge Floral Wire, cut into thirds

22-Gauge Floral Wire, cut into thirds

Gum Paste – mossy green, mid purple or black (depending on what color olives you wish to make – I made a purple variety)

Leaf Cutters, I used multiple size Wilton leaf cutters and squeezed them a bit to make them thinner

Small Rolling Pin (or Cel Pin)

Sugar Glue

Ball Tool

Dresden Tool

Dense Foam Pad (I use this set from Amazon)

Bumpy Foam, for drying

1/4 Width Moss Green Floral Tape

Paintbrushes – for dusting

Craft Needle Nose Pliers

Wire Cutters

Groove Board (I use this one from Amazon), optional

Cornstarch

Vegetable Shortening

Petal Dusts – I used moss green, olive green and charcoal

Foam, for drying

Gum Paste Olive Branch Tutorial:

Olive Branch

Step 1: Roll out moss green gum paste on a non-stick surface. You could also choose to roll out the green paste over the groove of a groove board. I decided not to, as to avoid having a ridge on the backside of the leaf.

Step 2: Cut out a leaf shape with the leaf cutters. Using a few different size cutters will make the branch look more realistic.

Step 3: Dip the end of a piece of 26-gauge floral wire into sugar glue, wiping off the excess. Holding the leaf between the your pointer finger and thumb, insert the wire into the leaf, about a third of the way in, taking care to not poke the wire through the leaf. Pinch the leaf at the base to fully adhere to the wire. If you used a groove board, insert the wire into the groove and pinch the leaf at the base to adhere to the wire. Smooth out the groove with a ball tool.

Olive Branch

Step 4: Place the leaf on a firm foam mat. Use a ball tool to thin the edges of the leaf. Do not ruffle. Use the thin side of a Dresden tool to draw a line down the center of the leaf.

Step 5: Shape the leaf by folding the leaf slightly in the center. Set the leaf aside on some bumpy foam to dry completely.

Step 6: Continue making the remaining leaves for the branch by following the steps above.

Step 7: While the leaves are drying, make the olives. Make hook at the end of a piece of 22-gauge wire with the craft pliers. Tear off a piece of moss green gum paste, a bit larger than a marble.

Olive Branch

Step 8: Firmly roll the paste into an oval shape. Dip the end of the hooked wire in sugar glue, wiping off the excess. Insert the wire into the paste. Set aside in foam to dry completely.

Step 9: Repeat the process to make more green olives. Use the purple/black paste to make dark olives.

Step 10: Once the olive leaves are dry, dust the leaves liberally with the olive green dust. Do not dust the backsides of the leaves.

Step 11: Liberally dust the green olives with moss green petal dust until fully covered.

Olive Branch

Step 12: Liberally dust the purple olives with charcoal petal dust until fully covered.

Step 13: For the pictured olive branch, I used two green olives, one purple olive and ten olive leaves in a variety of sizes. Using the moss green floral tape, tape the wires, about two inches down from the base of the leaves and olives.

Step 14: Tape two leaves on either side of another leaf, staggering them to make them look more natural.

Step 15: Tape on a green olive, then place another a couple inches down.

Olive Branch

Step 16: Continue to add leaves on either side, staggering them. Place the black olive and continue adding leaves. Once the leaves are all added, continue taping all the way down the stem.

Step 17: Keep in mind that olive leaves are a bit untidy and face all different directions. Adjust the leaves with the pliers to give them a bit more movement and face them in different directions. This will give them a more natural look. I kept mine a bit more straight and organized for learning purposes.

Step 18: Steam the branch to set the color. If you wish, you can brush the olives with confectioners glaze to give them a shiny appearance. I chose not to use the glaze for this branch. Dry completely before using on your cake.

Olive Branch

If you make an olive branch using my gum paste olive branch tutorial, let me know! Leave a comment in the comment area below and be sure to snap a photo and tag it #littlevintagebaking on Instagram. I love seeing your Little Vintage Baking creations!

Want to know the best supplies needed to make professional style sugar flowers? Check out my post on Essential Tools for Making Sugar Flowers!

Essential Tools for Making Sugar Flowers

February 18, 2019 By Ashley 7 Comments

If you’re brand new to making sugar flowers, or if you’re a beginner, it can be overwhelming trying to figure out all the supplies necessary to create gorgeous, professional looking gum paste flowers for your cakes. It’s easy to spend hundreds of dollars on sugar flower supplies just to find that you barely or rarely use a specific product. I’ve compiled a list of essential tools for making sugar flowers, along with my personal recommendations to help you understand better what you’ll need to create beautiful sugar flowers for your cake projects without breaking the bank.

1. FLORAL WIRE AND TAPE

I make ALL of my sugar flowers using floral wire and floral tape. I find that this produces the best results, aesthetically as well being the best for stability and mobility. Using floral wire also makes it easier to create arrangements for inserting into cakes. I tend to use both green and white floral wire, but if you were to purchase one color as a beginner, I recommend using white. Sometimes, particularly with light colored flowers, you can see the green wires showing through the paste. Using white wires minimizes this. Keep in mind you will also be covering your wires with green floral tape so no need to worry about the white wire showing.

There is a variety of sizes of floral wire. The larger the number of wire, the thinner the wire. I like to use 28, 26, 24 gauge for individual petals and small blossoms, 24 or 22 gauge for leaves and larger style blossoms, 22 or 20 for larger one piece flowers like roses and dahlias. I recommend purchasing a couple different sizes to begin with. I also recommend using paper covered wires over cloth wires, as the cloth can unravel. Over time you will find what size gauges you prefer to use most for your flowers. I will say that gauges mentioned in tutorials, while they’re mentioned for the best results pertaining to that particular tutorial, are not 100% absolutely necessary to make the flower. Making a peony and need 26-gauge floral wire for the petals and your’re out? Use 24 gauge. Just use your best judgement, particularly when it comes to the weight of the flower or leaf you plan on making.

Floral tape is used to tape the wired components of your flowers together and create a seamless finish to your flower stem. I use moss green 1/4 width floral tape for all of my flower stems and twig brown 1/4 width to create branches. Floral tape comes mainly in two sizes – 1/2 width and 1/4 width. I always use 1/4 width as this adds less bulk to the stem. If you have 1/2 width, simply cut the tape into two pieces with scissors. Both floral wire and tape can be purchased at cake supply stores and online. PME and Hammersmith are good brands to look for.

2. FIRM FOAM MAT (WITH HOLES)

A firm foam mat is necessary for shaping flowers such as thinning and cupping petals and ruffling edges. I recommend purchasing the firm foam mat with the holes. These holes are used for the “Mexican hat method” of making flowers, which allows you to make flowers with a fluted “stem”. This method is great for making stephanotis, freesia, blossoms and calyx. Some foam mats come as a set of two – one solid foam mat for thinning, and one foam mat with holes. I use this set that is pictured below. However, if you had to choose one, pick the pad with the holes as you can also use this for general thinning and ruffling just as you would the solid white mat.

3. CELBOARD

A Celboard is a hard plastic mat that has grooves cut out of it. This board is used to create “veins” in the petals and leaves which allows floral wire to be inserted into. It can also be flipped over to work as a surface to roll out paste and cut out petals and leaves with cutters. I use this board.

4. MODELING TOOLS

A variety of modeling tools are necessary for making sugar flowers. A celpin or rolling pin (for rolling out gum paste and thinning petals edges), a ball tool (for thinning petal edges and creating ruffles), and a dresden tool (for scoring buds and texturizing petals). These are just a few must have modeling tools. If you have a cel pin, a ball tool is not totally necessary because you can use the cel pin the same way you use a ball tool. I recommend getting an entire set of good quality modeling tools eventually, but having these specific tools is a good start. Avoid plastic ball tools as they tend to have seams that can rip or tear your paste and they simply don’t last as long.

5. VEINERS

Veiners are used to give flower petals and leaves realistic texture. There are all purpose veiners, flower/leaf specific veiners and veining tools. If you’re just starting making sugar flowers, you can either invest in a couple all purpose veiners or you can purchase veiners specific to what flowers you plan on making for a particular project. I don’t recommend buying specific veiners unless you plan on making a lot of sugar flowers, plan on making sugar flowers in competitions or you want to ensure your flowers are as realistic as possible. For an all purpose leaf veiner, I use this one. I use this JEM veining/frilling tool for an all purpose petal veiner.

6. FLOWER/LEAF CUTTERS:

Cutters are used to cut out petal and leaf shapes. There’s many, many cutters available for many types of flowers. It’s easy to get carried away purchasing all sorts of cutters, but if you’re looking for a few to start with, purchase a few of the most popular flowers that are most frequently asked for on cakes – such as roses, peonies, hydrangea, rose leaves, etc. Keep in mind that a lot of cutters can be multi-functional. Rose cutters (both the individual petal cutters or the 5-petal variety) can be used to create roses, ranunculus and lisianthus. If you haven’t worked with sugar flowers before, most beginners start with roses. Roses can be made without wiring petals and they are very good starter flower. Once you’re ready to try individually wired petals, I would recommend making a peony. Check out my tutorial for an easy, beautiful open peony here.

7. EDIBLE ITEMS:

Of course, you will need gum paste to make your flowers. There are many different brands available, and over time you will find which one you like best. Take note of drying times, over all ease of use and also how thin the paste rolls out. You want a paste that rolls out to be super thin and is smooth and easy to work with. Note that all pastes will need to be kneaded with shortening before using for optimal results. To get the most paste for the best cost, I recommend making your own. I find that homemade gum paste is more cost efficient, one of the most higher quality pastes, easy to make and one recipe makes a lot of paste. Check out Nicholas Lodge’s recipe for gum paste here.

You will also need vegetable shortening to add moisture, prevent sticking and help with elasticity of your paste as well as cornstarch to dust your surface before rolling out your paste. You can use some cheesecloth to create a pouch filled with cornstarch, you can use a shaker sieve or you can use this one. You will also need an edible glue. You can purchase a sugar glue at the local craft store, make your own by mixing 1/4 cup warm water and marble size ball of gum paste or fondant and letting it dissolve, or you can use egg whites.

8. PETAL DUSTS:

Petal dusts are used to add additional and detailed color to your flower components. Dusting is my favorite part of the sugar making process because this is when you’re able to really bring those sugar flowers to life. Before making your flowers, you want to make sure that your paste is tinted close to the color you want your final flower to be. There are exceptions for this, like if you needed to achieve an ombre effect, for example. Using a concentrated, quality gel paste will allow you to use minimal color while still being able to achieve bright or dark colors. You want to invest in high quality concentrated dusts. Avoid petal dusts from craft stores as well as the palette dusts as they are chalky and tend to be “watered down” with cornstarch. It’s easy to go overboard buying petal dusts, so I recommend purchasing colors over time. It’s a good idea to purchase a couple shades in popular floral colors to start with. You can mix black or white dust with a some of your colors to lighten or darken your dusts a couple shades. Be careful with this technique as it should be done sparingly. The vibrancy of the colors gets lost if you try, for example, to make blush with a bright pink and white dust. Stick with food safe or FDA approved dusts if possible. There are some really amazing brands of dusts out there. Some of my favorite brands are by The Sugar Art and Crystal Colors.

9. PAINTBRUSHES:

You will need a couple different types of brushes for dusting your flowers. To start, I recommend two different style of brushes, both of which are make up brushes. The two smaller brushes on the right are ELF brand and can be found at Target and are quite affordable. I like to use make up brushes and recommend that beginners use them too because they are soft and short bristled and are fairly all purpose. The brush on the far right is more of an all over application brush while the one to the left of it is more for edging and details.

10: MISCELLANEOUS TOOLS:

Small needle nose jewelry pliers are necessary for being able to bend wires as well as helping insert and adjust flower arrangements in your cake. They act as an extension of your hand, to reach where you can’t, to prevent breaking any of your flowers. You can use scissors to cut your floral wires but once you’ve created a bulky stem, you’ll need wire cutters. Both small pliers and wire cutters can be found in the jewelry department of your local craft store.

11. STAMEN:

There is a variety of pre-made stamen for sugar flowers available. Flowers such as peonies, poppies and anemones require specific stamen for realistic looking flowers. You can make your own – tutorial coming in the future – but purchasing them does save on time. Stamens can be quite costly, especially if you’re making a lot of flowers requiring them so I recommend purchasing them as needed. I order mine from The World of Sugar Art.

12:FOAM CENTERS:

One of the most important parts of sugar flower making for cakes, is ensuring that your flowers aren’t too heavy for your cake. To help eliminate excess weight, I recommend using foam centers for flowers like roses and ranunculus. You can purchase foam balls at the local craft store and foam rose bud centers online.

13: FLOWER FORMERS:

Flower formers are used to shape and dry leaves and petals. Basic formers include bumpy/egg foam and plastic formers that can be purchased online at cake supplies stores. Formers can be purchased as needed and aren’t totally necessary but I recommend having bumpy/egg foam on hand for shaping leaves and blossom style flowers. Ask someone in the produce department of your local grocery store for a couple of the apple trays that come in boxes of apples. These foam or paper trays are perfect for shaping MANY types of petals. I use it to shape rose, peony, poppy and tulip petals. Most stores will usually give them to you for free.

There you have it – a sugar flower essentials list for those of you starting your adventure into the world of sugar flower making. More specific information involving supplies and usage will be found in most tutorials so don’t let this information overwhelm you. Tackle one flower, one project at a time. As usual, let me know if you have any questions. When you get your supplies and make your first sugar flowers, let me know! Leave a comment in the comment area below and be sure to snap a photo and tag it #littlevintagebaking on Instagram. I can’t wait to see your flower creations!

Gum Paste Peony Tutorial

February 11, 2019 By Ashley 4 Comments

Beautiful and romantic, peonies are no doubt one of the most popular and beloved flowers used for decorating wedding cakes. Their full, lush, ruffle-y shape makes them perfect for gorgeous, over-the-top floral arrangements or even on their own as a focal point statement flower. Follow this gum paste peony tutorial and you will be making gorgeous, realistic gum paste peonies for your cakes in no time. Don’t be afraid to add variety to your gum paste peony. Add more petals to make them more full or leave off a layer of petals for a small, tighter flower.

Gum Paste Peony Tutorial Supplies:

7 – 26-gauge floral wire, cut into thirds (You will need 21 pieces total)

Gum Paste – a small amount of white for the centers and paste for the petals in the color of your choosing

Medium Seed Head Stamens, white (I use these from World of Sugar of Art)

Petal Cutter Set (I use the David Austin rose cutter – the second largest cutter only – from Sugar Art Studio)

Ball Tool

Small Rolling Pin (or Cel Pin)

Sugar Glue

Flower Veiner (I use the David Austin rose veiner from Sugar Art Studio)

Dense Foam Pad (I use this set from Amazon)

Apple Crate or shallow flower petal former

Moss Green Floral Tape

Paintbrushes – for dusting

Craft Needle Nose Pliers

Wire Cutters

Groove Board (I use this one from Amazon)

Cornstarch

Vegetable Shortening

Foam Dummy – for drying

Petal Dusts (in desired colors) – I used moss green, carnation pink, and sepia

Edible paint – golden yellow

Gum Paste Peony Tutorial:

Step 1: Start by making the pistil centers. Using craft pliers, bend the end of the 26-gauge wire pieces, creating a small hook. This hook will help keep the paste attached to the flower.

Step 2: Condition the white paste by kneading it with a tiny amount of shortening, warming it, and softening it in your hands until the paste is smooth and workable. Roll a small piece of white paste (4mm, roughly the size of a pearl) into an oblong shape. Seal the remaining white paste in a zip-top bag so that it doesn’t dry out while making your pistil centers. Dip 26-gauge wire into the gum glue, wiping off the excess. Insert the wire into the paste a little more than halfway. Pinch and twist the paste at the base to adhere to the wire.

Step 3: Using the tips of your fingers, pinch the tip of the oblong shape to flatten. Using a ball tool, thin and ruffle the edges. Slightly bend the ruffles to give them shape and movement.

Step 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3 with 4 additional pieces of paste and floral wire, creating 5 pistils total. Different kinds of peonies have different quantities of pistils so feel free to experiment with more or less pistils.

Step 5: While the paste is still pliable, bunch the pistils together to form a tight center. Activate the glue on a length of floral tape by stretching it. Using the floral tape, wrap the wires tightly starting as the very base of the pistils and working downwards. Place pistil center into a piece of foam to dry overnight.

Step 6: Dust the pistil center. Using a moss green petal dust, dust the body of the pistil centers. Be sure to dust both the outside and the inside. Then, dust the ruffled tips of the pistils with bright pink.

Step 7: Paint the stamen a golden yellow with edible paint. Let dry. Separate the stamen into 4 clusters. Working with 1 cluster at a time, tape each group of stamen to the pistil center about 1/4 inch higher than the center at equal intervals. Fan the stamen out around the center. Set aside to work on the petals.

Step 8: Make the peony petals. Roll out purple paste on a groove board as thin as possible. Pick up the paste and flip over, with the groove now face up. Squeeze slightly to give the cutters a more rounded shape. Cut out the petal using the medium cutter, with the groove centered at the base and coming about 2/3 of the way up the petal. Run your finger along the edge of the cutter to allow the petal to release freely and to remove any stray bits.

Step 9: Dip the end of a piece of 26-gauge wire in gum glue. Wipe off the excess. Insert the wire into the groove, about 1/2 way up the petal, taking care to not stick the wire through the front of the petal. Pinch at the base to adhere the paste to the wire.

Step 10: Place the petal into the veiner and press down to vein the petal. If you are worried about the paste sticking, dust the veiner lightly with cornstarch before veining your petals.

Step 11: Place the petal onto a dense foam mat. Using a ball tool, thin the edges of the petal. From the edges of the petal towards the base, cup sections of the petal using the smaller ball of the ball tool, about 4-6 times per petal. Don’t worry if some of the petal edges tear. This adds more realism to your peony. Note that your petals do not all have to look the same or consistent. Make each one a bit different to make them more realistic.

Step 12: Place the petal into a shallow flower former or apple crate carton to dry. Adjust the petals by curving the tips of the petals, making each petal a bit different

Step 13: Repeat steps 8-12 to create 16 petals total.

Step 14: Once the petals are completely dry, dust with petal dust. Brush the edges and the base of the petals lightly with the sepia dust. Be sure to brush the backsides, as well.

Step 15: To assemble the flower, begin with 5 petals size petals. Gently angle the petals back, so that the petal will cup around the center and the petal wire aligns with the center wires. Wrap 2-3 petals at a time, tightly, with floral tape, placing each subsequent petal over the previous petal. Adjust the petals so that they evenly cup around the center.

Step 16: Add 6 additional petals for the second row. Gently angle the petals back so that the petal will cup around the first layer of petals and the petal wire aligns with the center wires. Wrap 2-3 petals at a time, tightly, with floral tape, placing each subsequent petal over the previous petal and in between the first layer of petals. Adjust the petals so that they are evenly spaced around the first set of petals.

Step 17: Add the last row of petals. Repeat step 16 with the 5 remaining large petals.

Step 18: Move the petals around to open and close them depending how tight or how open you want your open peony to be. I like to open my last row of petals out more to make my peony look fuller and bloomed.

Step 19: Steam your petals for 3-4 seconds to set the color and eliminate the dusty look. You can use a steamer if you have one. I use a tea kettle. You can also use a saucepan. Boil water until steaming. Carefully wave your flower through the steam. Be careful to keep your fingers out of the way as the steam is hot and cause severe burns. Set the open peony into a foam dummy to dry completely.

If you make a peony using my gum paste peony tutorial, let me know! Leave a comment in the comment area below and be sure to snap a photo and tag it #littlevintagebaking on Instagram. I love seeing your Little Vintage Baking creations!

Want to know the best supplies needed to make professional style sugar flowers? Check out my post on Essential Tools for Making Sugar Flowers!