The Mishaps of Flower Making

I have a very long list of flowers I would love to make and I hope to get to them all one day and will make a great effort. I look on line for flowers I like and then save them to remind me. 

Getting Ready to make the Dahlia

I came across a Purple Dahlia that I just had to make and put it at the top of my list. It might have been the wonderful purple color (you can see in the photo) or maybe I thought I could make it quickly being it was just one cutter in different sizes and not a lot of shaping needed to be done to the petals. Or it could been both. 

So this where the mishap begins. Sometimes when I look at a flower I forget to notice how the petals are layered or how they come together to make the whole flower. With gumpaste once you make the petal and it dries you can't reshape it.  But, they don't always come out as I expect.  I sometimes shape them wrong, or I forgot to curve it so all the petals fit nicely.. Things do happen and for these petals I didn't shape them right.

Just a few of the petals

I made lots and lots of petals that didn't fit together too nicely.. But, I figured it out and worked with it.. I started to assemble it and  it ended up looking pretty good. But, when I was almost done wiring the flower, it just slipped from my hand and fell only about 8 inches onto the apple crate. A good many of the petals broke. They were very fragile being so thin. 

The Broken Dahlia

Well, I have long ago learned not to fret, just make more petals and move on.. So, that is what I did. Since many of the petals didn't fit together I just made almost all new petals.. The best part is the second one came out better than the first one.. 

The finished 2nd gumpaste Dahlia

Shaping Gumpaste Flowers

The most asked question I get is...

How do you make your flowers look so real???? 

To make a flower look real takes a bit of time and patient, but it is well worth it. 

And being I love to make flowers it isn't work at all.   

It is partly the shaping and partly the coloring.. 

My little tips...

Placing petals...

You really don't want to just lay your petals on a foam pad to dry. You want to place them to dry in the shape you would like them to look. You also don't want to shape them all exact like little soldiers, so if you just shape each one a bit differently it really can make all the difference.

laying the petals in the shapes I want them dry

Using tissue and napkins...

After you place your petal in its shape and it just won't stay add some support to that area. Use tiny bits of tissue or napkins or foam to place under the petals so they won't sink or start to fall down in the areas you shaped.

pieces of napkin added for support

added pieces of napkin to hold up for support 

What can I use to dry petals in...

You don't have to just use the ready made styrofoam shapers that are sold for gumpaste flowers, you can get a little creative. Use things that have the curve you are looking for. Here are a few samples of what I do.. I tend to use the avocado and apple crates the most, using both sides depending how I want to dry the flowers. Foil works good for the petals you want less of a curve to but still want some motion.

Some ideas to dry and shape your petals with

Styrofoam gumpaste petal shapers

Apple and avocado crates the back side

Wilton formers with tinfoil laid over it and the use of the backside

Plumeria Class

I had my first class at Laguna Culinary Arts, in Laguna Beach a couple of weeks ago. This is a lovely culinary school with a Professional Chef program, catering and special events, wine and cheese shop, and specialty classes. 

I had 4 students who never worked with gumpaste and are not decorators, they just thought the class sounded fun and signed up.. I love to teach those who never worked with gumpaste. The first thing I usually hear them saying is I can never make a flower that looks like that, meaning mine. I tell them oh yes you can all you need is patient. You will leave with a wonderful flower arrangement.

We were making plumeria's, leaves, and buds.. Day 1 I talked a bit about gumpaste and the tools, gave them a demo and told them not to be afraid of it.. It is only sugar and they can redo it if need be.  Before every new petal or leaf I gave a demo since it is easier for someone to follow right after seeing it done. They did a bang up job making 4 plumeria's, a couple of buds and some leaves. They were very excited to come back the next day to add the color. I told them I look on line for coloring ideas.

Day 2 when they returned they all had photos and were ready to go.. Giving a short demo on how to apply the color, shading, over dusting, and some rules like not to dip brushes in different colors, and to go lightly when adding the color since you can always add but it is hard to take away.. This day ran over a bit which was fine and they all finished their flowers. The only thing they didn't have time to do was tape and arrange them so I did it for them. I think they were too excited to see what they made put together and didn't want to wait..

They told me they had a great time and all of them were very happy with what they made.. I think they all did a fantastic job and hopefully they will take my next class there, succulents.

Colette's Custom Wedding Cake

When I decided to sell sugar flowers I contacted Colette's Cakes in Fullerton, sending her samples of the sugar flowers I make. It was the right timing since she was looking for someone to make custom flowers for some of her cake orders. We met and I brought samples and we started to work together. I made a few sample cakes for her showroom displaying the sugar flowers and I made an over sized succulent for a cake she has on display at the Hilton Waterfront Hotel where I live.

When you visit Colette's Custom Wedding Cakes she has dedicated a page to my sugar flowers. It was very exciting to see them displayed on her site.

Last week Colette called for one large fantasy Peony in all white with lavender/purple center. Sometimes creating fantasy flowers are a challenge since I like to make all flowers lifelike modeled after real ones. But, they are fun to make since it is my decision how they will look. Colette sent me a photo for this one and all I had to do was replicate it, and although the photo was hazy I did replicate it pretty spot on...

The photo Colette sent me of the fantasy Peony

The fantasy flower I made

The finished cake Colette's Catering made with the fantasy Peony I made

I supplied Colette with addtional larger petals in case they wanted a bigger fuller flower. And as you can see she preferred to have a fuller flower adding the additional large petals.

 

Simply Layered Cake Design

Ultimate Cake Off (TV Show)

I wrote once before about my friend Christy who is the owner of Simply Layered. We became friends interning at "Let Them Eat Cake" in Costa Mesa several years ago where we were both interning. After we went our separate ways.

It truly is a small world after all.

About 2 years ago I was at work at my day job and ran into Christy in the parking lot where she worked her day job just around the corner from me. She was building her business and I changed paths to making sugar flowers. We caught up a bit and became friends. She began ordering sugar flowers from me and soon after I started helping her out at times with her orders. It was fun to decorate again.

Her business has grown a lot since we first met and she moved to a bigger rental kitchen. She has also expanded her offering from decorated cakes to include a variety of the best tasting baked goods all made from scratch.  Christy began supplying local Huntington Beach restaurants with her baked goods on a regular basis and hopefully it won't end with just the two.

Mini Treats

The fun part is helping test recipes and assist when I get a chance. I am slow but it's very fun. Who knew how many dishes need to be washed throughout the day.. I really earn all the treats she gives me just from doing the dishes.  

At the end of this month April is the annual "Taste of Huntington Beach". This is where many local restaurants and other food vendors share what they make.. last year Simply Layered won best dessert and this years display and desserts have already been chosen. Only a couple of weeks away and I am very excited to see it all come together.  Can't give away what she is making, but I can say it will be extremely tasty and fun...

The link to see all the fun from last year...   The Taste of Huntington

And how can I forget... I made some sugar flowers for part of her display, so as soon as the event is over I will post some pictures and write a little something...

It's all in the details

Long before sugar flowers I was an avid stitcher... I always loved to create art that was very detailed and intricate. It was my visit to Sweden many years ago I first saw Hardanger stitching which originated in Scandinavia I have read. There were table runners, pillow covers, curtains, table doilies and much, much more created with the type of stitching.

This was my first big project and I added clear beads to it

Hardanger two tone thread and clear beads

You begin with linen cloth and stitch the anchor stitches in a ladder pattern. These are the stitches after your pattern is complete you cut out leaving an empty space. Then with a finer thread you add the stitching patterns that create the lace look.

You shouldn't rush while making Hardanger pieces, since you don't want to cut the wrong sides of the anchor stitches. Yes, I have done that before and yes I was able to fix it but it wasn't fun.

I would give these away as gifts but many I have kept. If ever I should stop making gumpaste flowers I just might pick this up again. But, that won't be for a long long time...

Getting creative

3 styles of needle holders

2 sachets and a table doily

As much as I love to stitch, I think I am more hooked on sugar flowers.. One day I will be able to incorporate both into my life..