Soften The Petals Edges

I love making gumpaste flowers and leaves look realistic  The way I create this affect is by both shaping the petal or leaves and adding the petal dust.

Here are a few extra steps to take while making your flower or leaf to add a more realistic look.

Start by cutting out your petal and softening the edge lightly, you shouldn't ruffle it. Just smoothing the sides of any harsh cuts really

Right petal is slightly softened

Take a Dresden tool or another tool with a similar tip. Now just along the very, very edge of the petal pull outward the edges with the tip of the Dresden tool. It is almost like shredding it a bit. You don't need to do it much or to heavily. You still want to keep it realistic looking

Rememer: only the very, very edge

Pulling the very tip out just slightly

After you vein your leaf take a small rounded tool such as a celstick or ball tool and run it along the very, very edge to soften. All you want to do is blend and shape it just a bit more.
  

Remember: stay along the edge or you will loose your veining.

Veined the leaf

Softening the edges of the veined leaf

Here is the leaf with the right side complete. 

See how it looks a bit more natural looking.

The petal when it is complete

The Beautiful Open Rose

Flipping the pages of my Gumpaste flower books I came across the open Rose in Pale Pink.  It caught my eye with it soft flowing petals.

Doing a bit of photo research online I save several photos I like to use as reference. Here is just one!

Sample of a real Open Rose

To get started I went through my cutters and tools choosing what I thought might work. I colored my gumpaste and with the photo in front of me and the gumpaste book as reference I began making the flower.



Here are the tools I have decided to use...

Tools to get started making a Gumpaste Open Rose

and I won't know for sure what works best until I make my first flower.

Cut out the tear drop shape and with the smaller cutter, cut out the tip. I used this method instead of a heart cutter, because it is not as full.

A Petal

 Then I soften the edges and shape the petal slightly...

Softening  Petal

I also hand cut the heart shape with scissors to give some petals a different look.

Cutting out shape

After I soften the petals I shape them and lay them to dry in different shapes.. 

Drying  petals

I am in the process of completing the Open Roses.. I will post a photo and some additional info in the next blog post at the end of this week...