gum paste flowers

A friend of mine is getting married near the end of September and she had an interest in having gum paste flowers on her wedding cake.  I offered to make some for her because I love this type of sugar art.  Initially, she was going to have real Cymbidium orchids placed all around her three tiered round cake but she also liked the delicate look of sugar gum paste flowers and the color blue.  So, she asked for me to make some blue gum paste flowers that was a hybrid of a Cymbidium orchid and pictures of blue flowers that she found on the internet.  I was able to make the flower above.  Currently, I’m working on making bigger ones with a few more changes.  I’ll post pictures of those when I’m done.

This is my first time making a different type of gum paste flower other than a rose.  I went to my local cake decorating store and was able to find so many cutters for all types of flowers.  You can also find orchid flower cutters offered by Wilton or basic ones in your local craft store like Michael’s.  Because I modified this flower, I don’t have specific instructions on how to make it but I can provide some useful tips:

• research the type of flower you are going to make, pay attention to the anatomy of the flower so you can easily understand how to put it together
• don’t roll out the gum paste too thin because once you use your cutter for the petals, you will thin it out some more with your ball tool
• depending on the size of your cutter, try not to roll the gum paste too thick because the shape will expand when you use your ball tool to thin out the edges
• a very small ball tool is useful to gently pinch the edges of the petals to create a slightly ruffled edge
• use tissue to place underneathe the petals to create volume
• make sure to let the flower dry for a few days to harden

It took a lot of patience and trial by error for me.  The gumpaste dries fast when you’re working with it so I had to learn to work quickly but carefully.  Although, the gumpaste dries quickly, you still need a couple of days for the flower to dry completely.  That, I learned along the way because I miscalculated when the flowers would be ready.  Overall, I’m looking forward to making more gum paste flowers and sharing them with others.