Friday, February 1, 2013

Gum Paste Rose

This is my how-to on gumpaste roses.  It was my first time making them outside of my wilton gum paste and fondant class.  I made them for the cake I was doing for my grandparents 50th anniversary cake.  I was going for a classy, elegant cake and I knew that gumpaste flowers would be just the accents I needed.  I started making mine the week before I made the cake.  They are pretty timely (as with all cake decorating) but well worth it!

Start with a small amount of gumpaste and roll them out with two dowel rods.

Next take the smallest flower cutter.  This is the mum base of your flower so cut out as many as flowers you are making. Sorry for the chipped nail polish, forget that my pathetic attempt at an at home manicure would be getting a close up.

Next, you will roll it into a ball. So sorry for my super fuzzy picture.  I never said I wasn't an amateur!

Start by twisting one end of the ball so that it starts to elongate into a tear drop shape.  Next wet the opposite end of the teardrop and stick a sphagheti into the wide end.  I stuck my finished ones into the bottom of a styrofoam cup so it could sit upright and dry.

The height of the rose base should be the same as one of the petals of the large rose cutter.

Here is about how many I did for each cup.  I think I had about 3 cups worth of flowers.

Next, roll out your gumpaste paper thin.  The thinner you get it, the more realistic your flowers will look.  Don't forget to spread shortening out before your roll your gumpaste.  Then,  using your largest blossom cutter, cut out 1 large blossom shape for each flower and 2 medium shapes.  Use your spatula and cut a 1/2 slit between each petal toward the center of the blossom. Sorry for missing this picture:(

Keep decorating your flowers while your hardworking husband spruces up the house with a new coat of paint:)

You can kind of see the slits in this picture.  Anyways, put the blossom on a thin foam.  Hold your ball tool like a pencil and position it halfway on the blossom and half on the foam.  Slide the ball tool around the petal to outline and thin the petal edge.

Move the blossom to your thick foam and cup the center with the ball tool and press down.  Then again wet the center.

Slide your spaghetti with the mum base up the blossom.  Think of the 5 petal blossom as a stick figure, the petals corresponding to the "head," "arms," and "legs."  Brush the "head" petal with gum glue adhesive and wrap around the Rose Base.  Then, brush one "arm" and the opposite "leg" about halfway up with gum glue adhesive and attach to cover the center wrap.  Repeat with the last 2 petals, ventering them over seams of previous 2 petals.

For the second blossom cut out, prepare as you did the first one by cutting slits, ruffling, and glueing the center. Remember that the second one is the medium blossom cutout. On the thick foam, using the ball tool, press 2 "arm" petals to cup.  Turn blossom over and cup the "head" and 2 "legs."   Flip the blossom back over, and cup the center.  Brush the center of the blossom with water and thread it onto the spaghetti.  Brush the 2 "arms" with water and center them over seams of two petals of the first row.  Brush the reamining petals with water and space them evenly around the flower. 



For the thrid row, prepare the next blossom as you did previously.  Move the blossom to the thick foam.  Use the ball tool to cup all petals.  Turn over blossom and cup the center.  Brush the center and petals with water, and thread the spaghetti through the center of the blossom.  Invert the rose and let the petals fall into place naturally.  Gently press petals against the base to attach.  I turned mine upside down and gently set it down that way to dry.

and VIOLA!
To get my petals the gold color I used an airbrush that I recieved as a gift for Christmas.  Doing the petals makes the day of delivery so much easier because your accents are already done and you can just stick them on before you leave.  I added pearl sprinkles for decorations too.  My grandparents loved the cake and the party was a HUGE success!!