Call me ambitious, but I just attempted my first gumpaste flower. It's a little lopsided (but I'm blaming the instructions for that!) and not as thinly rolled as it could be but otherwise ok. Not easy in midsummer heat!
How do you dry them? I tried hanging it upside down but it slipped off the wire...now have it supported with plastic wrap in my strainer

Jasley,

I can feel your excitement I am practicing flower-making also.

I got a lot of the apple crate styrofoam holders that they ship apples on from the produce section...they are great

I am not sure what type of flower you are making, but if it is one with a center, say a rose or a tulip, you need to bend a very small open hook at the end of the wire, either with your fingernail or a pair of tweezers. Dip just the hook into gum glue, push the hook into the flower center from the bottom about 3/4 of the way up, then gently pull back out a ways until you feel the hook catch inside the center, pinch the paste at the bottom where it meets the wire to secure it. Stick the wired center into a piece or block of styrofoam to dry completely, then you build your thinned flower petals on or around the dried center. At that point you can then make a large hook in the end of the wire, insert the hook into a block of styrofoam, weight it down with something like a can of soup to keep the foam from tipping over. Move the foam to the edge of your table or counter top and allow the flower to hang upside down suspended in air so it is not touching the surface. Allow to dry for several hours or overnight. The flower is then ready for petal dust and steaming, taping the stem with floral wire, adding a calyx if it is called for.

Your flower is falling off for two reasons, the wire doesn't have a hook to hold the center in place when it is suspended upside down and you are attaching petals before the center has dried. The weight of the petals and gravity will pull the whole flower off the wire.

Ahhhh, thanks to both of you. Will do it that way next time. What is steaming?

After your flowers are completely dried you dust them with petal dusts to deepen the color, or maybe luster dust to add a pearl look or shine. Once you have done that if you bring a pan of water to almost a boil, so it is producing lots of steam. hold the flower upside down over the steam and move the wire back and forth between your thumb and index finger so it spins slowly, that way the steam will hit all the areas, sides and top, don't forget to do the backs as well, only hold it over the steam until it begins to shine, too long and it will soften and melt the gumpaste. Stick the wired flower into styrofoam to dry and don't touch the colored areas while damp or it will remove the color and leave a white spot. Steaming is done to set the color so it doesn't flake off on your iced cake, it also deepens the color and adds a bit of shine.

Doh........what's gum glue? I am letting my ignorance show here...I too have been having trouble getting flowers to stay on the wires. Please inlighten me further "Yoda"......

Take a little of your gumpaste - about 1/4 tsp and put it into a small bowl. Add some water - about 1 Tbsp and let it dissolve. Not sure of the exact measurements. When I did mine it looked a little thinner than Elmers Glue

i'll also add that I find steaming most successful when the flower has been allowed to dry at least 24 hours, preferably even maybe 2 days.

I use 1 tsp gum arabic to 1 oz water. I put mine it a little glass jar but want to get empty nail polish bottle from beauty supply store.

Holding flower over steam will help set the luster dust color.

When your fondant or flowerpaste is still soft,just wetting the hooked wire with water should be enough, I stick my flowers into a block of florists oasis to dry - but it does depend on what flowers they are as to how you dry them

Hope that helps

julie

Hi Shirley, yes, some decorators do do that but I haven't tried it yet.

Love your work BTW Shirley

julie

Shirley, You should write a CC gumpaste book

Or maybe you have, and I'm too dumb to look for it

I use the method taught to me by my tutor to get the wire to stick in the cone = 'candling'

You form your cone of flower paste then heat the wire over an open flame until it is glowing hot then stick it into the cone - the wire melts the sugar and fixes it to the wire.

Works a treat! No more rose falling off their wires

I still have lots of work to do on flowers, but I would really love totry steaming.

Sheesh, for a moment there I got all excited thinking Shirley was back! Then I saw the dates -- drats!