Start by making the sugar flowers.
For the peonies:
Steps 1a-c.
Colour the gum paste to a subtle pink with Rose
colouring. With the peony cutter, cut out four petals
with the #1 cutter and four with the #2 cutter. Press
each petal into a floral petal veiner. Place on a foam pad
and lightly thin/frill the top of each petal only.
Steps 2a & b.
Insert a 22 gauge green wire into the 2” Styrofoam ball
with a hot glue gun. Take the gum glue, coat the back
of each #1 petal and gently place the four petals so
they overlap the top of the ball. Continue with the rest
of the #2 petals surrounding the four starting petals.
Once partially hardened, I find it best to apply colour
between petal sets to achieve shading in all areas.
Using Peony Pink, shade the centre and outer edges of
the peony, then hang to dry.
Steps 3a & b.
Cut out five petals with the #3 cutter. Again, press into
the floral veiner and frill the edges. Place all petals in a
petal former for 20-25 minutes until firm to the touch,
but not fully dry. Once firm, shade the inner petal.
Attach each petal with the gum glue and hang to dry.
Once firm, apply colour on the outer edges.
Steps 4a-c.
Roll out gum paste over the groove board and cut
out six petals with the #4 cutter. Once cut, dip a 22
gauge white wire into the gum glue and insert into the
channel on the back of the petal. Press the wired petals
into the veiner and lastly, frill all the top edges of each
petal on the foam board. Leave to dry overnight in a
petal former. Once dry, apply colour on the inner and
outer edges of each petal.
Step 5.
Take each wired petal, one by one, and attach by
wrapping the floral tape around both the central flower
and petal wires, making sure they are secured tightly
together. Remember to pull the floral tape to make
sure you activate it, or it will not work effectively. Once
finished, add any additional colour with the petal dust
to create more depth in any areas needed. Petal dust is
optional, but I feel it gives a more natural raw look.
3b 4a
2b 3a
1c 2a
1a 1b
5
4b 4c