Spider mums belongs to the chrysanthemum family. They are
also known as football mums in the United States. Here in our country, most of the people doesn't know what it's called since it is not grown here. These flowers are imported in our country.
I've always been
fascinated with this flower. They always exudes elegance and joy on flower
arrangements. And thought that it would also do the same on cakes. This sugar flower is easy to make. Most of the techniques
I've used here are also been used in making other sugar flowers. So, I hope you will enjoy making them as much
as I did.
To start, here are the things needed to make this flower.
Colored gumpaste - I find that
using gumpaste for sugar flowers worked
best for this project . Gumpaste was tinted with mint green+yellow gel food colors.
Daisy cutters (generic plungers or PME)
Ball tool
Veiner tool
Leaf
/ Dresden modelling tool
Pliers
Sharp craft knife
Rolling pin
Foam pad
Scissors
Cutting mat
Florist
wires gauge #20 or #22
Floral tape
Water or edible glue
clean small paint brush (new)
Never-been-used egg carton and Flower formers
This flower is heavy. Therefore, you need a thick wire to
support its weight. Since I don't have a #20 gauge Florist wire at hand, I made
used of 4 #22 gauge floral wires and wrap it with a green floral tape. Make a
loop on one end and set aside.
Make a small ball of green gumpaste to make a bud and, inset
floral wire. With a small scissors, Snip half way thru gumpaste to create the
flower's bud features. Set aside and let it dry. Also when you’re drying your
sugar flowers and buds, do not leave them exposed to humidity. The sugar
flowers will not dry. Instead, it will soften and sometimes becomes mushy or
melted. What you can do is place your sugar flowers and buds in a controlled
area, it could be a cupboard, or a clean corrugated box with a dehumidifier or
desiccant packets. This way you can keep moisture at bay.
When the bud has dried, roll out gumpaste about four millimeter thick. Cut out six daisy petals, choose a size that will cover 3/4 of your bud. Cut each petal into two. Thin down petals if needed by rolling it out with a rolling pin. To create the cupped/curled look of the petals, use the leaf tool and apply pressure from the tip of the petal down to the base. Repeat to all petals.
Dab a small amount of edible glue and thread it through the
wire and attach it on the dried bud. For
the first two petals, stick it half way through the bud. Arrange petals, pinch
lightly. Hang it upside down as you worked on the other petals. Once the remaining four
petals are curled, dab a little water and again, thread it through the wire and
attach it on the prepared bud. Arrange the petals, pinch lightly. Let it dry
upside down or thread it through on the egg carton preferably the paper ones. I
found out that it dries more quickly on them than the styro type.
Using the next larger size, Cut another four daisy flowers. Cut each petal into 2 and this time use the veiner tool. Run it through the petal starting from the tip down to the base. Be careful not to push too hard or your petals will tear. Don't worry if you lost a petal or two, it will be concealed by the next petal
For the last set of petals, you need a larger cutter . If you don't have one :) don't worry, just use the previous cutter you used and thin it out using your ball tool to stretch out each petal. Again, cut it into 2 and do the same just like the second batch of flowers. Dry flowers either by hanging it on a drying rack or on a flower former. Or you may improvise by using a crumpled foil and lay it on an egg carton.
A closer look of the finished Spider Mum. For a fuller look, You may add more petals (bigger in size than the last set of petals)
Notes and Tips:
. 1. For the Bud, I find it easier to use the angled scissors in
snipping the gumpaste as it naturally cut the curves needed for the curled
effect.
2. It is important that the bud is completely dried
from inside out before attaching the petals. Drying time depends on the size of
your ball and the weather in your area. If it’s raining and humid it will take 5
days to a week . If it’s hot and sunny, it will take 2 days, 3 days at the
most.
3 3.
When using aluminium foil as flower formers, the
bottom will not dry together with the top. There’s no air circulating
underneath that will aid in drying the gumpaste. What you can do is after
drying the sugar flower overnight, you can transfer it to the egg carton with
crumpled paper towels in the bottom to support and retain the form of the
petals. Also you can use the crumpled wax papers or parchment paper. Just make
sure that the bottom of your sugar flower is not wet and or have excess gumglue or the paper will stick onto the
sugar flower and it would be difficult to remove it once the gumpaste is dried.
Also, the petals are thin and is delicate when fully dried.
You can view more photos of the flower on my Facebook page
You can view more photos of the flower on my Facebook page
Enjoy :)
Donna
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