We make it easy...You make it amazing!™

free shipping on all orders $50 or more

Welcome, to view or update your account click here. Sign out

RECIPE BOX // SHOPPING CART 0 items - $0.00 // CHECKOUT // SHOPPING LIST

Discussion Forum

login

Wilton Makes Summer Sweet - Shop Now through May 23 and Save

FORUMS > Advanced Gum Paste Flowers Wilton Method Course

< REFRESH >

Topic Title: Blossom gum paste
Created On Tuesday July 03, 2012 10:34 PM

View thread in raw text format

Elizabeth's creations
Posts: 37

Posted: Tuesday July 03, 2012 10:34 PM

When you thread the wrapped wire and stamen, doesnt the hole of the blossom become too big and then fall off. I am threading it from underneath correct? Also having a tough time wrapping the stamen and wire. Any help? Do they need to be fresh and soft or can I leave them to dry for a couple of minutes? Thanks, Elizabeth

Report Violation

Spooky_789
Posts: 4233

Posted: Friday July 06, 2012 2:54 PM

I have problems with them too. I try not to go all the way to the end, and pinch around the bottom, to attach to the wire.

Report Violation

rowantree
Posts: 27

Posted: Saturday July 07, 2012 9:17 PM

The key is to wrap very thinly. It helps to cut your tape in half lengthwise if you can't get the narrow tape, should be about 1/4" wide at the most. Fold it up until you have a bundle closely stacked and only about 4" long, then hold it firmly and cut all at once with scissors.

Stretch the first half inch and wrap it once tight and straight around the tip of the wire and the beginning of the stamen stem under the pearl--this is the hardest part, just pinch it really tight and roll your thumb till it sticks and wraps once-- then tilt it to a downward angle, stretching it as you go and wrap it as tightly and thinly as possible. Also, make sure you fit the stamen so that the wire is right at the base of the little pearl part.

To attach the wire to the flower, I place the blossom on my index and middle fingers, so that the center is above the [almost non-existent] space between, and add a drop of gum paste glue, then stick the wire in,holding the flower in place and sliding the wire between my fingers. Then at the end, I can press it gently with my other index finger to sort of pinch the gum paste at the bottom against the wire.

Report Violation

sammibelle
Posts: 6

Posted: Tuesday July 10, 2012 7:04 AM

I spent HOURS one night trying to make the blossoms. Every time I thought I finally had one that would work, I'd hang it on the flower rack to dry and inevitably, within a few minutes, I'd hear the very soft "thunk" of it falling off the wire and landing on the table.

So here's what I finally ended up doing and it works really well. (Even my teacher liked it!)

First, I'm not sure what you mean when you say you are threading it from underneath - you should be going through the top. You don't want to push the pearl part of the stamen through the blossom, that will make the whole even bigger. So you have the blossom in your hand (kind of in between your fingers like rowantree explained) and you poke the wire (the end without the stamen) through the top of the blossom.

So then I put the blossom on the wire and ran it up to about 1/4 of an inch from the end (where the pearl is) but not quite all the way where I wanted it to end up. Then I made a little ball of the same colored fondant, probably a little bit smaller than a pea. I poked the wire through it and ran it up to almost where the blossom was and put a little bit of gum paste glue on it and then slid it all the way to the blossom so they would stick together. Then I kind of slid the whole thing the rest of the way up to the pearl on the stamen while pinching my little "ball" onto the wire. After that not one of them fell apart! And I actually thinks it looks a little bit better too because it seemed like once you tried to pinch just the blossom on to the wire, it ended up really thin and uneven.

I hope that makes sense. Basically the problem is that there is really almost nothing there to pinch on to the wire to hold the blossom in place. So I just found a way to add a little bit more gum paste underneath it to have something to hold it on the wire.

Sorry, I can't help with the tape wrapping though... Grrrr......

Report Violation

Spooky_789
Posts: 4233

Posted: Tuesday July 10, 2012 12:48 PM

Sammi, can you post pictures of how you do your blossoms?

Thanks.

Report Violation

DeanneC
Posts: 45

Posted: Wednesday July 11, 2012 7:14 PM

I switched to using small pearl beads and wire for the centers. They look a lot prettier and the falling apart problem is solved.

Report Violation

sammibelle
Posts: 6

Posted: Thursday July 12, 2012 1:09 AM

Hi Spooky, I'll post some pictures this weekend.

Report Violation

sammibelle
Posts: 6

Posted: Thursday July 12, 2012 1:10 AM

Hi Deanne,

Interesting idea. How do you attach the bead to the wire?

Report Violation

DeanneC
Posts: 45

Posted: Friday July 13, 2012 6:10 PM

Run a 5" wire throught the bead, fold it in half and twist it until the bead in on there tight...like you do when you close a bread wire tie. :-)

Report Violation

sammibelle
Posts: 6

Posted: Wednesday July 25, 2012 1:56 AM

Sorry it took me so long to post this. And let me just say up front that I was making some flowers last weekend and had finished and was cleaning up when I remembered that I needed to make the blossom to take some pictures. So I ended up using some gum paste that was getting a little hard and this blossom doesn't really look great, but it will give you the idea of how I do this. Oh, and I didn't feel like taping a pearl on the wire either so there is a hook at the end of my wire where the pearl would be. :-)

Step 1 picture - You have the blossom in your hand (kind of in between your fingers like rowantree explained) and you poke the wire (the end without the stamen) through the top of the blossom.

Step 2 picture - Push the wire down to about 1/4 of an inch from the end (where the pearl is) but not quite all the way where you want it to end up.

Step 3 picture - I made a little ball of the same colored fondant, probably a little bit smaller than a pea. I poked the wire through it and ran it up to almost where the blossom was (Step 4 picture) and then put a little bit of gum paste glue on the ball and then slid it all the way to the blossom so they would stick together. Then I kind of slid the whole thing the rest of the way up to the pearl on the stamen while pinching my little "ball" onto the wire. And I shaped the little ball into more of a cone shape.

Last picture shows one finished.

That extra gum paste just allows you to have a little bit more to attach to the wire. And like I said, I think I actually like the way it looks with that little "cone" underneath it.

Anyway, hope this helps you guys. I love these flowers but was about to give up on them until I figured this out.

	Finished.jpeg (8 KB)
	Step 1.jpeg (19 KB)
	Step 2.jpeg (15 KB)
	Step 3.jpeg (17 KB)
	Step 4.jpeg (14 KB)

Report Violation

atomicladie
Posts: 382

Posted: Sunday August 12, 2012 10:47 AM

I just took that course, and we were not told to put the little ball under it, and wish we were, it will help a lot. I found that learning to wrap the wire real tight made a smaller hole, but that takes practice. Mine did get better as I went along, and only had one that kept falling off. I think the wrapped wire was just to thick and making to big of a hole. I finally threw that wire away, as much as I hated to. Thanks for the pictures, showed me what to do to improve it.

Report Violation

sammibelle
Posts: 6

Posted: Tuesday August 14, 2012 11:28 AM

What was their reason for telling you not to use the little ball? My teacher loved it and I bet she's making hers that way and teaching it now!

Report Violation

sammibelle
Posts: 6

Posted: Tuesday August 14, 2012 11:36 AM

I just re-read my post and realized that I said I made the little ball out of fondant. That's not right. It was either plain gum paste or gum paste colored with fondant

Report Violation

ladymac
Posts: 136

Posted: Tuesday August 14, 2012 7:56 PM

You can also pinch the bottom of the flower a little bit so that it closes around the wire.

Report Violation

atomicladie
Posts: 382

Posted: Friday August 17, 2012 3:49 PM

I tried pinching around the bottom and it pretty much worked, but the ball would have been the way to go. Not really sure why we were not told to put the ball on the bottom. I must say our instructor was really lazy!!!

Never gets out of her seat to check to see what we are doing. I had another instructor for the old classes one and two and she was so much better. I retook the new class one and two with the current instructor and I was helping others in the class because she would not even get up to help them learn how the get the proper pressure when doing shells to get them to come out right. It was just a refresher for me, and was glad to help others, but she is the one getting paid and should be helping.

After taking the classes with two different instructors, I must say, some are much better than others. I did,fine because I have experience doing a lot of the things, but felt really bad for others that had never decorated anything.

Report Violation

Spooky_789
Posts: 4233

Posted: Friday August 17, 2012 6:00 PM

I don't think the little ball at the bottom is taught by WMIs, as you won't see it in the book. But it is GENIOUS! Thanks again for sharing this great tip!

Report Violation

View thread in raw text format

FORUMS > Advanced Gum Paste Flowers Wilton Method Course

< REFRESH >