Gum Paste Hydrangeas

There are several different ways to make gum paste hydrangeas. You can wire them to create a realistic looking ball of hydrangea flowers or place them individually on the cake. Here I will demonstrate them on a wire.

There are also several different types of cutters. They can even be made with no cutters at all. I am using a cutter set that presses the veins into both the petals and the leaves.

The petals I'm using in this demonstration are a two-piece set to make the hydrangeas realistically overlap eachother.

 

Gum Paste Hydrangea Supplies:

I begin by cutting white covered 24 gauge wire into 4-5 inch pieces. Using pliers, bend a small loop at the top.










I have already made a mold of the center of the hydrangea using the plastic center that comes in a silk hydrangea flower. I combined a pea size piece of white and blue silicone (available at Makeyourownmolds.com), flattened it slightly, and placed the plastic hydrangea center in the middle to set up overnight. This is a great way to make flower centers which can save a lot of time.

If you'd rather create the hydrangea center without a mold, roll a tiny ball of gum paste in the palm of your hand. Maybe 1/8" wide. Slightly elongate it. Dip the end of the wire into the gum glue, wiping off the excess. Place the looped end of the wire into the smaller end of the gum paste ball. Shape the ball around the wire to make it stick. Using a needle scriber tool, poke a tiny hole in the top of the ball. Then draw a line from the hole all the way to the base of the ball. Do this 4 times, always beginning from the hole.

Using the mold to form the gum paste hydrangea center, roll a tiny ball of gum paste in the palm of your hand and press it into the mold. Dip the end of the wire into gum glue, wiping off the excess, and then place it in the center of your mold, pushing the excess gum paste around the wire to both make it adhere and to help lift the center out of the mold. The end of the wire will show slightly at the top of your ball.

If you want to continue to adjust the shape, you can form the base of the ball around the wire. Use your scribing tool as needed to achieve the look you want.

Stand your centers in styroam and let's move on to the petals.

Gum Paste Hydrangea Buds

To create the buds, roll a small ball of gum paste in the palm of your hand. It should be about 1/4" wide.

You'll be using 24 gauge wire again here, also with a small loop where the gum paste will be inserted.

Dip the looped end of the wire into gum glue and wipe off the excess. (If you use too much gum glue, the gum paste ball will roll all over the place). Place the looped end of the wire into the gum paste ball and pinch the bottom of the ball around the wire to make it stay in place.

Hold your fingers just below the gum paste ball to keep it in place. Make a hole in the top of the ball with any pointy tool. Use either a needle scriber or an exacto blade (which I like) to draw 4 lines coming from the center hole, all the way down the sides of the ball.

These 4 lines will divide the ball equally in 4, making a criss cross marking on the top. If you need to poke the hole at the top again, do so. Set the bud in syrofoam to dry.

Gum Paste Hydrangeas - Petals

Roll out a piece of gum paste on the cell board until it's very thin, but not transparent.

Press the cutter firmly and make 2 sets of petals. Remove the excess gum paste. (These cutters have veining in them already, but if your cutters don't have veins, use the petal veiner and roll it from the center of the petal outwards on all petals.)

Turn the petal upside down and place them on the foam. Use the ball tool to soften the edges of the petals. Place the ball tool half on and half off of the edge of the petal and roll all around the petal edge.





Turn the petals back over. Using a small paintbrush, place a tiny dot of gum glue in the center of one of the petal sets. Place the other petal set on top. Arrange the petals so the lower ones lay on top of the upper petals.

Paint a dot of gum glue around the base of your hydrangea gum paste center. Poke the wire through the center of the petals and pull it down until the center rests on top of the flower.

Some of your flowers will be open and others more closed to create a natural look.

For your closed flowers, turn the wire upside down, bend the bottom and hang it from a wire rack to dry.

For your open flowers, you will need to place a square of aluminum foil in your flower former.









Take the end of the wire and poke it through the center of the aluminum foil and pull the flower through until it rests in the aluminum cup you have created.

Bend some of the petals to give some movement to the flowers. Set the aluminum cups on the top of the wire rack so the wire goes down between and the flower rests on the top of the rack.

Leave your flowers to dry overnight before dusting them with petal dust It's a good idea to make extra flowers since they do break easily..

Coloring the Gum Paste Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas range from white, lavender, pink and blue. You'll even find different colors on the same plant. When they first open, their colors are bright, but the longer they are open, the more bleached the colors become from the sun. With that in mind, you can vary the shades and intensity to create a natural look to your flowers.

I have dusted the center with daffodil petal dust. The edges of the flowers were dusted with royal purple and blended towards the center. Further down the petal, fuschia petal dust is blended both into the purple and the yellow. The center was dusted with a touch of moss green. Repeat the same colors on the underside. When done, steam the flowers and allow them to dry before wrapping each stem with florist tape.

Create bunches of hydrangea flowers by wrapping florist tape around two stems at at time, using the buds to fill in spaces. The wires must be bent about 1 inch down from the flower so you can fit the flowers together.




 

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