Rosebuds

I recently got back into cake decorating. This time it's focusing on making flowers. We started out making flowers from "cookie' cutters. That was okay but I found it boring! I just rolled out the fondant/ gum paste then cut my shape. I could layer it but there wasn't much of my design involved in it. The second flower we worked on was a Pansie. Here I came alive. We still used a cookie cutter to make the flower, but we used tools to thin out & shape the petals. I felt like my creativity was coming alive. I started to combine colors & make more 2 toned flowers that faded into each other.

I decided to search Youtube for some tutorials on icing, fondant, & certain flowers I like. I found a few videos that I liked that gave some great tips. One of those featured roses made of fondant. When I took my original cake decorating class I never could maser the buttercream rose. Watching this video I thought it might be easier. It was. As I worked with the fondant it brought back memories of childhood when I played with Silly Putty. The pulling, twisting, & stretching of the soft pliable fondant was fun & relaxing. I began to get in my zone. I do that when I paint, draw, or bring out my creative side. It may not be the best but I'm in a zone and I'm free to be me.
I like color variations & I love to see hues blend together that remind me of sunsets etc. Therefore I started experimenting with color variations. In the Video it was recommended to put the rose buds on wire and stand them in Styrofoam to dry. I didn't have any on hand, but I did find that a package of streamer worked just as well. Out of the flowers I've made so far these are my favorite & I wasn't critical on myself as I was with the others. This was my first time doing this rose. While I haven't mastered it, I feel like I accomplished a lot with this challenge. On to the next one...stay tuned!