Sarah's Sunflowers

I’ve never done a tutorial before, so please bare with me and if anything isn’t clear, I’d be happy to answer questions about any of the steps. I chose to do a tutorial on my sunflower because I’ve had the most requests asking how to make them. Next will be my lion or elephant figurine, but my favorite thing to make are flowers.

1. Begin with a slightly flattened ball of gumpaste or fondant/gumpaste mix.
   

1. Use a small strainer and press down to make an impression on the flattened round.
   
   

1. Use scissors with a pointed tip to make little snips all around the edge of the flattened round. (I have two little girls so we have a lot of “safety” scissors, but you’ll need to use the ones that are not rounded on the end)
   

1. After going around the outside, continue inward leaving a bit of space in the center where the impression of the strainer is.
   
   

1. Use a sharp knife to make a star-like design in the center.
   
   

1. Next you’ll be adding color to the center. I use these powder colors that I picked up from a chocolate factory in Lititz, PA. They are exactly like the Wilton color dust, only you get 5X as much for a fraction of the cost. The skinny vile in this picture is the Wilton brown, the others are from Lititz. Then just begin by choosing the blacks/browns and tans that you want to use for the center and brush them in an outward motion from the center.
   
   
   

1. The last step of the Sunflower center is to add a bit of moisture to the powder color and just dab over the dry paint you’ve already brushed on. You can use your liquid of choice, some folks use vodka or alcohol. Anything that dries off quickly would work. After this step, you can let your center set to dry a bit, but don’t allow it to dry out completely because you’ll need it to be a bit soft so you can insert your petals. I cover mine with a bowl until my petals are ready to insert.
   
   

Petals

1. To begin, I use the largest of the Wilton daisy cutter set (around $3.99 from most craft stores)
   

1. Roll gumpaste somewhat thickly, since you’ll be flattening it out.
   

1. Cut out the flower shape, then using a sharp knife, separate each petal. Cover and set aside the petals that you are not working on so they don’t dry out.
   

1. Using a ball rolling tool, roll down the center, then soften the edges.
   
   

1. Use any veining tool you’d like to create some creases in your petal. I usually run one vein down the center, then starting at the tip of the petal, I press down and near the edges to create a unique look for each petal.
   
   

1. Now you may choose to either pull at the base of your petals to lengthen them and create a point to stick into the center of the flower, or cut small pieces of floral wire and insert them into the base of the petal. It’s your preference, but if your gumpaste dries extremely hard, then wires may not be necessary.
   
   

1. After the petals have dried overnight (or until you feel they’re dry enough), you can go on to the painting. I use the powder color I spoke of before in just a lemony yellow and a bit of orange at the base of the petal. I think the orange adds interest and depth to the flower. Just brush the powder on from base to tip.
   

1. Now for the fun part! Start by insert a single layer of petals around the edge of your sunflower center. (I separate all my petals out by similar size before this step, so they look kind of uniform… since all of my petals usually end up being different shapes and sizes.
   

1. Lastly, go back around the center of the flower inserting another layer of petals. I’ve done three layers before, but sometimes two is enough.
   
   

I realized after taking all of these pictures, that some of you may be wondering if the flower has a stem. This one didn’t and I’m sorry if you were hoping for instructions on doing that. I usually don’t put stems on my sunflowers because I’ve never had to have them stick out from the cake. I’ve always been able to attach them with royal icing or a skewer.
Thank you for reading through this and again, if you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them for you.