Cake Decorating

Gum paste flowers

Hi, I’m designing my son’s wedding cake and an having a lot of trouble with wiring my petals. The floral wire is constantly poking out of the petals when I’m trying to attach them to the flower. I’ve tried several different ways of inserting the wire, but nothing has worked so far. Since I’m a self taught decorator, I’m sure I’m in the right place to get the help I need in this endeavor. Any suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

7 Replies

Hi!
If you struggle with inserting the wire there is a twiddle method which I often use, I think it gives a much better finish! I will put a link to a video for you to watch. Its simply putting a small piece of gum paste on the tip of your wire and twiddle it into a sausage shape about 2cm in length and placing it on your cut out petal or leaf then press between your veiner, you will get perfect results every time and the wire won’t poke through! Takes a little longer but worth it I think! Hope this helps you and let us know how you get on! :-) x
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC8EnknOsT8

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Are you letting the petals dry completely before you try to attach them to the flower?

Yes I am. I’ve tried not thinning the petal at the base too much before veining and not pressing too hard on the veiner as well. I’m to the point of thinking that it might be the gauge of the wires I’m using, although, I’ve used different gauges too. I think I’ll give Ellie’s suggestion a try and see how that goes. Thank you so much for replying to my question and if there is any other advice you can give me, I’d really appreciate it!

Hi Elli! Thank you so much for your suggestion to put some gum paste on the wire before veining. I’ve tried something like this with no luck, but after watching the video you linked, I think I may have used too much paste on the end of the wire, which led to a very noticeable raised place where the wire was. I’ll let you know how it goes and thank you again for your help. If there is any other advice you have, I would really appreciate it!

Hello again! I was just wondering if you are using a leaf veining board or rolling pin veiner? These tools are brilliant, or are you just inserting the wire into a plain cut out leaf/petal without a ridge for the wire? If you are that would explain why the wire keeps poking out? :-) x

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I’m using a silicon veiner. 😊

I must say that I far prefer the twiddle method. My petals have a much cleaner finish and it is faster for me than inserting the wire. Doesn’t make me as aggravated either!

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