The oriental rhapsody floral sculpture f

eatures chinese lanterns and bamboo formed from gum paste.

You will need:

• Flower Paste: Shades of Bright Orange, Pale Orange, Pale Green, Cream or Pale Yellow

• Wires: 24g, 26g White, 18g Green

• Dusts: Tangerine, Red, Woodland Green(Sugarflair), Sunflower, Kiwi

• Veiners: Reverse side of double sided, Rose Leaf Veiner, Epimedium Leaf Veiner, Rudbeckia Leaf Veiner, Chinese Hat Veiner

• Tools: Nose Plier, Veining Tool, Frilling Tool, Large Calyx Cutter, Craft Knife, Dusting Brushes, Tweezers.

• Other: Leaf Glaze, Edible Glue, ½ width White floristry tape

  

  Chinese Lantern:

  Make ski sticks with 24g wire. Wrap wire around nose plier, bend the wrapped wire against the main length of wire, holding the spiral with the nose plier bend it at 90 deg. to form a halo.

  

  Make a ball the size of a marble out of bright orange FP. Dip ski stick in edible glue and insert into the ball. Make five indents with veining tool and leave to dry overnight. Glaze with leaf glaze. Make a few small green ones.

  

  Roll out Pale Orange FP, cut out calyx

  

  Widen each sepal with frilling tool.

  

  Soften sepals,Vein petals using rose leaf veiner. Turn calyx over with veins facing down. Mark central vein and mark veins in between.

  

  Lightly apply glue around the edges of calyx, the centre and the indent in the seedpod.

  Repeat for green ones.

  

  Attach calyx to seedpod. Carefully join the seams and leave to dry. Leave a few open. Any excess folds can be trimmed with scissors.

  

  Dust the orange lanterns with Tangerine and go over the veins and ridges with red.

  Dust the green lanterns with kiwi. Dust

  all the stalk areas with kiwi.

  ** Here I have used a mix of red and sunflower

  Chinese Lantern Leaves:

  Roll out pale green paste with a centre ridge Cut various sized leaves.

  Insert 28g wire along ridge.

  Vein the leaves using rudbeckia veiner. Mark a deep central vein.Dry on sloted foam. Dust with
  Yellow and Kiwi.
  Assemble the sprig, using ½ width white floristry tape. Ensure the flowers are tapes alternating on either side of the stem. The flowers should be made to face down.

  Dust the stem with green petal dust. Mix of yellow and kiwi.

  

  Cut Three varying lengths of 18g Green wire

  Roll out a sausage shape with a marbled sized ball if green FP.

  

  Insert the wire through the centre

  Roll the paste along the length of the wire. Neaten the Top and bottom with the veining tool.

  

  With the Angled tweezer pinch a ridge along the sausage shape. Repeat at equal distance.

  Glue tiny tear drop shaped FP along the Ridges just created making sure they are alternated

  

  Dust the bamboo with a pale shade of yellow, over dust with green, ensuring the ridges get a heavier shade of green. (moss green dust) Slightly dust with aubergine over the green at the ridges.

  Chinese Hat:

  Insert a pea sized ball of paste onto a hooked 26g white wire, work the paste down the wire into a tear drop shape, mark a cross at the top end of the paste. Leave to dry. These form the unopened flower, make a few in varying sizes.

  

  For the open flowers, follow the steps as before, but instead of the cross insert a frilling tool or cocktail stick is used to open up the tear drop. Insert three commercial stamens which have been moistened with edible glue. Leave to dry.

  

  Add the hats, roll out a pea sized ball of yellow paste working between your fore finger and thumb So that the paste looks like a Mexican hat.

  

  Place the cup over the Chinese hat veiner and work the sides downward using a small rolling pin.

  

  Dampen the centre and insert the open flower. Pinch the back of the flower, and work it down the wire about 1/8th of the way, leave to dry.

  

  Dust the flowers starting with yellow and graduating the edges with a deeper yellow. Finally dust with red around the edges.

  

  Cut out heart shaped leaves.

  

  Insert 26g green wire, softened the edges. Vein them using epimedium leaf veiner. Dust the leaves using woodland and moss green. Highlight the veins using aubergine dust.

  

  Tie flowers in threes and fives.

  

  Assemble flowers and leaves on a 24 gauge wire using 1/2 wide florist tape.

  

  Arrange all the Chinese Lantern, Chinese Hat Flower and and the Bamboo on a vase of your choice. Here I have used a banana boat dish.