Tutorial – camellia flower

It’s been quite some time since I posted a flower tutorial so it really is about time! 😉 I posted some pictures of this camellia flower yesterday and now I’ve put together a tutorial for it!

This flower was actually quite tricky since you want the petals to only touch each other at the base to give it a realistic look. So you probably need some gumpaste flower making experience or it will be quite hard.. But here’s the tutorial! I hope you’ll enjoy it, and I’d love to see the result should you give it a go! 🙂

You’ll need:

5 petal cutters, approximately 7,5, 5,5, 5,0 and 4,5 cm across
Ball tool
Thin foam pad
Exacto knife
Tissue paper
Gumpaste (light peach and light pink)
Edible glue
Optional: light peach luster dust (same color as the light peach gumpaste)

1.. Roll a ball out of peach colored gumpaste, about the size of a chickpea. Make it a little oval.

2.. Roll out peach gumpaste very thinly and cut out 1 of the smallest flowers.

3.. Cut the flower into five separate petals. Place in a zip-lock bag to prevent them from drying out.

4.. Take them out one at a time and thin the edges of each petal using the ball tool.

5.. Then cup each petal with a circular motion in the center of the petal, using the ball tool. (I forgot to take a picture of this step; if it is too unclear, please let me know and I’ll try to clarify!)

6.. Add the first petal so that it covers half the ball (I forgot to photograph this too.. I obviously thought of something else when making this flower 😉 ).

7.. Add three petals around the ball, overlapping each other a little. Leave to dry until it has firmed a little (the time depends upon humidity, but for me it took about 5-10 minutes)

8.. Make another three petals as described above (in the same size) and attach them around the bud.

9.. Cut out 1 of the largest flower in pink and repeat step 3-5. Arrange them like in the picture.

10.. Cut out another of the largest flower in pink, cut off the tip, and repeat step 3-5.

11.. Arrange like in the picture.

12.. Let this piece and the bud dry for a few hours.

13.. Cut out 1 of the second smallest flowers in peach and repeat step 3-5. Arrange the petals around the bud. Support with tissue paper. Leave to dry until it can hold it’s shape without the paper.

14.. Once the bud has dried enough; Cut out 1 of the second largest flowers in pink and cut off the tip (like in step 10). Repeat step 3-5 and arrange the petals like in the picture.

15.. Glue the bud to the center and fold up the petals from the pink row you just made. Support the petals with tissue paper. Leave to dry completely.