Gumpaste Tulip Tutorial

January 22nd 2014 update

  *** 87,125 visits ***

May 22nd 2012 update

**  31,000 visits is now 45,000**

I can't believe that this tulip tutorial of mine, along with the frilly tulip has now had over 31,000 hits from all over the world!

I've written many other tutorials for teaching sugar flowers over the years, and I've decided to gather some of them up into a flower tutorial book.  I've included in the book these tulip instructions because it's not easy to print off the Blog. 

I'm hoping that you will enjoy the three other flowers that I have chosen:  Gardenia, Lily of the Valley and the Daffodil.  In the most part I've tried to use cutters that won't cost the earth, or are simple shapes (like the oval for the tulip).  There's a printed booklet, and a PDF version of the booklet.

For details, please see the end of this 'post'.............. Diane

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Now, here is    The tulip tutorial: 

The petals, pistil and stamens need to be in proportion to each other. For the petals I am using an oval cutter 2 1/2" long by 1 1/4" wide. The pistil starts at the base of the petals and is about half the height of the petal. The stamens are a little shorter than the pistil and are bent away from it. A real tulip below.

1. The stamens. Make 6. Cut six 3" pieces of #32 white covered wire. Bend the wire over about 3/4" as shown in the photo below. Moisten this part with egg white or gum glue and dip in something like corn meal to resemble pollen. (I used a mixture of gelatin powder and yellow petal dust.) Let dry.
2. The pistil. Cut a length of #18 covered wire. This will be the actual stem of the tulip. Colour some gum paste a very light green. Moisten the end of the wire and work the paste to cover the top 2 1/2" of the wire. Pinch the top of the paste into three, as in the photo. Leave upright to dry. This photo is of my oval cutter and the pistil.
3. Petals. Make 6, three should be slightly narrower. Colour some gumpaste the shade you want your tulips. Roll out thinly on a grooved boardTurn paste over and cut out petal. Moisten the end of a 4" length of #28 covered wire and push into the raised portion of the petal. Tool the petal to thin out the top edge. Vein each petal. I have an Aldeval tulip veiner which works well.
4. Make at least one extra large and small petal in case of breakage. So for one tulip make 4 large and 4 small petals. Gently push petals into a dessert spoon and leave to dry at least overnight.

Next I dusted the petals with a slightly darker red, just enough to bring out the veins. I also brushed a little black at the base. It's easier to dust before the tulip is assembled. Use green florist tape to tape the six stamens to the pistil;

1. Tape the 3 smaller petals evenly around, to the base of the pistil. Tape each one separately so that they will stay in place and not slide around.

2. Tape the 3 larger petals in between the smaller ones evenly around to the base of the pistil;
3. You may want to add another one or two lengths of #18 wire to the stem to make it more like a tulip stem which is fairly thick. This is the finished tulip, dusted and steamed.
4. 

Leaves I rolled out a large piece of green paste and cut out the leaves freehand. You should leave a thicker piece from the base of the leaf about one third of the way up the middle to hold a wire. I also veined the leaves with my yellow rolling cutter, and the edge of a knife. Just don't press hard enough to cut the paste. Dry on crinkled tinfoil to give the leaves some movement. Dust and steam.

About a quarter of the folks who visit my blog do so by googling "gum paste tulips". I would love to know if you found the tutorial useful.

FRILLY TULIP
Note added 25th Feb. 2010:   I have a post on my blog showing how I made a frilly petalled tulip.  Click here for the link.
                            
                                 

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JUST RELEASED!  
my new (August 2011)
Gumpaste Flower Tutorials

Over the last 10 years, I have truly enjoyed my hobby of cake 
decorating, and especially making gumpaste flowers, and teaching this art to others. 

My Booklet offers simple step-by-step text instructions, which require
a minimum of special tools or cutters, and includes many colour photos. 

It features the Tulip, Gardenia, Lily of the Valley and Daffodil.

This Tutorial is available in a .pdf file via e-mail for $3 US.

Delivery will be (E)mailed within 24 hours following payment.

I've been asked if the flower tutorials could be sold separately.  Yes, and I have prepared the gardenia in it's own booklet, along with the tulip, as a 16 page PDF for $1.50.  

                  Click here to visit my ETSY shop.

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Creative Every Day

I've decided to join the Creative Every Day Challenge for 2009. It's not necessarily embroidery or sewing, it could be creative cooking or painting, etc. So I think that I can manage that. I have for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of January, three new dotee dolls, made especially for two friends and a child. Sometimes I can get them to enlarge here by double clicking, not the case this time. But they will be on Flickr and will be enlargeable there. This is an under-the-sea themed dotee.

This one is for the little girl, Alanna.

This dotee doll is for a gardening lover. Lots of silk embroidery.

Happy New Year Everyone!

I did see the New Year in, but I was disappointed at the television coverage. I usually watch the Times Square celebrations, but Anderson Cooper had this awful comedienne on as his co-host and I had to turn it off because of her. Whatever, 2009 is here and it's sunny and bright outside on the 3rd of January, so we're off to a good start.

Birth announcement block

This was a joy to work on because I love pink and because it is for my first granddaughter Brynn, born just 6 weeks ago in Quebec. We were introduced to each other at Christmas and she is the sweetest little bundle.It's a 14" inch block. Most of the seams are part of the 100 details in 200 days which I participated in to the very end. The photo is on very fine cotton, which I provided to a copy shop, and they transferred the photocopy onto the fabric. I have tried to use the special liquid and do it myself, but I haven't had great success. I'm going to persevere because this is only the second of several that I will have to do.

Chicken Scratch & Dotee #5

I did get the wrapping done, and of course, there was time for one more dotee!!! I'm fascinated by this "chicken scratch" embroidery on gingham, and you'll see that #5 Dotee's body is all that. But before I started her I did a bit of practice using different colour threads (all #8 perle), and using the white square on the gingham as the centre the first time, and the darkest pink square the next. I tried white, pink and darker pink threads.My favourite is the top left where I used white thread and the white square was left open.The one next to it, top middle is my second choice: white thread and the darkest pink square was left open. The two pale pink tries don't have much impact because the colour of the thread matches the colour of the pink gingham. The darker pink thread - the two samples on the right - give a nice impact too. It worked up very quickly, and I found that it was much easier and neater when I used a small hoop.

Dotee 3

Well, this has to be the last one, I need to wrap presents now!

Dotee 2

Annet warned me on Flickr that these little dolls were addictive and I think she's right! Here's my latest.

Angel 8

This angel has a chain stitch dress, mother of pearl shell wings, a sequin head and wool hair.

Sewing instead of Shopping

I should be out doing the last of my shopping, but I had the urge to try a dotee doll. Here she is:I used gingham for the bottom half and tried some "chicken scratch" embroidery. Chicken Scratch is also called Depression Lace, Gingham Lace or Snowflake Embroidery. I've used a cross stitch, straight stitch and a woven circle stitch. I've seen some projects that have used the gingham squares for a counted cross stitch design.

Tea Cosy

The shape isn't the greatest, it should have been a bit higher at the middle. I didn't have a pattern and just made it to cover the teapot without thinking of making a pretty shape. Mum loves it, and it's hers now. This was another project to provide seams for the 100details.

The end of the Details

The 100 details in 200 days challenge has come to a close. I'm pretty amazed that I stayed the course, sometimes I was running to catch up! Here are the last few. This is detail 96.Detail 97. Detail 98aDetail 98bDetail 99 was about a million french knots, so I passed on that one! Detail 100 was lots of different stitches, all packed together. This section from an old under the sea block covered most of the stitches.

You can see everyone's version of the 100 details in Flickr and there's more information on Stitching Fingers (there's a link on the right). It's quite an inspiration to see how creative some of the stitchers are, you can get loads of ideas for your own projects. I've signed up for a new Challenge, it's called "Creative Every Day".

CQ Cushion

The crazy quilting is all finished, I just have to make it into a cushion now for my sister's Christmas present.

And here's my latest angel - sequin wings and braids.

Gum paste tulips

In the Fall I received an order for tulips for a wedding cake. This is how they looked. If anyone wants a tutorial on them, I'll be happy to do it for you. If the tutorial isn't following this post, please go to the side bar and search the label for tulip tutorial. Click on it and this post and the tutorial will now be on your screen.

Angel ATCs

I traded three of my angel ATCs recently. Here's three lovely new angels for my collection. This one is from Margreet in the Netherlands, she's very mischievous. I love the lace that Margreet used for her dress. This one with her pretty crochet dress and wings is from Annet, also in the Netherlands.And this origami angel is from Carey in San Diego.

Sick Kids Fundraiser

A couple of weeks ago CSSA (Canadian Society of Sugar Artistry) got together to decorate gingerbread houses for Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. Various businesses sponsored a decorated house by donating a specified amount of money (the larger the house, the bigger the donation), and CSSA members did the decorating. Decorating was an all-day event. Many of our members baked all the components before the date, while other members came prepared with sugar cone trees, small icing wreaths and candles for the windows, and various gingerbread and modelled folks. The finished houses are on display until Christmas at the Markville Mall, McCowan and Hwy. 7, in Markham.

Here are a few photos: This is the log cabin. Verdie and I worked on this. The MansionThe Garden Centre

The Golf Shop

Train Station

Train, sponsored by our GO Train (Govt. of Ontario Train)

The Bakery

I think this might be a gift store.