A rose is a rose....even if made from sugar

These are so much fun to make! I feel like a kid playing with play dough again. I've watched way too many hours of Food Network cake shows to not try it my self. Here's how you do it (just for you mom!):

1) Cut out your flower from thinly rolled gumpaste (as thin as you feel comfortable making it) and place on a thin foam. Thin out edges of petals using ball tool dipped in cornstarch (to prevent sticking) until they are nice and delicate :)

2) Place on thick foam and use large ball tool to press in the middles of the petals to create a conceived shape.

3) carefully place pre-made bud and wire through the middle of the petals. Use a small amount of egg white at the bottom of the bud to allow petals to stick.

4) Brush first petal edges with egg white and wrap completely around bud. Then alternate petals, sticking them to the center form with egg white, spiraling around the flower. Each petal should be placed onto the center form a little looser than the last.

5) Repeat with 2 more petal sets to form a full rose. Remember to spiral around rose, and make each petal a little more open than the previous one.

6) Now hang upside-down to let dry overnight (at least). The flower gets really hard and would probably not survive dropping...they're pretty fragile. To add some interest, pain the flower with petal dust, or (for those of us cheap-o's who can't afford the expensive little bottles), use non-toxic chalk. You can get it from any craft store. Just grate it with a strainer into a paper towel and pour into small containers.

I just love the colors!! I think you can make just about any flower in the world with these colors! You can even add colorless vanilla or vodka (much cheaper, but stinky!) and paint with a liquid color. Just gotta be creative!
Perhaps if you come back later, I'll post a picture of a painted flower :)