Monday, June 22, 2009

Southern Magnolias


Hello Sugar Friends!

Ah, summertime in the deep south. Warm sun, cool breezes, the magnolias are in bloom....


Wait. Who am I kidding? It's hot as friggin' Hades down here. There sure ain't no cool breezes, and there ain't no magnolias right now either. I don't even know when they bloom. It just sounded like a good opening. :)



Anyway, I did this little wedding cake a few weeks ago. Ivory buttercream with white buttercream stenciling and gumpaste magnolias.



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I used this Designer Stencil for the cake sides. Notice that I taped a piece of card stock to the bottom of the stencil to boost it up to the exact height I needed it to be. That way I did not have to try to hold it in place freehand while stenciling, and run the risk of the stencil moving while I worked.



Showing 2 sides. Perty huh?



This photo was taken with a flash at the venue, so it it is not so flattering, but I wanted you to see the full effect of the stencils. The 8mm bead maker was used for the pearl borders.


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I had not made magnolias before, so I bought Nic Lodge's video on it. His videos are very good, step by step instruction on flowers, and a great value. I did not follow his instructions exactly, as I wanted my flower to be a bit more frilly than his was.


I taped three 18 gauge wires together with floral tape for the stem. I made a large cone of gumpaste and cut V's into it with a tiny scissors. I folded back the tips a bit with my finger.


These are wired petals so I rolled out my paste onto the Cel Board.




Turn the paste over so the center vein is up, and cut out the petal.




Thread a 24 gauge wire into the vein.




Thin the edges with a ball tool.




Dry them over large soup spoons for shape.

After they are all dry, dust everything for color, assemble and steam.



Who cares if the magnolias are in bloom when you can make your own?


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So now I am going to disappear until next week. I am in the final days of working on my secret special cake for this weekend. I am so excited about it! I am hoping that it all works out as I have planned. God willing I will be back next week to share with you all the juicy details!


Happy caking everyone!

Sharon


32 comments:

Julie said...

Good luck with your secret cake - can't wait to see what it is!

Julie Reid said...

Beautiful!!! What else can you say!! I love the Magnolia!

Can't wait for the details of the secret cake. I don't do secrets very well.

Have a wonderful week!

Teralyn said...

I love your cake - but then again there always beautiful and amazing! I can't wait to hear about this secret cake - good luck.

Gayla said...

Love your Magnolias -- and your cake, as usual, is flawless! Thanks for the tip on using stencils on buttercream, stencils, for me anyway, tend to be very tricky on buttercream, but the cardstock is such a great idea/tip!

Can't wait to see your secret cake, good luck!!!

Heidi said...

Very pretty! Thanks so much for the tutorial on magnolias. I really want to learn to make gumpaste flowers.

fiddlesticks said...

Hey Thanks for that tutorial on the Magnolia! That cakes is gorgeous!
Cant wait to see and hear about the secret creation!

Jennywenny said...

Beautiful! I cant wait to try making them when my wires come in. Looking forward to the new cake!

Vicki said...

Your cakes are always perty! :)

Desert Rose said...

Ms Sharon,
I'm gonna say what my daddy said to me when he saw my cake, "BRAVO!"
you are awesome...the corner of the cakes are PERFECT! it is funny how you said, "a little wedding cake" haha...to me...this is HUGE!!! I'd be freaking out if I had to make a cake like this :D I don't do well with the corners haha.
I love Magnolia flowers.Thanks for sharing the how to.
Love your blogpost! I literally felt a fresh breeze blowing.
You are so cute.
- H

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Absolutely elegant!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous!! I've had Nick's magnolia cutters for two years and haven't made a single one. Thanks for the inspiration to get going! I always look forward to your posts:) Kim

Erin said...

I absolutely LOVE magnolias, and yours are beautiful... so is the cake. I love the look of stenciling, it's very simple, clean and classy.

:)

Anonymous said...

You are so funny! and yes I feel the same "who cares if this is not the time for Magnolias" thank you so much for taking time to do all this tutorials. I love to come and visit every day to see what is new.
love all your work.
can't wait to see the secret cake next week.

have a fun an d wonderful week!

Rhonda Christensen said...

Sharon...you are so awesome!! Your buttercream is to die for, the stencil is wonderful and the magnolia is fantastic!! Thanks for sharing the tute for it!!

As always, I will be waiting on the edge of my seat at the computer waiting for pics and details of your secret special cake!!

*HUGS*

Nancy Smith said...

This is the most beautiful cake. I am nervous to do my first butter cream wedding cake but have been memorizing your techniques from the dvd. I think I have this stencil and maybe I'll add that to the cake. Thank you for the cardboard tip. You are truly my "cake hero". thanks for the flower tutorial. Have a great week.

ME! said...

That is GORGEOUS! And even the picture that isn't as flattering still looks incredible...

Valentina :D said...

Your cakes are so beautiful, I pray that I reach your level of talent. Thank you for the tutorial on the magnolia. I can't wait to see this secret cake, sounds exciting :D

June said...

This cake is stunning Sharon! Thank you for sharing the 'how to make' with us. Do you have any tips for stenciling on BC & not damaging the BC? I would really appreciate that. You are such a generous person, thank you again.

Anonymous said...

Sharon,

This cake is absolutely breath taking and magnolias look so real. As always a wonderful job.

Kim
kdodgen@nashold.com

cindyS said...

awesomely gorgeous cake and magnolia! thank you sharon for sharin'!! can't wait to see the secret cake :D

Miss B. said...

I dont know if you will respond to this but your design has inspired me, I was wondering what size cake pans you used to create the cake?

Eva said...

This is so helpful! I am just sitting down to make my own. Thanks!!

ChiCHI7 said...

Your magnolia gumpaste flowers are the best I've seen so far online. I tried making it for my wedding cake, but my skills are definitely subpar. Do you actually sell them? Thanks!

retete- ina said...

gorgeous cake and magnolia

karen said...

this is stunning! thank you so much for posting the picture of the process. I have an art class assignment and wanted to make a gum paste magnolia but didn't know where to start.

Anonymous said...

wow!it is truly a beauty,lets see what other secrets you have.os open sesame!

Anonymous said...

tu sei semplicemente: FANTASTICA!!! simona

mia said...

gracias por la explicacion muy bonito y se intiende todo prometo que la voy hacer

Anonymous said...

Such a beautiful cake!

Dthomas said...

Love your cake! Just beautiful! I wish I could make something like that.

Spontaneously Cupcakes said...

Fascinada con los tutoriales!

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