Simplifying Sugar Flowers

How to create an array of beautiful flowers

A professional sugar crafter shows how to make exceptional sugar flowers for any occasion.

The essential reference from the internationally renowned cake designer. Known for her signature sugar flowers and her glorious wedding cakes, Jacqueline Butler has shared her tips and techniques in this beautifully illustrated guide. Bakers at every level can find clear, easy-to-follow directions to create a distinctive, contemporary look for their cakes. Covering single-tier, multi-tier, and premade arrangements, Butler reveals her secrets for lilacs, lavender, dahlia, freesia, camellia, and many other floral creations—plus advice on tools, supplies, and coloring.

Lesley Herbert's Complete Book of Sugar Flowers explains and illustrates the methods of making sugar flowers in more depth than has ever been attempted before. This cake decorating book concentrates on the techniques involved in creating and arranging thirty types of flowers and foliage. In addition, there are fourteen arrangements, each displayed on a finished cake. For the complete beginner, the first steps in making and handling flower paste are shown in the opening chapter, along with photographs of how to use the essential equipment, colors, glazes and finishes. Once the basic skills of handling flower paste are understood, the blooms can be made from start to finish. Every stage for each flower is clearly laid out in the order in which it is prepared, leading you step-by-step from molding the first tiny ball of paste to applying the final dusting of color. The completed sugar flower is shown with its leaves, where suitable,and a photograph of the fresh flowers used for reference is also included. Many of the neat sprays of blossom are ideal for decorating a simple cake, but when you have mastered the knack of making flowers, you will definitely feel inspired to progress to creating stunning arrangements. Grouping complementary flowers, working out the shape of the design, wiring and securing the centerpieces are all illustrated alongside each finished arrangement. The information is completed by showing a cake with the floral decoration displayed to full advantage. By setting out her work in such detail, Lesley Herbert offers a real insight into the professional approach which gives immaculate results. Her book is the perfect individual tutor and worktop companion—follow her instructions, practice the techniques and study the photographs of the beautiful flowers for successful results. From buds to bouquets, Lesley Herbert's Complete Book of Sugar Flowers is the ultimate source of inspiration for sugarcraft artists. This cake decoration book includes: Basic instructions to fill beginners with confidence Templates of cutters to save buying dozens of shapes Fabulous displays of flowers to inspire experienced cake decorators

In the Kew Book of Sugar Flowers, sugarcraft specialist Cassie Brown teaches you how to craft stunning, authentic-looking flowers and foliage using flower paste (gum paste). Learn how to create beautiful bouquets and stunning sprays, from the early stages of germinating your ideas - taking inspiration from nature and making moulds from real flowers and leaves - to creating floral cake decorations with an exotic or wild flower theme for a special occasion. Through clear and concise step-by-step instructions, Cassie explains every facet of crafting sugar flowers, from gaining an appreciation of the flower itself, to preparing the flower paste and colouring it to wiring the flowers into an attractive and realistic bouquet. There is a veritable garden of delights to choose from, from ornate orchids to delicate daisies. The method for crafting each individual flower is demonstrated in stunning detail beginning with an 'exploded flower' photograph that illustrates each of the individual components and working through the techniques and tricks that Cassie herself applies to create her stunning floral displays. The Kew Book of Sugar Flowers is the perfect book for the established sugarcrafter looking to develop their skills and take their cake-decorating capabilities to the next level. Readers with a particular interest in flowers and plants will also love this book for its painstaking recreation of flora in flower paste (gum paste), and the book is endorsed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew giving extra credibility to the stunning realism of the flowers that Cassie Brown has recreated. Foreword by Eddie Spence M.B.E. Eddie Spence MBE has enjoyed an illustrious career in confectionery and cake design and his superior skills have earned him the opportunity to decorate many cakes for the royal family, including Her Majesty the Queen herself.

Learn how to create exquisite, lifelike sugar flowers and arrange them with fresh blooms in the floral arrangements of your dreams—regardless of season or availability. “A Sweet Floral Life is pure magic.”—Ariella Chezar, author of The Flower Workshop and Seasonal Flower Arranging Rising Instagram star Natasja Sadi’s floral arrangements have a sumptuous, old-world look straight out of a classical painting. But among the glorious profusion of fresh flowers, there is often a surprise twist: handmade sugar flowers (traditionally used in cake decorating) that are indistinguishable from real ones and last forever. In A Sweet Floral Life, Natasja guides you through her creative process of flower arranging and developing your personal style, along with tutorials for seasonal arrangements, living and entertaining with flowers, and how to photograph flowers. A former fashion designer, Natasja began making flowers out of sugar to honor her African and Indonesian ancestors who worked in the sugarcane fields of Suriname. In A Sweet Floral Life, Natasja provides steps for sculpting sugar flowers, a versatile medium with limitless possibilities—they can be used in fresh floral arrangements, displayed on their own as unique home décor, or used to adorn cakes. And whether it’s the middle of summer or the dead of winter, sugar flowers are always in season and always in perfect full bloom. Capture the romance, set the mood, and be swept away by gorgeous and inspiring floral art with A Sweet Floral Life.

Lavishly presented in a very portable format, these astonishing creations include popular flowers such as roses, lilies, gerbera and orchids. Simple steps explain how to make each of the illustrated flowers, and an image of the unassembled constituent parts helps to make each project clear and simple. Instructions are also give to make foliage and decorative butterflies to complement the flowers.