It's been some twenty years since I made a spray like this but it came back to me like riding a bike. I spent a lovely day making this for a friend who'll be getting married shortly.
Cut 2 28g wires in half and 2 30g wires in half, making a total of 4 wires of each weight.
Make a little loop at the end of each wire.
Work some sugar paste using a cocktail stick to add a little purple food colouring.
Cut off 8 small bits of paste and put the rest in an airtight container.
Roll each bit into a ball then roll one end to make a cone shape.
Push each piece onto a looped wire and leave them to dry.
For the leaves cut 10 30g wires into thirds making a total of 30 wires.
Work some more sugar paste and add green food colouring.
Roll out the paste, not too thinly.
Cut a leaf shape.
Insert a wire into the leaf.
Roll the paste surrounding the wire very thinly.
Then cut the leaf shape again.
You get a better cut if you place the cutter upside down and roll over the bottom with a rolling pin.
I've made a little nick in my cutters to make room for the wire.
Press the leaves into a leaf viener.
And leave them to dry on a non-flat surface such as a cel-former.
Roll out some of the purple paste.
And cut four small petals and four large petals.
Cut two petals away from each flower.
Put the unused pieces under a cover to stop them drying out.
Manipulate the petals with a boning tool.
Add some glue.
Then fold them around the base.
One after the other.
Form the three petal pieces.
Wrap the centre petal first.
Then the two outer petals.
Leave to dry.
Leave one flower as a bud.
Cut three small petal shapes and four large.
Manipulate the petals.
Add glue.
Insert the flower base through the centre of the petal and the hole in the Cel-Pad.
Fold the petals around the flower one at a time.
Leave to dry in a Cel-Former.
Add a little white sugar paste to lighten the colour.
Cut four large petals and one small one, leaving two flowers small.
Add these to the flowers in the same way.
Take five leaves and some florists tape.
Tape them together in a natural formation.
Lighten the paste again.
And cut a final layer of four large petals,
Shape and apply them as before.
Cut eight calyxes, four large and four small.
Shape them.
And apply them to each flower as for the petals.
Dust the leaves with a combination of greens and browns.
Dust the flowers with purple.
Arrange the spray in a natural way.
