Can anyone tell me some tips on how to make fondant leaves look realistic? I have leaf cutters, but I do not have an airbrush. Is it still possible to make them look somewhat realistic without one??? Most of the ones I have seen on CC say they were airbrushed.

Thanks!!!

. . . what kind of leaves are you wanting to make . . . do you have a veiner for your cutter . . .

assuming you are wanting fall leaves used petal dust or nontoxic chalk (yellow, orange, brown and red) use ivory colored gumpaste (or a 50/50 mix of fondant and gumpaste - it will dry faster) rolled pretty thin . . . cut with your cutter . . . use your veiner if you have one . . . and then lay them on some crumpled up tinfoil to give a realistic look as they dry . . . when dusting start in the middle with your lightest color and work out to the edges with the darker . . . (mostly yellow then - then some orange here and there - then the red out on the edges - and just a touch of the brown in the middle of the leaf - and use the brown also to track in the veins of the leaf) . . . you will also want to color the reverse side if here are any portions of your leaf that will be visible . . . you can use the dust/chalk dry with an artist's paint brush or eyeshadow sponge applicators or what ever you have handy and then you can "set" them by steaming briefly . . .

if you don't have veiners you can use "real" leaves to do the same thing (just make sure they are not from a toxic plant - or if you prefer just purchase a silk flower and use them to vein your leaf . . . for those of you who are concerned about the food safe aspect of these methods just ensure you are using the leaves for decoration purposes only (who really eats gumpaste anyways??) . . . and you will find reverse side of the leaves will do a better job of veining your gumpaste

granted . . . this is probably way more labor intensive than using an airbrush . . . but it is much cheaper if you don't have an airbrush . . .

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

. . . my pleasure . . . be sure to post a photo when you're done . . . . . . and have fun . . .

Here is a link to the pic of my "leaf" cake, if you would like to sneak a peek. Thanks again for the help!!!

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1274047.html