Looking For Tips And Hints For Flower Arranging On Cakes...
Decorating By Edibleart Updated 26 Mar 2006 , 11:19pm by Phoov
I am far from great on arranging flowers on cakes, but I try to keep mostly complimentary colors (all warms, all cools, etc) with a few punches of an opposite color. Also, keep odd numbers and don't always try to be symmetrical. Pick a focus point first and work out from that getting smaller as you go.
This is what I keep in mind.
I am not great w/ flowers eaither, but I do know color..I used to be an art teacher.
Get a color wheel, that will help. I can probably print one up off the net.
If you are looking for calming affect stay with colors that are on the same side of the color wheel (blues, purples) or(reds, yellow, orange) If you are looking for fun or poping colors, go to the "complementary colors" which are oppisites on the color wheel (blue and orange) (yellow and purple) (red and green)
hope that helps 
I think that one of the things that has helped me most on the "design" part of cakes and flowers is just to study cakes that I like. See what they've done. Certainly using colors that work together is important....but placement is just as important. Study the work of people who's cakes you admire and see what they do. I think proportion is a huge thing too......Big cake= either big flowers or lots of flowers! I love flowery cakes and you're welcome to copy any layout I've posted in my photo on this site. (Humble offering!!! LOL)
Your cakes are beautiful Phoov! I struggle with the placement issue and then knowing when to say enough or more! I was hoping there was a magic formula that you start with as a basis and build flower/color combinations from there! The plain cake is the most intimidating thing to me. Do you all do borders first, or the writing first or the decorations/flowers? I have a wedding reception order in May and am just starting to sell cakes and I want to provide visually pleasing arrangments without spending an hour deciding what I should do?!?!? (Newbie, newbie, newbie!!!)
LOLOL Everybody has to start somewhere! Just hang in there~~
I do all borders first. I'm leaning toward larger tips on my borders of most cakes. Next I place the flowers, and I'm doing very few BC flowers. Mostly Royal and gumpaste that I make way in advance to relieve the pressure of having to do it all the week the cake goes out. I always make extra of anything that I have to do in a specific color and then store them in egg cartons. Last...I do the writing....and then add any filler flowers or ribbon or leaves, etc. to achieve a balanced look.
I took a gumpaste class recently where I learned to make plaques from gumpaste and then adhere the gumpaste flowers to the plaque. Then...you just lay the plaque on the cake and do a shell border around it's edge. The heart shaped pink/white in my photos is an example of this. Also the all pink sheetcake. It's a really fast way to do a nice cake if the customer isn't specific with their design. You can make these gumpaste plaques up in white and have them ready to use too.
Another "make ahead" filler item is fondant or gumpaste beads. I make these and them roll them in luster dust. They're little irredescent pearls to put wherever!
Best of luck to you!
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