Hi. How do I make a Cattleya Orchid? I want it to look good, like this one:

I would like to know too, anyone? I've been trying to do orchids forever!! Thanks

Well....you pretty much need the cutters specifically for a cattleya and orchid veiners. Having an orchid throat former makes it easier to get the open and curve shape. I don't know where to get these because the ones that I have were made for a lady from South Africa and I don't think she can get them anymore. Making the center (anther) is not hard, but it needs to be made first and allowed to dry.

If you can find a book on orchids, it will probably have all of the parts totally broken down so that you can see how they should look from several angles.

The coloring appears to have been done after the petals and sepals have dried. These are almost always wired. The lip (throat) is attached to the anther (center) and the petals and sepals are taped to that.

The dots are probably powdered food color mixed with some sort of alcohol like vodka. Airbrush colors work really well for this. To keep the dots small, use either a very, very small paint brush or a toothpick that has barely been dipped in the color.

The cattleya does not have a calyx. It attaches directly to the stem.

Sorry I couldn't be any more help.

Michele

the jem cutters are good and include a column press for the centre. they com from S Africa, I believe they ship, but many online stores may carry them too. you'll need a veiner too, either and orchid one or you can use a poppy veiner too.

That's a cymbidium orchid. You can find instructions for these in both Scott Clark Woolley's book and orchid dvd, and Alan Dunn's book on orchids.

The one pictured looks like one you would get using Scott's cutters and veiners, and probably his technique.

I bought the cutters from Global and made my own mold for the center by taking apart a plastic cymbidium and modeling plastique. I used a veiner from another orchid I had that I purchased from Scott Clark Woolley and used the templates out of Alan Dunn's orchid book. In his book he suggests making your own mold using a real cymbidium but I couldnt find one locally. So thats why I decided to use the fake orchid instead.
I think mine came out pretty realistic. Oh, and just a note, when you buy the cutters from Scott, they do not come with directions. You have to purchase a very expensive dvd he sells to get it. But he gives you a dvd with a "preview" of what the video intales so you can see a little bit how its done.

. . . this may be of some help to someone (not exactly what you are looking for ?) . . . http://www.earlcraftncake.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25&products_id=623