Does anyone know of any links to some online tutorials on how to make tropical gumpaste flowers, like bird of paradise, ginger, heliconia, orchids, tropical leaves, etc.?

Id love to be able to make these for a party in a few months.

I don't know of any free on-line tutorials, but Nicholas Lodge has a wonderful DVD on tropical flowers for a very reasonable price. Global has it or you can buy direct from Nic at ISAC - just call their toll-free number. Check out

http://www.globalsugarart.com/product.php?id=21831

Have you tried youtube yet?

I really cant buy anything right now unfortunatly. Ill check out youtube. i didnt think of that. Thanks guys.

Let us know if you find anything good on youtube!

Ive been looking and havent really found anything. You Tube seems to have mostly previews of videos you can buy. I saw a collection of 3 videos on tropical gumpaste flowers for nearly $300! YEAH.....RIGHT!!!! Ok well they were beautiful, but I cant see spending $100 a DVD. Its not like its a live class where you can interact with the teacher.

Anyway, no I didnt find what I was looking for...in videos or articles. Im still looking.

Ummm, you are asking for quick, freebie YouTube videos on how to make complex and delicate gumpaste flowers? That is totally unrealistic. Gumpaste is an expensive craft to get started with, because you buy specialized cutters and veiners and other things like stamens, floral wire, celpins, celboards, ball tools, petal dusts...etc etc.

Buying a Nicholas Lodge DVD as the other poster advised is your best bet. A month ago, I just purchased several of his DVD's, including the Tropical Flowers DVD which teaches all of the flowers you mentioned, plus all of the cutters and veiners to make the flowers on that one DVD for about $300.

You wanna play, you gotta pay.

There is no harm in asking is there?

You can check your local library if they have anything there.

I don't know if this is what you are looking for but here is one on making a plumeria:

Ok...here's another one for orchids. If you look to the right on the youTube page, I think this one is in 3 parts.

I didn't watch all 3 videos but the first one is pretty grainy. You can get the idea of what she is doing.

Thank you guys.

I wasnt trying to give the impression that I was cheap, BTW. lol. Im broke, there is a difference.

Besides, the internet is a wealth of information and you never know what people have posted to share with the world. I just didnt know if there were good sites with instructions, but looking into it more I see most people want you to pay for their ideas...which is ok...but I know there is lots of public information out there and I just hoped someone knew of some website that could help me.

I hope I didnt offend anyone by my comment about the DVD's. Im sure they are great, but I have a car payment to make.

You didn't say anything that was offensive!

Professionals make videos and sell them. When you buy their DVD, you are essentially getting professional instruction for super-cheap. Sure, there are lots of videos on the internet, but there is a difference in the quality of instruction due to the length of time involved in creating beautiful, botanically-correct, complex flowers.

Getting started with quick, basic instructions that you find online is a good place to start.

Might want to try seeing if you can rent any of the videos with netflix or something. I know the Wilton gumpaste flower kit has instructions for making orchids but nothing else tropical. It comes with the cutters for it and various other flowers too.

I'd ask you library if they would order them for you. Some will, but that's when I lived in Washington St.

If you go to you tube and search Ednas cakes she has lots of free tutorials on flowermaking to just learning how to frost properly
hope it helps
I alos get free tutorials e-mailed to me from cakes Made easy

I have bought the dvd set from Scott Clark Woolley and it is the best! Sure the price may put some off but if you are serious about learning from the best it is not that much. The beauty of dvds is that you can replay and replay over and over.


I have attended one day courses that cost more than this, not including childcare and travelling cost. It is much better to keep replaying until you get the technique on a dvd. In a live class the teacher will just have to move on with the rest of the class even if you are struggling with a step.

Scott is very entertaining and the quality of the dvd is great with many in focus close ups.

I can also suggest http://www.duskyroseveiners.co.uk/
for great tutorials on flowers.

What an excellent bunch of tutorials! Thanks for posting, Sara91!

I think it's a bit rude to chastise someone who comes here looking for help.
I taught myself how to do flowers because I couldn't afford the DVD's. My flowers look fine. I eventually began purchasing DVD's when I could afford them. It's not nice to make someone feel bad just because you have more experience with them. This is an artform and there are many ways of achieving it.

Dheck out this thread for hibicus instructions http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-583719-hibiscus.html+instructions She has a pic in her photos

Craftsy.com offers affordable classes in the art of gum paste flowers. I took two classes. One by James Rosselle on Orhids and Ultimate Sugar Rose by Nicholas Lodge.  Great classes. 

Here's a site with a ton of tutorials only its in russian, I'm sure your computer can translate http://www.lovelytutorials.com/forum/showthread.php?s=44cf711745b9ac064a6bb8cbde5a17e0&t=3314

For orchids try http://acupcakeproject.blogspot.com.au/2009/01/gum-paste-moth-orchid-tutorial.html

and http://www.duskyroseveiners.co.uk/duskyroseservices.html  

Have you tried Pretty Witty Cakes' range of gum paste flower classes: www.prettywittycakes.co.uk/video-tutorials/sugar-flowers

I so love the flower just out, the fantasy magnolia and the fantasy lily, which are really exotic flowers, but they have some more traditional ones too e.g. orchids, roses, daffodils...

The teaching is great and the videos are shot really close up so you see all the little hand movements.  You can watch as many videos as you want at no extra cost, and there's a forum if you have any questions.