I have a christmas wedding cake, that I am doing for a friend and she wants holly, poinsetta, berries, pine cones, etc. And if I was to use all artificial how would I put it on without it sitting directly on the icing?
The cake will be 8, 10, 12 with seperation for decorations. I will be using the sps system. TIA

OKay I have a question. How classy of a cake do you want? I would make all the decorations before I'd but plastic on it. Now I'm not saying you can't but they would have to be pretty natural looking. If you choose to use flower picks and such I would but a straw in the cake and put the deco in it so it didn't touch the cake. All and all I think the overall look should be elegant Just my opinion.

I agree try to make them. You can even make the pine cone by cutting an oval brown gumpaste shape with sharp pair of scissors (small snips all over the shape).

you can buy a lot of that, premade in gumpaste. www. discount sugar flowers .com and www. avalon deco .com.

If you want to try making the decorations, here's a holly leaf cutter that has a veiner with it: http://studioclaysculpter.com/Studio-By-Sculpey-Shape-Makers-Leaf-Set-1-P208209.aspx and the heart-shaped leaf in this one would work for poinsettia http://www.overstock.com/Crafts-Sewing/Studio-By-Sculpey-Leaf-Shape-Makers/3249144/product.html I bought the second set at Joann with a coupon and it works really well with fondant and even better with gumpaste. I would paint the holly leaves with confectioner's glaze to give them that waxy shine.

If you're going to use artificial, then you would just tape the stems together into sprays and then use flower spikes to hold the wires. I don't think there's anything wrong with using artificial flowers on a cake, it's all about what your customer can afford and what you feel comfortable doing.

For the topper, make a disc of fondant to put the artificial items on.

Thanks for all the great ideas!
I will have to ck out the premade, too. Bride requested artificial, its what was on the pic she brought... This so far is only a hobby for me and the cake is for a friend of the family so I may just go with artificial since its day after christmas.

When I think of "artificial" flowers, what comes to mind are the very realistic looking silks that are out in abundance ... not the hard plastic cheap things that you find in forgotten corners of our mother's houses.

Many, if not most, of my brides choose to use silks. Silks .... not "cheap plastic".

I think silk flowers can be very beautiful on a cake, and it's a very budget friendly option.

You do know not to put live poinsetta on a cake, right? They're really poisonous.

[/quote]You do know not to put live poinsetta on a cake, right? They're really poisonous.[quote]

yes

lol@sadsmile, you know I saw a program one time that talked about how certain things can bring back memories of things you didn't even know you remembered...like a song, or seeing a photo...and they said that "smell" is the strongest sensory memory jarring sense that we have!

It's so weird, I'll go in a store and smell something (not even really knowing what it is) and I'll instantly be taken back to my childhood. Everytime I smell peaches that are getting ripe (you know how they smell really sweet, but kinda like they're starting to rot and musty at the same time?) takes me right back to my Grandma's back porch, she used to can peaches and kept gargantuan amounts of peaches in baskets on her back porch, smelled so good!

You could make a round plaque out of gumpaste, then arrange your florals on that, then set on top of cake. Nothing would touch.

I think of my grandparents' house when I smell propane. They lived in the back woods of Missouri without electricity or running water (boy, what a culture shock it was to visit them), and they cooked with propane. As icky as propane smells, it's still a fond memory.

Ruth, I too am reminded of my childhood with the smell of propane. We used to spend summers with my Dad in Oklahoma and his house used propane. Takes me right back!

As far as the topic...I don't think using silks/artificial flowers is cheesy. There are some very nice, realistic flowers these days. And it's all about what the customer can afford. Good luck!

Ruth, I too am reminded of my childhood with the smell of propane. We used to spend summers with my Dad in Oklahoma and his house used propane. Takes me right back!

As far as the topic...I don't think using silks/artificial flowers is cheesy. There are some very nice, realistic flowers these days. And it's all about what the customer can afford. Good luck!

it's funny because my DH's grandparents gave us a 1970 coleman pop up camper (almost a decade older than me!) and we use that thing STILL. Every winter we flood the cupboards and under the seating with mothballs to keep animals out (since it's stored outsidde) and I joke with my husband that my kids are gonna grow up loving the smell of mothballs. In fact my 10 yr. old always says "mmmm, I don't know WHY I like that smell?" and I really think it's because we have such a good time camping and it reminds the kids of it. No matter how hard you try the first couple of weeks in that camper all you smell is mothballs LOL We air that puppy out for a week before we start using it too!!

Isn't there anything food safe to wrap your flower wires in...say cover the floral tape with ribbon or something like that?

I grew up on a small ranch just north of Los Angeles...lots of animals (and their smells)...then lived in the metropolis for over 25 years...now live in another rural place near a cattle feed lot...and yes!!! even "THAT" smell triggers wonderful memories.

[quote="sherrycanary"]Isn't there anything food safe to wrap your flower wires in...say cover the floral tape with ribbon or something like that?[/quote]

chocolate.

Floral tape is safe. There is no latex in it as was stated in previous posts. It is composed of paper coated with paraffin wax, which is used for canning.