A good friend of mine is having a small wedding reception in a few weeks (military guy, so everything is last minute... I'm a military wife so I totally get this) and has asked me to make her cake. She really helped me out once when nobody else would, so there's no part of me that wants to say no to her. But, I'm scared to death of the flowers she wants.

I've never done them before, and while they don't *look* particularly overwhelming, they're pretty much the focal point on the cake and I don't want to mess it up. Should I swing for the fences and attempt these, going outside my decorating box and expanding my horizons, or should I just purchase them to ensure that she has a nice looking cake?

This is the cake she wants:

I will add that the reception is on the 27th. I just started my Spring Break, so I basically have a week off and a great deal of time to practice the flowers (I had planned to decorate a dummy cake anyway, so there was already plenty of cake time built into my schedule)

I guess I'm really suffering from a huge lack of confidence, and I don't want to see my creation end up on Cake Wrecks, haha.

Well..since you don't have alot of time and flowers like these can't be rushed..I would probably go ahead and buy them for this cake.Unless you have ever done gumpaste flowers before, they are alot of work and patience and take along time to learn and master.

Is there a different kind of flower that would be easier for me to try that would have a similar effect?

I used this kind of stargazer lily on a cake I did back in October. The bride opted for silk flowers which saved me some headache and a lot of frustration.

Places like Hobby Lobby and Michael's have some very real looking artificial lilies, so maybe you could look into that.

I don't think buying flowers is "copping out".... as far as my business is concerned I give people a choice...I can buy the gumpaste flowers and they pay for the cost, or I can make them by hand and charge by the hour (basically). None of them care if I buy them as its cheaper for them, and I charge extra to hand dust them.

Doing four boys and a part time cake business (licensed) is too much for me to sit and handmake gumpaste flowers, as much as I'd like to get more experience in doing so!!!! So I buy them on occasions when I need them. Especially the large showy ones like the OP. Maybe when all the kids are in school I'll have more time to work on that part of the artwork.

I think I would watch the tutorials and see if they seemed like something I could do...then I would try to do ONE. If that turned out more or less ok then I would go ahead and do the others. BUT if I watched the tutorials and got totally lost at any point I would be running to the cake store to buy them....or if I tried to make one and it turned out looking horrid then I would buy them. At any cost I would give it a try but not invest TOO much time before "copping out"...(btw, I don't consider buying them copping out either)

Cat

To clarify, me copping out was when I thought I wasn't even going to try to make them by myself. I'll try one tomorrow and see how it goes. If its going to be near impossible, I think I'll see if she's alright with the silk flower idea.

Thanks everyone!

I quit making most flowers years ago. It's not worth my time. I buy 'em.

www. avalon deco .com

http://www.cakedeco.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_prod.html?p_prodid=7935&p_catid=&page=1

Check this out, 8 of them for less than $2 each!! And I've ordered from here too Here is a cake I did with the stargazers from cake deco dot com!

I think I need to start "coping out". Thanks for the link Leah I am going to check that out. Hopefully you don't have to be a business to purchase from them.

Doesn't Edna have a stargazer lily video on her website?

I don't think using silk flowers is a cop out. It can cut down on the cost of the cake for your customers if you can purchase them on sale and they can often look like the real thing.

http://cakecentral.com/articles/131/how-to-make-a-gumpaste-stargazer-lily-asian-lily

Leah_s

I looked on avalondeco.com as you suggested. Great products, thanks for sharing! Do you know in your experience if any of the roses come attached on a toothpick or a covered wire? I'm worried how I would safely secure them esp. for transportation if they don't have something.

Thanks for your help!

On average, how many break when you get them shipped, or are they packaged up pretty well?

I, too, don't get why it would be considered "copping out"?

I've told brides that asked about these, "I don't make them. They're made by someone .... just not by me." And guess what? They didn't care. The bride was asking about sugar flowers .... she didn't give a rat's patooty about who or where they were made.

Well, I think my newness is showing again. I was definitely under the impression that most people made their own sugar flowers. Thanks for all of the input everyone!