Colouring An Orchid In These Wild Colours
Decorating By Colliegirl Updated 6 Feb 2018 , 1:17am by jchuck
Folks I have to do a cake for beginning of next month and my friend loves orchids, the colour scheme is going to be purple, blue and silver. I found an Orchid someone did on a cake that is exactly what she wants but I've no idea how to colour it that way. I have added the pic of the Orchid colours, I am not sure I'll do the same type of Orchid but the colours are what I need to do. Can anyone suggest how I might attempt doing these colours? Thanks in advance for any information you can give.
I would start with white petals and layer the colors with petal dusts. If you can't find the colors you need, you can always mix them. Start with the blue color then add a violet on top. Adding hot pink on top of the violet will help with the vibrancy.
If the colors aren't dark enough, you can mix them with vodka. That usually makes it more pigmented.
I attached a picture of a project that I used a similar technique with (totally different colors, though).
Thank you Rachel. Do you know the actual colours that are being used here? I deal with Wilton Gel colours. I am totally lousy at getting the right colour. Is it royal blue, then violet and then sky blue or something like that? I appreciate your input.
Also do I dry the petals then colour them before I put them together as the Orchids? I would think so to get all the colour through the flower?
I don't think gel colors will get you the same effect. With my experience using them, they dry glossy instead of matte, which doesn't go well on most flowers. Do you have experience using petal dusts? I think your best bet would be using petal dusts, or edible art paints mixed with alcohol.
Do you plan on wiring the petals? If you do, you can put the flower together first, then color and still be able to move the petals around. I think it will be easier to follow the coloring pattern with the flower together.
Global sugar art is a great online store that has a wide variety of petal dusts. I'll attach a picture of how I organize mine. I put them all in a jewelry organizer so I can see them together and it makes mixing them much easier. I have 3 of these organizers filled up.
Wow you are so organized. That sounds like a great idea. Ok I'll go with wiring them and getting some petal dust to colour them with.
Thank you so much for all your help. I shall let you know how it turns out. Won't be due to the beginning of next month so I have go out and get stuff. I live in Australia so Global Sugar Art products may not get here on time. But I shall see. Thanks so much. Tina
another way is to mix the powders together first before applying to be sure i get the color i want on a scrap of some gum paste -- just another idea --
rachel17 -- i love your setup with all those lovely colors -- but if you drop that -- you're toast -- in the states they put the colors in little jars that are nearly impossible to open without pliers and prayers -- no, just being dramatic but they are really hard to open -- although no, i've Never Ever used my teeth to pry those dad blasted lids -- hmp umm not me -- but i dropped a large bottle of powdered red food color once -- omg what a messy mess i made -- it hit the floor -- poofed up and spread out like a mighty red mushroom cloud -- the clean up took forever & there's probably still some lingering somewhere -- hahahaha
I treat those things like gold! I have back ups of refills in the little pots too (I also live in the states). When you have over 100 colors, it’s impossible to have enough space to organize them, then always have to be lifting and opening them to check the color (I dont use fresh flowers, so almost all of my cakes have sugar flowers.). If it is open, I always have one hand on it, and if not, it is closed, and the lid has little separators, so it wouldn’t be too damaged if it fell closed.
To start, Colliegirl, the orchids in this picture are real, not sugar. I know there are colors on the market that are called neon (Wilton makes a small set that I purchased at the grocery), but I don't know if even they will be this vibrant. Be sure to steam the heck out of them, which will set and intensify the color. You can certainly achieve the same color pallet by using hot pink, purple and a bright, medium blue dust on white sugar paste. They may not have the "glow in the dark" quality of the real ones, but will be equally effective and beautiful.
I have mine in a couple shallow drawers with dividers -- if I laid them on their side I could see the colors or I could write the name on the lid if I even used them anymore :) -- I would drip stuff all over into the other colors with your set up but I love the panoply -- it's intoxicating
K8memphis I'm more of a visual person, so looking at the names doesn't help me (plus, I have about 3 "grapes" that are all completely different shades). I have to have them all open in front of me! Lol. I use little tasting spoons to scoop them out and put them in a palette to mix them, and just to keep the rest of them safe. Everyone has a method that works for them though!!
I store mine similar to -K8memphis, in a shallow (scrapbooking) box with the little pots turned upside down. That way, I see the colors, not the tops. Makes it easy to select colors.
Oh I know those petal dusts in those little bottles. When you open those lids with a jerk from the strength you need then the dust goes everywhere. I hate them. I always decant them to another little bottle that I have spare.
That red dust will be a nightmare for anyone.
Hmmm, never heard of Edible Art Paints. But will take a look to see. 100 colours!!!!! Holey Moley!
Thanks Sandra. I would'nt have known they were real. There you go. I shall look at those colours you've suggested. Not seen the neon colours around here but I will look. I used to do so many cakes but have had to slow down, got cancer a couple of years ago and thought the stress is something I could do without. So now I just do for family and friends (no customers) so I don't have to stress as much. So I haven't been on the look out for all the new stuff out there. Thanks so much for your advice. All of this advice is just wonderful for me. Cheers all.
Colliegirl
I purchased nontoxic artists chalk. Suitable to use on a cake, gumpaste flowers. I purchased at a local craft store. I could have purchased at an Art supply store as well, but at a much expensive price. I have two boxes, regular primary colours, bright coloured. I scrape off chalk with a sharp knife onto some parchment paper. I then blend chalk colours together to get what I’m trying to achieve. I can apply dry, or add a bit of alcohol. Now, I must say, there are some colours I can’t achieve that are very specific. And I do have some colour dusts for that. Use on there own, or blend with my chalk.
I also use artist's soft pastels, June, but only on my flowers. I have a giant collection left over from my painting days and they work just like petal dusts.
Absolutely Sandra. Mine are actual artists chalk, not pastels. Pastels were double the price. Keep saying I need to purchase some pastels. One of the biggest complaints about Wilton colour dusts is that they contain way too much filler...ie: chalk, (amoungst other fillers) and not enough pigment colour. So you’re paying mostly for chalk. I real old timer decorator told me about the Wilton, and said it would be cheaper buying artists chalk.
The chalk is probably the better buy, June. I just already had the pastels since I did pastel portraits in the past. My arthritis got to the point that I could no longer do paintings with pastels, so just stuck to oils. But, they work great for painting sugar and they are non-toxic. I did have one person chew me out royally and told me that they would kill you just from breathing them. I had to laugh, because I started using them when I was 18 years old and I am now 70 (almost).
The pastels are probably a lot better for painting, but I bet the chalks have every bit, if not more, pigment and that's what you are looking for.
June, I have mostly darker colors and mix them with white petal dust (or cornstarch, but it doesn't work as well), if I want a lighter color. Works great.
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