This easy gumpaste Christmas rose tutorial (or hellebores as they are also known) is for a white rose but the Christmas rose comes in a whole host of colors and varieties. White, lime green and dusky pink are three of the most popular shades.
Gumpaste Christmas Rose Tutorial: Materials
- white gumpaste
- leaf green gumpaste
- yellow seed head stamen (or if you have white you can simply dust the heads yellow)
- wide (circular) rose petal cutter (3cm or 1 1/4 inch)
- calyx cutter or jasmine or stephanotis or small daisy cutter (approx. 1.25cm/half inch)
- 26 gauge white wire (cut into quarters)
- 24 gauge green wire (cut into quarters)
- tweezers or needle-nosed pliers
- foam pad
- ball tool or bone tool
- lime green dust color
- paintbrush
Gumpaste Christmas Rose Tutorial: Method
- To make the center of the hellebore/Christmas rose, take a small bunch of yellow stamen (about 10 double sided stamen cut in half to make a bunch of 20 seed heads) and arrange them so that they are at different heights within the bunch. Tape around the bunch of stamen about 5mm under the lowest seed head with half width white floral tape. Bend the stamen outwards a little so they are not too tightly bunched together in the center.
- Tape a 20-22 gauge wire to the bunch of stamen.
- Cut out a calyx shape using your calyx/jasmine/stephanotis or small blossom cutter.
- Using a bone tool, elongate the petals/sepals of the calyx.
- Cut the calyx in half, then dab a little edible glue along the bottom edge and wrap the calyx/blossom around the bunch of stamen. Bend the petals/sepals out a little from the center. Set aside to dry.
- To make the petals, you can use a grooved board if you are familiar with it or if you are a beginner you can follow these simple steps for making wired petals. Roll out a sausage of white gumpaste and place horizontally on your work surface.
- Using your rolling pin, roll the gumpaste away from you, keeping the edge closest to you a bit thicker (for inserting the wire into the petal) and rolling the end furthest from you a little thinner.
- Cut out five petals per flower with the bottom of the cutter placed along the thick edge of the paste.
- Take one of your white wires and dip into edible glue. Wipe off the excess then insert into the thick end of the petal. Pinch the base of the petal to secure it to the wire.
- On a foam pad, thin the edges of the petals with a ball tool or bone tool. Place on a rose petal veiner to vein or vein with a veining tool or cocktail stick. Leave the petals to dry overnight.
- Once dry, dust the base of the petals with lime green dust color.
- Taping up: tape each wired petal down about two inches from the bottom of the petal. (This stops the petals “spinning around” the central wire as you’re assembling the flower.)
- Then tape the petals one at a time around the calyx/stamen.
More Christmas Cake Decorating Tutorials/Winter Sugarcraft Tutorials:
- Gumpaste Mistletoe Tutorial
- Gumpaste Ilex Berries & Twigs Tutorial (Winter Berries Tutorial)
- Gumpaste Holly Tutorial (Leaves & Berries)
- Gumpaste Snowberries Tutorial
- Gumpaste Willow Tutorial
- Gumpaste Snowdrops Tutorial
- Easy Gumpaste Poinsettia Tutorial
