This gumpaste David Austin rose tutorial uses a super fast method for creating those usually time consuming layers of intricate inner petals. It’s so fast you’ll be churning out gardens full of them in no time!
The completed flower measures 4 inches/10cm so it’s quite a substantial flower head and makes a stunning feature flower either as part of a sugar flower arrangement or as a statement flower on it’s own.
The David Austin rose is one of the most requested flowers in brides’ wedding bouquets, and the peach variety above known as the Juliet rose is a true classic. So for wedding cake makers it follows that they’re a popular request of floral wedding cake décor. You’ll be glad we’ve made this super fast gumpaste David Austin rose tutorial to speed you on your way to fulfilling all those bridal dreams!
Gumpaste David Austin Rose Tutorial: Materials
- Gumpaste
- 2.25 inch (6cm) styro ball
- 18-guage wire cut into third and taped together with florist’s tape
- Glue gun
- Edible glue
- Ruler
- Foam pad
- Ball tool
- Dresden tool
- Petal cutters: 1.5 inches (3.5cm) and 2 inches (5cm)
- Apple tray former
Gumpaste David Austin Rose Tutorial: Method
Start by cutting your styro ball in half. Insert the strengthened wire into one of the halves and secure in place with a shot of hot glue. (Don’t worry if the flat half of the styro ball is a little rough – it will be covered by petals later.)
Cut out an 2.25”/6cm circle of fondant, apply edible glue to it and attach to the wired styro ball half.
Roll out some gumpaste and cut into strips 1.5cm deep and approximately 9 inches (23cm) long or thereabouts. You will need about 8 strips in total – a few can even be of a shorter length for variety.
Take each strip and place on a foam pad. Using a ball tool, press firmly along the top edge as you run the ball tool along it to frill the edge.
Take one strip at a time and wrap it around itself less than half an inch/1cm at a time, wrapping it loosely as you go.
Then pinch one end so that it’s narrower than the top end.
Take a Dresden tool and gently open up the frilled edges even more.
Apply edible glue to the top of the styro ball and attach the folded petals. Some of the petal sections will be a little longer than others so don’t be afraid to squish the petals to make them fit. Each petal section doesn’t have to be the exact same shape as the next.
For the outer petals, start with the smaller petal cutter and cut out 7 petals.
On a foam pad, lightly run around the outer edge of each petal with a ball tool. Then use the ball tool to circle around the center of the petal applying firm pressure to cup the petal inwards.
Sit the petals into an apply tray former to firm up a little. (I cut out the individual “wells” of an apple tray for easier storage – hence the weird looking formers below!)
Moving onto the bigger cutter, cut out 7 more petals. Thin the edges with the ball tool and cup the centers as above. Before placing each petal into the apple tray former to dry a little, gently fold back the top edges of the petal slightly.
Make another 8 petals, thin, cup and fold the edges as above and leave to dry before moving on to make 8 more.
Once the petals have dried and before you start assembling, a handy tip is to tape the wires with floristry tape. This gives the wires a certain tackiness which prevents the petals from spinning loosely around the center when you are taping the flower together.
To attach the petals to the center, start with the first 7 petals and apply edible glue to the bottom half of each petal. Then attach the first petal to the flower center and work your way around the flower, overlapping the petals as you go and tucking the last petal in underneath the first petal at the end of the row.
For the second row of petals, apply edible glue in the same way again and attach the first petal in the join where two petals in the first row meet. Continue attaching petals around the flower, overlapping the petals as you go.
For the third row, attach the petals slightly lower than the preceding row. And a little lower again for the fourth row.
Before you hang the flower upside down to try, gently tease open some of the petals from the second row outwards to give the flower a little more body. Leave to dry overnight.
Optional dusting for the David Austin rose: if you wish you can use a flat edged paintbrush to dust a deeper color petal dust on the top edge of the outer petals to enhance its color tones.
And for sugar flower fans, don’t forget to check out PetalSweet’s Jacqueline Butler’s exquisite gumpaste heirloom rose tutorial also.
