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One of the most common struggles I see with making paper flowers, is having the confidence to give colouring methods a try. In particular alcohol inks seem to scare people the most, and honestly there's no reason for that, as using alcohol inks to colour your paper flowers can be one of the easiest methods there is!
Over the next few months I plan to share with you some of the different ways you can colour your paper flowers, using alcohol inks, pan pastels, acrylic paints and more. In the first instalment in my colouring techniques mini series, I show you how to use alcohol inks to create a blended gradient, perfect for making paper hydrangeas or other flowers that have that lovely blotchy variety in their colouring.
Click on the image below to watch the alcohol ink tutorial.
MATERIALS:
For a list of where to buy paper flower supplies Worldwide, click here.
- The inks I'm using in the video are from the Tim Holtz range by Ranger, and I'm using the colours Stonewashed and Cool Peri.
- Isopropyl Alcohol, available from most chemists/pharmacies/grocery stores/supermarkets. I use 70% strength.
- I'm using the Lia Griffith Heavy Crepe Paper in Snowflake, but this technique should work with all crepe papers too.
- Jar or pot to mix your inks in.
- Protection for your workspace.
I hope this encourages you to give alcohol inks a try, if you have any questions please leave a comment below and I'll do my best to help.
Happy flower making,
Michelle x
2 comments
Hi Connie! You absolutely could use paper flowers on a wedding cake! There are a few things to be aware of though. Firstly, I would avoid using any kind of colouring techniques that might transfer to the cake, such as pan pastels – these are not safe to eat, so I wouldn’t want to take the risk of them accidentally rubbing on the cake. I would stick with the manufacturers standard colours, or use alcohol inks. If you want to be extra cautious then maybe keep the inks to those petals which aren’t going to touch the cake and that will sit a bit higher up. Secondly, I would be careful about how you attach the flowers to the cake. I believe most cake decorators use a tube which is pushed into the cake first, and then the flower wires can sit inside the tube, so therefore the wire isn’t touching anything thats going to be eaten! I would also try to design it in a way that the paper flowers are touching the cake as little as possible. Finally, I would also be prepared that the paper flowers may not be able to be used again afterwards. Obviously there’s a good chance that you could save them, especially if your design is one large cluster of flowers, but if it’s lots of more spread out paper flowers for example, there’s a good chance they might end up damaged, or covered in icing or something! So I would just expect that so that you’re not disappointed if the worst happened! I hope that helps, I’d love to see photos if you do end up making them for a wedding cake!
Can you use this flower on cakes for wedding?