Saturday, May 22, 2010

Peony Sugar Flower Vase

I just had the wonderful opportunity to make more peonies...in peach and white...and mix them with green hydrangea, filler flowers, and a myriad of other little buds and leaves. This time, I used them in a sugar vase topper:



The vase itself was made out of a granulated sugar and water mixture pressed into a slender mug. Once formed and dried for a day, the edges of the vase were firm, but the center was still soft enough to be scooped out with a spoon.



I formed a small base by pressing the same mixture into the hollow base of the mug. Both were dried for an additional day until they hardened completely, and I glued them together with royal icing:



The base of the vase was covered with tiny strings of sugarpaste to give it a modern and polished look:





Finally, I used royal icing to glue a Styrofoam ball into the opening of the vase, and then created the bouquet by arranging all of the flower, bud and leaf stems in the Styrofoam. A few extra peony petals were added for fun:



Thank you so much for stopping by!

Copyright © 2010 by Jacqueline Butler of Petalsweet Cakes. Content of this blog (including text, photographs and layout) is the property of Jacqueline Butler - please respect copyright laws. If you want to link to my blog, or post any of my photos, please contact me - it would be great to have the opportunity to connect with you. Thank you!
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19 comments:

  1. UnknownMay 22, 2010 at 7:35 PM

    Hi Jacqueline!
    How heavy is the vase you posted? This is a great idea...using 99% edible material. Thanks for posting this piece.

    Regards,
    Jeannie

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  2. Jacqueline ButlerMay 22, 2010 at 8:32 PM

    Thanks Jeannie! The completed piece has some weight - 1 pound 5 ounces altogether...and would need several dowels in the tier underneath it for support! It's also tall, so it would be a good idea to attach several narrow dowels into the base of the vase, and slide them into the tier to prevent any tipping over. Jackie

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  3. Craftiness NOWMay 22, 2010 at 9:09 PM

    a beautiful piece! i've been loving the peonies popping up all over everywhere this spring :-)

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  4. DK DesignsMay 22, 2010 at 10:06 PM

    So amazing! Great job. :)

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  5. Lambie's FamilyMay 23, 2010 at 8:34 AM

    Neat idea, it's similar to the same method for making sugar skulls. It makes a wonderful keepsake for displaying the beautiful bouquet after the wedding. Have you tried coloring the sugar to get a different color vase?

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  6. faithyMay 23, 2010 at 11:57 PM

    Love the idea for the sugar flower vase! thanks for sharing! And as usual, your sugar flowers are amazing as always and so beautiful and perfect.

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  7. SweetThingsTOMay 25, 2010 at 6:27 AM

    A sugar vase - what a fabulous idea! Amazing display - thanks!

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  8. CindyJune 1, 2010 at 5:00 AM

    That vase is amazing!! The whole arrangement is just lovely.

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  9. CindyJune 1, 2010 at 5:12 AM

    Okay I have a question, did you use any kind of "glue" to adhere the sugarpaste strings to the base?

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  10. DoreenJune 1, 2010 at 11:07 AM

    This is great!

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  11. Jacqueline ButlerJune 2, 2010 at 4:12 PM

    Thank you so much everyone!! I really appreciate your comments!

    **Lambie's Family - I have read about coloring the sugar, but have not tried it yet! Would love to - thanks for the great reminder!

    **Cindy - just a light dab or two of piping gel to get the strings to stick to the base...a very small amount in several spots..not all over the base.

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  12. CindyJune 2, 2010 at 4:33 PM

    That's a great idea, coloring the sugar. Would you use a powdered coloring or gels? Maybe airbrush color? How would you do go about doing that?

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  13. Jacqueline ButlerJune 2, 2010 at 8:37 PM

    Cindy - you could color the water before you mix it into the sugar, or just add a drop of gel color to the sugar/water mixture and mix well to distribute the color. Maybe I should play around with it and then blog about it!! :)

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  14. CindyJune 3, 2010 at 5:22 AM

    That's a great idea! I know for my gelatin work (butterflies and such) I use one drop of airbrush color which works great. You play, I'll play and we'll compare notes! :D

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  15. UnknownJune 13, 2010 at 11:42 AM

    Your art is truly amazing! It all looks so real!!! Kudos to you!

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  16. BiankaJune 18, 2010 at 7:57 AM

    I do not know what link took me to your blog, but wow your work is really inspiring. I am a beginner in gum paste, learning my self with books and videos, now your blog is going to be very helpful to me. Too bad I live in FL and you are in CA, would love to be one of your students. How often do you post tutotials, the one on hygrangeas is awesome, I printed them all 3 parts. Regards, Bianka

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  17. Winnie LeeJuly 5, 2010 at 6:50 PM

    I love the sugar vase! I cant wait to try it out.... I've always wondered how sugar cubes were made.......

    Thanks for the inpsiring post. Though it didnt over shadow the perfect flowers!!

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  18. Send flowersMarch 18, 2011 at 5:46 PM

    A perfect flower and a perfect handmade vase. Very nice one.

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  19. online floristJanuary 1, 2013 at 3:43 AM

    Oh wow, this is so good. I liked the vase a lot.

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