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How to Color/Tint Gum Paste Roses with Petal Dust

Here's a breakdown of two different ways to tint gum paste roses with your favorite color of petal dust.

Course Dessert
Cuisine American, Canadian
Keyword gum paste, roses, sugar flowers
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 1 + roses
Author Naomi

Ingredients

  • 1 large clean plate
  • 1 new/clean paint brush
  • 1 color petal dust (in the colour of your choice) For this tutorial, I used "Riding Hood Red" from Global Sugar Art
  • 1 + of your own beautiful gum paste roses
  • 1 block styrofoam to stand the roses up when you're done
  • Corn starch optional
  • Paper towel optional
  • 1 apron to keep yourself clean while you work

Instructions

For a bold (bright/vibrant) rose colour:

  1. Set a large plate in front of you on a clean work surface. Gather together your other supplies.
  2. Begin by dipping your paint brush into the petal dust, and "dust" the center of the flower (the middle rose petals), spreading the colour evenly. Work your way out to the outside petals. Turn it over, and paint the back of the rose with petal dust.
  3. Periodically as you work, you will want to gently tap the base of the rose, holding it upside down over the plate, to release stray bits of dust that you don't need (or use the brush to guide them away). Don't worry about this being perfect until you are putting the last bits of colour on, however - The main reason to do it periodically is so that you can re-use whatever petal dust falls down onto the plate.

For bright red petal tips:

  1. Dip your paint brush into the petal dust colour, and tap to remove excess. Guide the brush along the edge of the first row of petals, working from the outside in toward the centre. Tap out the excess dust frequently.
  2. Use the brush to gently spread the colour from the edges toward the inner petals, being careful not to add too much colour, creating a soft tint toward the center of the flowers.

Recipe Notes

Tip: To protect yourself from using too much color, you can mix the petal dust with a little bit of cornstarch to make it go further, and to soften the effect of the color on the flower petals. This makes it easier to add color without over-doing it.