New Rose

I am sorely tempted to sit around my house, dwelling on my disappointment.  I'm missing a bridal show I had hoped to do today. 

I find it difficult to mope, however, when I am having so much fun. 

Besides the peacock feathers I showed you yesterday, which improve with every new attempt, I thought I'd try some new gum paste cutters I got some time ago and see if they lent themselves well to making a peony.

I failed in that endeavor. 

However, in place of the peony I expected, a gorgeous rose appeared!  It's not the usual tight little bloom I'm used to producing.  This is some other wild variety, but I love it.  It's big, it's full and it bears those peacock colors beautifully.

There's so much more you can do to add color and life to a sugar flower with a paintbrush.  Most often, I add the color to the gum paste and work it in well before I start forming petals, but this time, I left it white, and added layers of purple, blue and green as it dried.  The result is like holding a water color painting in your hand.  I love the effect. 

Usually, my roses look like this:

But the new rose I stumbled upon is somehow messier and less formal, like a medieval maiden.  I like them both, and they'll each serve to make a totally different kind of cake just what it should be.