Handmade Paper Flowers

Wafer paper sheets (rice paper sheets)

Small amount of white sugarpaste icing

Edible glue

Dust food colours: pink, white, blue, green, burgundy

Fine paintbrushes (food use only)

Sharp scissors

Vodka or other clear alcohol

Palette or plate 

Wooden skewer or cocktail stick

1. Take a small blob of the white sugarpaste icing and form into a 2.5-3cm disc. Set aside.

2. Cut a strip from the width of one of the sheets of wafer paper. Using a dry paintbrush and some of the pink dust food colour, work the colour into the paper until the strip is pink. 

3. Snip along the edge of the strip to create a feathered edge. Roll the feathered strip around the cocktail stick and secure at the end with a little edible glue.

4. Cut another strip of paper from the length of the sheet. Repeat step 3 and roll around the pink cylinder. Secure with edible glue and set aside.

5. Take a whole sheet of wafer paper. Mix some of the pink food colour dust with a little vodka to make a paste. Paint some small pink flowers all over the paper - add highlights with white and details with burgundy. You can be as detailed or free with this as you wish! Add some leaves with the green and a scattering of blue and dark pink spots to add a little interest.

6. Cut the sheet into 6 equal rectangles. Cut 5 of the rectangles into heart shaped petals - you really don't need to be too perfect with this! At the bottom of each petal cut a large slit approximately a quarter of the way up.

7. Carefully overlap the twoflaps at the bottom of each petal to create a slight cup shape - secure with edible glue. Set aside to dry.

8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 with more plain white wafer paper - making each set of 5 petals slightly smaller each time. I added some pretty polka dots to my smallest petals - be as creative as you want to be!

1. Start with the largest set of petals. Arrange the petals in a flower shape on top of the sugarpaste disc. Secure each petal to the disc with a little edible glue, carefully overlapping as you go.

2. Repeat with the other 2 sets of petals finishing with smallest set in the centre - you can add more layers of petals if you wish!

3. Remove the cocktail stick form the centre of the wafer paper cylinder. Use your fingers to carefully tease out the feathered edge to create a pom-pom effect. Attach the cylinder to the centre of the flower using edible glue. You will need to hold it in place for a few seconds to allow the glue to set.

4. Take a tiny ball of sugarpaste and colour it with some dark pink dust colour. Attach the tiny ball to the middle of the feathered flower centre. Leave the whole flower to set for at least 30 minutes.