Attempting Roses

You know how it is... you have a list a mile long of things you NEED to do, yet you somehow find time for:

-The Hills

-herb gardens

-blogging :)

-trying to teach yourself how to pipe icing-roses on paper plates

(Well maybe you're not as chronic a time-waster as I am)

But I gotta say... I LOVE to indulge in the above activities... especially when there's cleaning to do and errands to run.

And for months now... I've been enviously stalking blogger "Les" (whoever that is) on her fabulous blog http://cupcakesbyles.blogspot.com/.  You need to go over and look at her stuff.  Her rose cupcakes are out-of-this-world beautiful.  And I've been wondering how she does it and wishing I could do it as well!

I decided today was the day for some trial and error.  I had two cans of leftover icing from other projects... lots of spare time... and the itch to give it a go.

I started by mixing two not-so-pretty colors out of my leftover icing.  Yellow and uh... we'll just call it "primrose" which is code for "grayish pink."

Tip #1:  DONT do what I did and waste two of your husband's zip-lock sandwich bags before you come to your senses and realize that unless the bag is heavy-duty, it will stretch too much and squeeze your piping tip right out of the meticulous hole you cut.

I fell back on an old stand-by... parchment paper bags.  

Here's how you make them.

(Side Note:  Lucky You!  You're getting a little peek into the turmoil that is my kitchen counter.  And oh yeah...  the turmoil that is my personal appearance on a day where I have nowhere to be.)

Tape that topmost corner (the one I'm pinching in the picture) and fold it down a few times.  Then snip the corner just like you would any other pastry bag and drop your tip inside.

I've looked at a few instructional pictures online... and I knew that roses start with a bud-like shape in the middle.  So that's what I did first.

 

Just like with my other flower design... the pointed edge of the pastry tip needs to create the petal's delicately curved edge.  So I had to direct my point upward.

 Then I created more petals and gradually allowed them to face outward more.

I noticed right away that I was getting into a rut with how my petals kept fanning out in the same wave-like pattern.  I attempted to fix that as I added more.

I think the first one turned out pretty nice!

So I tried a few more and put some basil leaves on the plate with them because I'm a nerd like that.

(Next to this beautifully embellished plate... you'll notice the stack of paperwork I'm supposed to have filled out before my doctor's appointment tomorrow.  But OBVIOUSLY that can wait.)

I then moved on to the "primrose" roses.

Ooh!  This center turned out pretty.  This looks promising.

Yesssss!!! Score!  Can you tell I'm happy with this one?

Then I attempted a second one, but I kept accidentally dipping my hand in the first one.  And despite a VERY promising first few strokes (see the close-up of the middle of rose #2)... in my frustration I eventually gave up on it and it doesn't look very good.

(Sorry for the grainy-ness... I'm using the web cam on my laptop.... hahaha)

Moral(s) of the story:

1. Days off should be treated as such.

2. Piping roses isn't so hard.

3. Don't waste your husband's sandwich bags because your pride tells you you can make it work.