Lavender stems are a great way to add height and a pop of color to your arrangements. A delicate addition to flowers perched on a cake ledge, they can also be laid on their side in a sweet bundle tied with ribbon. The most recognizable are the striking purple shades, but variations also include white and beautiful blues.
1. Using pliers, make a tiny closed hook in a 26g green wire cut to 7in (18cm) in length.
2. Roll a tiny ball of purple paste and attach it to the wire (see Getting Started), using only enough to neatly cover the hook. Let it dry for a few hours before using.
Work on five to seven stems at a time, moving from one to the next when you are adding new groups of petals. This will allow some drying time and reduce the risk of petals slipping down the wires.
3. Roll purple paste thinly to 1⁄16in (2mm) and keep it covered to prevent drying.
4. Cut and work with three or four lavender petal shapes at a time so the petals remain flexible while you work on them. Continue to step 5.
5. Dab a small amount of sugar glue on each petal.
6. Slide a petal up the wire and attach it around the stem tip, pressing gently to close the petal a little around the base.
7. Attach a second petal in the same way, trying to offset the tips so the petals don’t sit directly on top of each other. For variety, make some stems with one petal over the stem tip, and some with two petals.
8. To create a new group of lavender petals, dab sugar glue on a petal and slide it up the wire, stopping about 3⁄8in (8mm) to 1⁄2in (1cm) below the previous group. Pinch the base of the petal, securing it to the wire. This is the “anchor” flower. Let this flower dry for at least 15 minutes before stacking additional petals below it.
9. Cut several more petals and apply glue in the centers. One at a time, slide them up the wire and attach to the anchor petal, trying to offset the tips so they don’t line up with each other. For visual interest, vary the number of petals in each grouping by using between one and four petals per group.
10. Work on multiple stems at the same time to allow for sufficient drying time between groups of petals and individual stems. Let them hang on a rack during the process, and work all the way down the line before starting at the beginning again.
11. Use five or six groups of petals to create a lavender stem 21⁄2–3in (6.5–7.5cm) in length.
12. Roll light green paste very thinly to 1⁄32in (1mm) and cut the calyx shape.
13. Using a small ball tool or tiny Celpin, widen the sections of the calyx, and then pinch the tips with your fingertips.
14. Dab a tiny amount of sugar glue in the center and slide the calyx up the wire to attach to the bottom petal of the lavender stem. Smooth with your fingertips to attach. Let the stems dry completely before dusting.
15. Dust all the petals with lavender dust.
16. Apply a few random spots of royal blue dust on the petals to add dimension.
17. Dust kiwi green at the base of each group of petals, and on the calyx. Steam to set the colors, and let the lavender stems dry before using.
18. Gently bend and shape the stems before using in an arrangement.
