Orchids In Bloom - A Blog Make-Over

Welcome! You're just in time for the reveal of my newly renovated virtual home! 

Right up there with the Ranunculus, the Orchid is one of my favourite flowers. Traditionally the flower of powerful romantic desire, it is also one of the world's most exotic. I received my first from K back when we met and they have been a decor staple in our home since. To say I am obsessed with them would be understated.

So, when I finally decided it was time to freshen up my blog, the very first item to adorn my virtual decor had to be orchids. And being a blog about all things sweet, they had to be of the sugar variety, accompanied by cake, of course. We'll come back to that in bit...

OK, how cute is my little guy with pink toe nails? We don't have pets now, but if I could I'd have a house full of elephants, great danes and polar bears. And if I was forced to choose just one of the three, elephants would win. While my city's laws and regulations forbid me from having the real deal, nothing stops me from doing so here. 

Elephants are extremely intelligent animals with long memory and much like us humans, they express grief, joy and anger. They form deep family bonds and live in tight matriarchal groups. I think I may have been an elephant in a previous life, I really do. Some day I plan to visit an elephant sanctuary and become a part of their group for as long as they would have me. And I'll be sure to share the entire adventure with you.

In the meantime, meet the I Sugar Coat It! elephant - my very first blog logo! He's a little green, but he'll learn the ropes in no time and will always be here to greet you at every visit, a treat in tow trunk. :) 

Back to my sugar orchids and cake! 

I received James Roselle's Exotic Sugar Orchids Craftsy course for the holidays and as soon as I got around to watching the videos, I knew right away what I would do with the finished flowers. I set about creating the sugar version of one of my plants.

You may have seen my orchids in the works on my Facebook page a couple weeks ago. Well, this is what became of them shortly after, in case you were wondering. I took things a little beyond what was taught in the class and created leaves, buds, rocks, moss and a pot to hold them all. 

I wired the flowers with floral wire and floral tape and then attached the wired ensemble to a wooden cake support/dowel. So that it would not come in contact with my cake, I inserted a bubble straw down the center of the cake and then inserted the wrapped dowel into the straw. James used a similar technique in the course, but added royal icing for additional support.

To make the rocks, I used a mixture of white and dark modelling chocolate, food color and my airbrush to mimic nature. The moss was shredded coconut colored with green food powder and the roots were fondant. The leaves were a fondant/gum paste mixture and were not wired, so were held by the cake.

Carving the flower pot cake was no huge feat, but it was my first time carving so I was a little worried it would end up a wonky mess. It has two layers of vanilla cake and one of chocolate cake, filled and masked with coconut flavored Swiss Meringue Buttercream. The top was covered in chocolate fondant and the sides were wrapped in white fondant finished with a basket weave texture. The tastiest pot, ever! 

So grab a slice and have a look around! The tour will begin as soon as we clean up a few kinks and cracks.