Starting slightly higher than the last row of petals, arrange the third row of petals around the styro ball, overlapping each petals over the previous one.

Sepals - Roll out the green gumpaste thinly. Use the sepal cutter or template and cut out 3 sepals for each bud. Next, rub a little vegetable fat onto your work board and roll out your gumpaste thinly (but not so thin that you can see through it).Brush a line of glue along the length of the paste just above the centre. Fold in half lengthwise and brush another line of glue along the bottom edge. Roll up around the ball, starting the roll as tightly as possible. Take the second small piece and repeat the process. Repeat with the two larger pieces. This will give you a reasonably large peony, but you may add more pieces until you have the size required. Leave to dry.

The petals should pretty much cover the underside of the styrofoam ball at this stage If not, we can tidy it up with the fourth row of petals. Take a piece of white florist’s tape (giving it a little stretch to activate the in-built adhesive), then starting approximately 1.5 inches from the top of the three wires, tape the three pieces together.

Take your styro ball and add a dab of edible glue at the top. Cover the top of the ball with one of the veined petals

Paint edible glue on to each of the petals from about half-way down to the petal right down to the pointed end. So if you’ve been meaning to get started learning how to make sugar flowers, then you’ve run out of excuses because we’ve come up with a fail-safe gumpaste peony tutorial for you to try. bone tool (for softening edge of petals and frilling petals, also included as standard in most modelling tool sets) Cut out five petals of the next size and repeat the wiring, frilling, bending and colouring as before. Use a ball tool for additional help to curve the petal inwards. Allow to dry a little before adding onto the flower with petals overlapping.Flip the petals over and curl each scallop with the bone tool as before, as well as thinning/softening the edges of the petals.