Gum Paste Dogwood Flower

One of the main reasons I acquired Wilton's Gum Paste Flower Cutter Set was the dogwood cutter; I've always loved these flowers. Once I figured out how to make them out of royal icing, I thought I'd better learn to make them out of gum paste as well. Here are the supplies:

You'll need white gum paste, a very small amount of light green gum paste, a container of gum glue adhesive (a pinch of gum paste dissolved in a tablespoon of water), Crisco (to revive gum paste if it's dried out), a mise en place bowl, a tapered spatula, Color Dust in Brown, Red, and Spruce Green, white Pearl Dust, small brushes, a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch, the veining and ball tools from Wilton's 10-Piece Fondant and Gum Paste Set, a 9" fondant roller with pink (1/16") rings, a 3" flower forming cup, a gum paste storage board to use as a work surface, the dogwood imprint mat from Wilton's Flower Impression Mat Set, thin pink and purple shaping foam, and the dogwood cutter from the Gum Paste Flower Cutter Set. Start by dusting the back of the gum paste storage mat:

Roll out some white gum paste to 1/16" thick, then slide the rings off and roll it out a little thinner.

 Cut out one dogwood shape and tear away the slack.

 Dust the dogwood petal and center parts of the impression mat:

 Lay the cutout over the petal impression…

 …and press gently but firmly over it with the thin pink shaping foam:

 Place the cutout, imprint side down, on the purple foam. Use the large end of the ball tool to cup each of the two rounded ends of each petal (8 total).

 Flip the cutout back over, imprint side up…

 …and use the large end of the ball tool to lightly thin the edges of each petal.

 Use the wide end of the veining tool, point side down, to form a small peak in between each of the two rounded shapes at the end of each petal.

 Press an indentation with the large end of the ball tool in the center.

 Dust the flower forming cup…

 …and place the flower on it.

 Roll a very small amount of green gum paste into a ball…

 …and press it into the center impression on the mat.

 Use a small brush to place a dab of gum glue adhesive in the center of the flower…

 …and place the green center over it. Allow the flower to dry for a while before coloring it.

Here is the setup for coloring the flower (the Color Dusts and Pearl Dust, the small bowl, brushes, and the angled spatula). 

 Use the tip of the spatula to remove a small amount from the red and brown dust vials, and then mix them together in the bowl.

 Dust the flower with the white pearl dust…

…brush a small amount of the Spruce Green Dust in the center…

 …and use a very small amount of the brown and red mixture in the indent of each petal.

Here's the finished dogwood flower; perfect for any forest-themed cakes.