Fondant Babys Breath

So, today I'm making some babys breath out of fondant. I'm thinking I might use it on the cake I'm going to make this weekend. Babys breath is a little finicky to make, but it's such a great way to fill in extra space between fondant flowers.

So, here's how I make them....

First off, you need some wire. Here I just bought some green colored, 32 gauge wire. These ones are cloth (thread) covered wires. I'd prefer to use paper covered wires, but there isn't a store close by that sells the paper covered ones. These ones I bought at Michaels.

I cut the wires so they're about 1 1/4" long or so. I don't measure them. It's not going to matter too much how long they are exactly.

Next, I use needle-nosed pliers and I curl the ends of each wire. Why do this? It will help to hold your flower in place. Any flower you make, any gauge of wire, you always do this. I make sure I get just a small loop, I usually just wrap it around the nose of the pliers part way and then squeeze it the curl closed, making it a very small looped curl.

You're going to need lots. For one little bunch of babys breath, you need 6. So, lots and lots.

Next I roll out my fondant or gumpaste. Don't roll it out too thin. Maybe 1/8" or so. When you're not using it, make sure you cover it up with saran wrap, so it doesn't dry out on you. I have the Wilton's "Beautiful GumPaste Flowers" kit, and I use the smallest 5 petal flower cutter to cut out lots of little flowers.

Flatten and smooth out the little flower cutout by putting it onto a piece of thin foam and using a ball shaped tool.
Now, I've made these flowers 2 different ways. First, I'll show you pictures of how I learned how to do it and then I'll show you another way. The end results are about the same.


First way is to poke a hole in the middle of your little flower and thread your wire through it, up to your little loop that you made. then you'd carefully fold the flower in half and then in half again. Being very careful not to squish your flower in the process. You only want to pinch the very bottom on the flower.
Alternative way....
Fold your little flower in half first, then lay the wire in the middle of your folded flower. Then fold into quarters. Same thing as before... don't squish your flower. Pinch the bottom only. Both ways. Oh, I should mention that it's best to wet (not too much!) your wire before you make your flower. If it's damp, then your flower will stick better. Though, you can get away with not getting it wet.
Your flower should look something like this...
Let them dry completely by sticking them in a foam block. When dry, you can use florist tape and put them in groups of 6.
That's it. You can then use them on a cake with other flowers. Here's a cake that I used Baby's Breath on....


If you've found this tutorial helpful, leave me a note and let me know if you've tried your hand at it and how it worked out for you. Don't be shy!