Holly

WIRE  #26     #28 LENGTH  7 cm     9 cm HOOK  small hooked LEAF CUTTER  Holly Leaf VEINER  JEM Holly Leaf FLOWER FORMER  dimple sponge PASTE  Holly Green     Christmas Red DUST  Forrest Green     Red GLAZE  Berries

INSTRUCTIONS:
 

LEAF

Roll green paste on a grooved board. Place one of the Holly cutters over the ridge of paste so that a thickened area of paste is at the base of the leaf. (Holly leaf cutters have two pointed ends. The longer point is the stem end of the cutter)

Place the petal right side down on a veiner and use a sponge to imprint.

Transfer the leaf to a sponge, right side up, and use a ball too lto gently ball the edge of the leaf, ensuring that it does not become too frilled.

Use a veining tool to reinforce the central vein mark.

Glue a #28 wire and insert into the thick area of the leaf.

Lay on sponge former so it has a natural shape. The smaller petals should curve up and the larger petals should curve down. Allow to dry completely.

BERRIES

Roll a small ball of red paste until smooth.

Glue a #26 wire and insert through the berry until it is just visible from the top of the berry.

Allow to dry completely.

Dust with red colour and then dip into confectioners varnish.
 

SPRIG

Starting with two small holly leaves, tape leaves together in pairs to form a stem, offsetting each pair. Tape holly berries to the base of each pair of leaves, ensuring that the berries have as short a stem as possible. Vary the number of berries between each pair of leaves to mimic nature.

Pass the completed stem through steam to set the colours.