How To: Make Bumble Bees

I have finally gotten round to making a tutorial! A video would probably be better but for now sequential photos will have to do – I’m already very proud of the fact that I didn’t miss any crucial steps the way I usually do. Baby steps!

I have actually made these bees  before in the past (Bee Lime Tart) but never made an actual step by step thing on it. Anyway, here they are on my Daisy Bee Cupcakes! Please refer to my Daisy Tutorial if you are interested to learn how to make the flower too.

Supplies required

Floral wire, medium gauge
Sugarpaste
Black edible ink pen
Yellow and black gel food colouring
Pink lustre dust
Cotton buds
Fine sable brush

Method

1. Tint some sugarpaste with the yellow food colouring and roll into teardrop shapes approximately 1.5cm long.
2. Wrap the floral wire around a pen or cylindrical object to shape it into a spiral.
3. Dampen the end of the wire and insert into the sugarpaste teardrop shape. Leave for at least 12 hours to dry and firm up before moving onto the next stage.
4. Using a black edible food pen or black food colouring and a brush, paint stripes onto the body of the bee.
5. Pinch a very small amount of white sugarpaste and roll it in between your fingers. Use the tip of the brush to dampen the surface of the eye area of the body and then stick the white sugarpaste on.
6. Roll some small amount of sugarpaste into a ball and flatten into a teardrop shape to form the wings. Dampen the top of the bee and place the wings on, making sure they take on a curved shape. Leave to dry.
7. To finish the bee off, swab a very small amount of lustre dust onto the bee’s cheeks using a cotton bud. Then, using the black edible ink pen, draw in the features as desired.

The most fun part of this project is definitely the features as it gives the bees some character. It is not too difficult either, just a little time consuming due to the wait in between drying times. Hope some of you find it helpful!