Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Peppers

Thank you so much to Christine (@Sweet Prodigy) for such a wonderful challenge.  I learned  so much, and went down many a rabbit hole!  I know that you all have been down there with me, often enough. I was inspired by tutorials of Scott Clark Woolley at worldofsugarart.com and his  wonderful techniques  for flower creation. There were also the hours spent watching modeling clay miniature tutorials on YouTube, too many to name. I owe a lot of credit to the vegetable garden, for joy and beauty. 

This presentation is elements of vegetable flowers. The vegetable flowers are all made with gum paste. The pepper flower stamen are hand painted. The flowers are embellished with various petal dusts and luster dusts. The leaves are also gum paste, either hand veined or veined with a mold. The vegetables are made with modeling chocolate. Any stems are made with gum paste which holds up better in the humidity. 

The cookies are bare.  I used brown RI only as glue! I've included some photos of close ups of the flowers.

The big rabbit hole:  I bought my husband okra plants for fathers day, he loves it, me not so much. Turns out it is the most beautiful plant.  The flower is exquisite. I first saw the flower the day I read about the Challenge and immediately embarked on an unsuccessful! journey to recreate the flower in sugar. This flower lasts only a day, then quickly begins to turn into an okra. It is ephemeral in life, and obviously was refusing to let me capture it for a cookie! I don’t have to tell any of you how many hours I put into this. But it did lead me to making the other flowers, so all is good. 

I am always grateful to Julia Usher and Cookie Connection https://cookieconnection.juliausher.com/ for being such a wonderful outlet for all of us cookiers. Thanks!! I am also in awe of all of the talent in this month's challenge!! 

Wow Shea, this is such an amazing set!!! I love each little veggie, but those flowers are all gorgeous! Congratulations on your great work!♥️

Very very pretty!

What a creative idea! Very well done !

Very beautiful. You did great.

So wonderful, Shea. I especially love the contrast of the bright flowers and fruit/veggies against the dark dough.

@Heather Bruce Sosa posted:

Wow Shea, this is such an amazing set!!! I love each little veggie, but those flowers are all gorgeous! Congratulations on your great work!♥️

You are always so kind, thanks!  

@Julia M. Usher posted:

So wonderful, Shea. I especially love the contrast of the bright flowers and fruit/veggies against the dark dough.

Thank You!!  It was an accident, I was just trying out the layout, and walla, the whole dilemma of how to ice the cookie was solved.  All kind of discovery.  Manu told me to participate in a challenge to learn, and she was spot on!  Thanks for everything.  

@Zeena posted:

Very beautiful. You did great.

Thanks!!!

@LisaF posted:

What a creative idea! Very well done !

Many thanks!

@sylviawilson posted:

Very very pretty!

Thank you!

Choosing vegetable flowers is such a great idea!   Wow, so much details and how you put colors on is great😍  Thank you for adding close-up photos💕

Very beautiful❤️

exquisite work love the flowers in particular.❤️ 

@Ryoko ~Cookie Ave. posted:

Choosing vegetable flowers is such a great idea!   Wow, so much details and how you put colors on is great😍  Thank you for adding close-up photos💕

Thanks so much!

@Petra Florean posted:

Very beautiful❤️

Thanks, nice to be included in such a wonderful group!

@Jean Adams posted:

exquisite work love the flowers in particular.❤️ 

Thanks!

Love this idea and it adds so much visual interest!

WOW!! Dear Shea, your entry is fantastic!!! I totally like the 3 types of flowers with the corresponding leaves and fruits !! A great idea to design the flowers of vegetable plants !! Very unique and a wonderful job! I love the colors too! ❤️😘 @Shea

@E. Sherwood posted:

Love this idea and it adds so much visual interest!

Thanks for appreciation, means alot!

@Icingsugarkeks posted:

WOW!! Dear Shea, your entry is fantastic!!! I totally like the 3 types of flowers with the corresponding leaves and fruits !! A great idea to design the flowers of vegetable plants !! Very unique and a wonderful job! I love the colors too! ❤️😘 @Shea

Thank you so much, as always!  I had so much fun, learned a lot!  

So creative and wonderful! love all of the tiny details. 🍅🥔🌶🌸❤

@Kanch J posted:

So creative and wonderful! love all of the tiny details. 🍅🥔🌶🌸❤

Thanks so much.  I had to fight with the humidity, but learned along the way to take my time and let the shapes dry a little between steps.  It's so much fun to learn new things, eh?

Your flowers are beautifully done and very realistic looking. All of those tutorials and your hard work definitely paid off. Vegetables do come from flowers, of course, and this is such a brilliant idea for an arrangement. Those potatoes really caught my eye (bad pun). How did you make them look so real?

@Sweet Prodigy posted:

Your flowers are beautifully done and very realistic looking. All of those tutorials and your hard work definitely paid off. Vegetables do come from flowers, of course, and this is such a brilliant idea for an arrangement. Those potatoes really caught my eye (bad pun). How did you make them look so real?

HA! I'm always up for a good pun.  Thanks for the encouragement, and the wonderful challenge.  Coming up with a good potato color was more challenging than one would think.  My husband is a fine artist, so he helped me see how much yellow is in an actual potato skin.  Finally got that color with combination of chestnut brown, yellow and a little green food coloring.  The chestnut brown food coloring had enough red in it, that I didn't have to add extra.   Colored the white modeling chocolate and formed the taters.  Made rough oval, then poked them with my finger to get different shapes.  I took a stylus, dipped in powdered dark brown food coloring and poked little random divets in the surface.  Some of them I smeared with a small paint brush for a little more realism.  I was happy with result!  Thanks again, can't wait for the next challenge! 

so lovely set

@PUDING FARM posted:

so lovely set

Thank you so much!

@Shea posted:

HA! I'm always up for a good pun.  Thanks for the encouragement, and the wonderful challenge.  Coming up with a good potato color was more challenging than one would think.  My husband is a fine artist, so he helped me see how much yellow is in an actual potato skin.  Finally got that color with combination of chestnut brown, yellow and a little green food coloring.  The chestnut brown food coloring had enough red in it, that I didn't have to add extra.   Colored the white modeling chocolate and formed the taters.  Made rough oval, then poked them with my finger to get different shapes.  I took a stylus, dipped in powdered dark brown food coloring and poked little random divets in the surface.  Some of them I smeared with a small paint brush for a little more realism.  I was happy with result!  Thanks again, can't wait for the next challenge! 

Me either! That's definitely a lot of work put into making the potatoes look so real. Very impressive. Thank you for explaining the process.

These are fabulous!!!

@Evelindecora posted:

These are fabulous

Thanks Dear Evelin @Evelindecora.  Great to hear from you!

Wow! Fabulous work @Shea!! I just love the flowers combined with vegetables. What a great idea...so creative! Your flowers are gorgeous . I loved reading about your journey to making this beautiful entry for the challenge. I can certainly identify with the countless hours spent watching YouTube videos and researching online to help put your idea into this finished work of art!!

I had never heard of flowers on okra plants. What a wonderful discovery but how sad that the blossoms lasted for only a day . Rats!!! Your flowers are so beautifully made and decorated my dear. This is amazing work ❤️❤️❤️

@Cookies Fantastique posted:

Wow! Fabulous work @Shea!! I just love the flowers combined with vegetables. What a great idea...so creative! Your flowers are gorgeous . I loved reading about your journey to making this beautiful entry for the challenge. I can certainly identify with the countless hours spent watching YouTube videos and researching online to help put your idea into this finished work of art!!

I had never heard of flowers on okra plants. What a wonderful discovery but how sad that the blossoms lasted for only a day . Rats!!! Your flowers are so beautifully made and decorated my dear. This is amazing work ❤️❤️❤️

How kind you are always, Carol @Cookies Fantastique!  Loads of fun, and looking forward to another challenge.  Always grateful for your encouragement!!  ❤️ 

What a great composition! Beautiful detailed flowers. I love how you have paired them with the vegetable miniatures.

@Manu biscotti decorati posted:

What a great composition! Beautiful detailed flowers. I love how you have paired them with the vegetable miniatures.

Thanks so much Manu, great to hear from you!  I really enjoyed your recent tutorial (and all of them!)  Hope you are well.  

Flowers and veges are cute and perfectly done

@Joanna Manuel posted:

Flowers and veges are cute and perfectly done

Thanks So much!!❤️