WAFER PAPER BUTTERFLIES THAT FLUTTER!

1. Spread Clear piping Gel thinly over the print. A small angled spatula works best for this. I don't advise using a brush because you can't spread the piping gel thin enough.
2. Let them dry for a short time...2-4 hours. If piping gel is spread too thick, they won't dry for days!
3. If you dry them too long...2-3 weeks, they may crack. But it would be okay to wait and cut them within a day or two.
4. Using very thin-bladed or cuticle scissors, cut out the wings.
5. Fold the wings double to crease.
6. Add the body made of icing. Insert Flower Stamens for antennae. Let dry overnight.

NEEDED: Click where highlighted to go directly to the products involved

• White THIN wafer paper, not the colored type. It is too stiff.
• Coloring Pens or colored marking pens that have 'non-toxic' written on the package.
• Food coloring for the Food Coloring pens...or use fine tipped filled pens
• Clear piping Gel
• Clear Edible Glitter
• Shaker for Edible Glitter
• Small tapered Angled Spatula #409-518 8"
• 2 Flower Stamens
• Royal Icing A small amount
• Black food coloring (any type, gel is good)
• Scissors

• Using food coloring pens or non-toxic fine-tip marker, draw your pattern onto the smooth side of white wafer paper.
• Fill in the colors using felt tipped markers or food coloring pens.
• Let this dry a good while or until the next day.
• Turn your pattern over and do the same thing on the rough side.
• Spread CLEAR piping gel over the smooth side. This should be spread very thinly using an angles fine-tipped-pointed spatula. . Let dry again. Spread piping gel over the rough side. Let dry.
• OPTIONAL: Add finely smashed edible glitter (To smash: Wax paper: fold in half and open (for easier pouring back into the vial later), pour the glitter out onto this wax paper. Put another sheet of wax paper over that one and smash several times with the rolling pin until it is very fine. Our back into the vial, or as I do, into the glitter shaker (sold with edible glitter). Sprinkle glitter on butterfly before piping gel dries.
• Cut out the entire butterfly leaving it connected.
• Fold it in half and prop the wings in position. Prop with cotton. I think this is what Earlene said to do. What I did was to cute each wing out separately and attach them into the royal icing body. Prop with cotton.
• Using black royal icing, using tip 3 or 4, pipe a head and a tail that are the right size for whatever size butterfly you made. Check to be sure the wings are still in the position you want them.
• ***From Kathy F: Sometimes I paint mine and sometimes I used colored royal. It's almost easier to paint them and you can do several different colors that way. I like to dab a little luster dust on them after they dry so it matches the wings a little better.
• Add the antennae using 2 flower stamens.

About 13 years ago I wanted to do a cake for a show with butterflies on it. I was playing with rice paper and wanted to do a cake with these very realistic butterflies.

The cake was done in a lambeth style with soft colors of orange, egg yellow and turquoise. The cake was judged down for using a silk butterfly and copying a lambeth cake in the lambeth book. They were wrong on both parts. The cake then took the best of show. I demoed these butterflies for the ICES show in 1985 and now is fun to see them pop up in lots of peoples books, cake show entries and magazines.

Rice paper is edible paper that tastes like blaaaaah rice krispies. It can be used for lots of incredible things. Donna Horn does 3D figures such as giraffes, children and etc. Shirley Manbeck does lifelike feathers. Mary Beth Enderson does a technique she calls royal rice paper (book here). It is a very versatile edible medium for us to work with.

Now for the directions.
(This was before we had food pens available)
Felt Tip non-toxic pens should be used for outlining and detail work. The best brands seem to be Flair, Bic and Paper Mate. For shading and filling in colors you can use felt tip pens, pastel chalks (not powders) or air brush. Use a very light touch with the felt tip pens because if the rice paper gets too wet it will tear or dissolve very easily.

When outlining white areas ( such as the dots on the Monarch wings) with black, leave the white area bigger than desired. This will allow for the black ink to bleed into the white area. If the white area becomes to dark then you can paint it with a fine brush and Wilton’s White-White, being very careful not to get the rice paper to wet.

Most butterflies are colored brightly on the top with much softer coloring on the back. Pastel chalks give a slightly softer look for the backs.

Draw a whole sheet of butterflies - color both sides - store in full sheets and cut out as needed. Or follow steps 1 to 4 and store, coloring in when specific colors are requested for a cake. I find if I cut 1/2 inch off of a sheet of rice paper it will fit into a larger zip-lock bag and keeps moisture away from the rice paper.

1. Draw you pattern for your butterflies on white paper in dark black ink.

2. Place wafer paper over the paper pattern.

3. Draw pattern on the rice paper with black felt tip fine point pen.

4. Turn rice paper over and draw the pattern on the other side.

5. Put a sheet of wax paper between the rice paper and your writing surface, with something white under the rice paper and wax paper.

6. Color in the top sides of your butterfly wings. I prefer to use the rough side for the tops of the wings. If the humidity is high the wings will curl up slightly when the rough side is up.

7. Let Dry Completely

8. Turn the rice paper over and color the backside.

9. Cut out your butterfly with an Exacto-knife leaving the center connecting the wings.
   A. If you want a shiny look, brush piping gel over the wings and let dry completely.
   B. Glitter is nice sprinkled over the piping gel. (Edible Glitter Only) C. Sugar makes a different texture over the wet piping gel. (Table Sugar works fine). The sugar tends to be very heavy and droops very easily so use only one side of the wings. This might be more practical to use on stained glass with royal used for extra support.

10. Fold in the center of the Butterfly very gently.

11. With royal Icing make a body with a small writing tip. # 2 or 3. (Buttercream can be used but is not as durable)

12. Insert antennas into the head. You can use black stamen, slivers of black licorice, black slivers of rice paper, and Etc.

13. Turn the butterfly over carefully and pipe the underside of the body on the bottom side.

14. Insert wire if needed for a wired arrangement.

15. Put on your cake, flowers or where ever...............

16. Prop up the wings with Kleenex, crumpled paper towel, cotton balls or something soft and leave till dry or set.

17. Books that are good sources for patterns are as follows

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Butterflies and Moths Golden Guide of Butterflies and Moths Golden Guide of Insects

18. Many other sources for patterns and colors are Decals, Wrapping paper, stationary, Magazines and Etc.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I have for that extra touch on your sugar art. Please feel free to share this information with other cake decorators in your area.

A very dear friend gave me a glass butterfly that hangs in my kitchen window and it says. Love is like a butterfly - I goes wherever it pleases and it pleases wherever it goes.
Earlene Moore ... www.earlenescakes.com

GOOD ADVICE FROM KATHY F:
Spreading the piping gel: They will smear because it's just food coloring and there's really no way to make it unsmearable. The best way to do them without smearing them is use the smallest amount of piping gel as possible. I use the small size pointed angled knife/spatula and get a small amount of gel along the blade. Then try to smear it thinly across the butterfly in one swipe. It really doesn't take much at all. The more you work with it the more chance you'll have of it smearing. I also like to cut them out about 12 to 36 hours after they are gelled. If they get completely dry they get brittle but if they are still a bit tacky they cut easier with less cracking.

Fondant Icing Butterfly

Using Egg Yellow Color to color your fondant for butterflies. Several days in advance, use cutter from Animal Pals #2304-1055 (or other cutter) Set, to cut butterflies from white fondant. Score a piece of cardboard down center with craft knife, dust lightly with cornstarch and position butterfly on score line. Bend up each side of cardboard at a 45° angle and prop up so that wings dry in flight position; let dry.

Using royal icing, pipe tip 3 spiral antennae on parchment paper; let dry completely. Pipe tip 8 dot head and elongated shell body on each butterfly. note: antennae can also be done using flower stamens.

Insert antennae in head. Pipe tip 1 dot eyes and outline mouth. Pipe tip 4 dots on wings. Attach lollipop stick to back of 1 butterfly with royal icing; let dry.

After cookies are baked and cooled, use full-strength color flow icing and tip 2 to outline head and body; flow-in with thinned icing - let dry. Outline wings with tip 2 and full-strength color flow. Fill-in wings with tip 2 and thinned violet, yellow, blue, green, and pink color flow. While icing is wet, lightly drag toothpick from the center of the butterfly towards the outer edge. Next, drag toothpick from outer edge to center of butterfly in the opposite direction. Zigzag through the entire wing to complete design.

Note: Color Flow designs take at least 2-3 days to dry.

Quick Tip: Remember, you can just make your favorite basic roll-out cookie recipe and cut out butterfly and flower shapes.