Dipping Solution

Colouring Flowers with Dipping Solution using Sugar or Cold Porcelain

Dipping Solution

Everyone has their own favourite way of making flowers and colouring them to achieve realistic effects.  If you haven't already tried this method of colouring you will find it an interesting way of achieving wonderful colours for your flowers.

Dipping flowers in an alcohol based mix is really a quite radical idea and one which may worry some people who imagine that the whole piece will simply fall apart.  The secret of success is in the alcohol content of the liquid and that is why its important to use a liquid which has a high alcoholic content, such as this product.

Preperation

The method of working is very easy, you will require a container with a good seal, it also needs a wide top so that the flower head can pass through the opening easily.  Place some alcohol into the jar to a sufficient depth to dip the whole flower and mix through your chosen colour.  Some colours may react to the high alcohol content by becoming cloudy.  If this happens add a few drops of water unil the liquid clarifies.  It is important to keep the water content to a minimum as it reduces the rate at which the dipped flowers dry.

To achieve a really vibrant colour it may be necessary to dip several times, drying in between each operation, in which case the initial colour mix does not need to be too intense.

It is useful to have sufficient space at the top of the dipping jar to twirl the flower around so that the surplus alcohol can fall back into the pot.  It's amazing how much colour will spray off the flower when you try to do this outside the jar!

Trials

Most of us will have flowers which are left over from previous projects and they are rarely exactly the right colour for the next design.  By dipping all these flowers into one base colour they will all mix and match and blend together perfectly.  Try any spare flowers you may have and see how this technique brings them to life.  You may even choose to make all your flowers in white and dip them in the appropriate colour as needed.

Hints and Tips

One important point to achieve good results is to have the paste from which the flowers are made containing some white vegetable fat (Trex, Holsum or Copha.)  Most flower pastes already have this as an ingredient but if your paste does not then simply mix some in before making your flowers.  Please note some flowers that have been dusted may resist dipping.

Method

Using dry flowers on a wired stem gently lower them into the dipping solution.  Remove to the top area of the jar and hold suspended above the liquid with your finger and thumb.  Steadying the wire with the other finger and thumb twirl the flower round to shake off all the surplus alcohol.  Remove from the pot and place the coloured flower into a holder to dry.  It is quite useful to suspend the flowers upside down so that any surplus colour runs to the edges of the flowers and dries there giving them a realistic looking darker edge.  Another useful tip is to wire tiny filler flowers into groups before dipping and then the whole group is coloured together, saving valuable time.

Finishing

Sometimes you will require a different coloured centre to your flowers.  There are two ways of achieving this.  One is to use the resist method, where the surface to remain white or a lighter colour is coated with a barrier.  In this instance we would use some melted vegetable fat painted over the area.  Allow to set and dip the flower as desired.

Alternatively dip the whole flower then complete the centre with a different coloured pollen.

Flowers coloured by the dipping method have an interesting translucent appearance.