Oh Chevron!!

 

 

Oh the chevron craze.  It seems to be at an all time high.  And I am okay with that.  I think it's chic and fun at the same time.....as long as you don't over do it!

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about the insignia....


A chevron (also spelled cheveron, especially in older documents) is an inverted V-shaped pattern. The word is usually used in reference to a kind of fret in architecture, or to a badge or insignia used in military or police uniforms to indicate rank or length of service, or in heraldry and the designs of flags (see flag terminology). The symbol is also used on highway signs to guide drivers around curves.

And you thought it was started on Pinterest;)  It's actually more symbolic than you think....like signifying rank....

In today's world of design, however, chevron is everywhere!!

Home décor....

 

This comes from my friends company!  DENY Designs...they have some really cool stuff.

 

Cell phone cases....

 

Gas....lol

 

 

 

 

Even hair!....

 

 

Check out this awesome chevron look from Tom Ford.  I love this!!

 

 

I love this vintage fashion piece as well....from McCall's magazine in the 60s

 

 

 

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked by my good friends at Sashay Events here in Atlanta, to be part of a wedding spread to be photographed for editorial purposes.  My favorite!!  I jumped at the chance.

 

 

I can't reveal photos from the shoot at this time.  But once the pictures have been published, I will post them.  I can, however, show you a demo from one of the cakes I created for the shoot.  And guess what....I used chevron;)

 

The theme was Gatsby in the Garden and I knew I wanted to do something structured and organic at the same time.  I pulled some inspiration from Jessica Harris' Craftsy class....

 

It's a great class!  Here are some pictures of her work....

Pretty good right?  She really has a great eye for design and all of this is done by hand!

Obviously I am not going to show you her process, you will have to buy the class......it's well worth it!  But I will show you the product I used to get the chevron effect.

They are called Silicone Onlays and are the latest creation from Marvelous Molds.  Now the company has video tutorials on their site and YouTube.....but I'm gonna show you through pictures.

 

 

So they come in many different styles and patterns and they are super easy to work with.  Here is the first practice one I made with the Moroccan lace onlay.....

 

It came out pretty good.  You are told to use gumpaste because it is firmer than fondant.  But I did this one with Fondarific and it was fine.

First you have to roll a strip that will fit the size of the mold.  I used the pink roll guides on the Wilton set or you can take it down to a 4 on a pasta machine. 

 

 

 

 

 

You place the strip over the onlay (it's good to dust it with a bit of cornstarch first), and press the paste in with your fingers.

 

Then I took a cell pin and gently rolled it over the Onlay until I could see the green edges thought the paste.  This is how you know that the lines have been cut.

I paint the back with some piping gel.

 

I used a needle tool to take out the excess pieces to get the negative space.

 

 

Then secure it to the cake.

 

 

I also used light pressure with a fondant smoother to secure the paste.



 

 Pull away and you are done.

 

 You can see the tiny starting line.  That's because I pressed a bit too hard!

 

 

You could do it this way too....

 I also went back and painted every other one gold.

 

Okay....now we have the structured part.  We need something organic.

 

A friend of mine Alexandria Pellegino from Cake Opera Co. gave me this inspiration!  Her work is remarkable.  Here is the piece that I was inspired by....

 

It's the blue one.

I'm gonna build a croquembouche! Here's what Wiki says....

A croquembouche or croque-en-bouche is a French dessert consisting of choux pastry balls piled into a cone and bound with threads of caramel.
In Italy and France, is often served at weddings, baptisms, and first communions.

I learned how to make this in college.  But I am going to break the rules a bit.  Because this is a photo shoot and not for a real party, I am going to leave the puffs empty so they will not be so heavy and glue them with white chocolate.

I add them one at a time to the cone.  Also, I coated some nuts in gold and used gold leaf to fill in the gaps.

and then a couple gold gilded flowers for some drama!

And here she is....

 

 

Yay!! 

I am coming to Dallas to teach in October here are the classes and the links.  It's three classes over two days for $800 or you can take the full day for $400 or a half day for $200.  It's a pretty good deal and it will be lots of fun!! 

 

 

This class will explore different styles of modern decorations (fashion inspired of course) including the same style flower I made in this post!

 

 

The Gothic Glam class is a take on A Cake Fit for McQueen.  We will hand make the skull and hand cut the bone work on the top tier...then piping!!

Lastly, this class will explore how to make your own template for a framed plaque.  We will also be adding texture and piping!!


That is all for now.  Here is a link to Marina Sousa's new class on Craftsy.  It's really good!!

 

 

Don't forget to follow the blog for updates.  Bye!!