ROSE

Create this magnificant rose—the most popular icing flower of them all.

With practice, your roses will have the just-picked look of real fresh garden roses!

Steps:

Step 1: Building the Base
Make the rose base, using tip 12 and flower nail #7. Hold the bag straight up, the end of tip 12 slightly above the center of your waxed paper-covered flower nail, which is held in your other hand. Using heavy pressure, build up a base, remembering to keep your tip buried as you squeeze. Start to lift the tip higher, gradually raise the tip, and decrease the pressure.

Step 2: Stop and Lift Away
Stop pressure, pull up and lift away. The rose base should be 1 ½ times as high as the rose tip opening.

Step 3: Making the Center
Make the center bud, using tip 104. Hold nail containing base in your left (right) hand and bag with rose tip 104 in right (left) hand. Bag should be at a 45° angle to the flat surface of the nail and in the 4:30 (7:30) position. The wide end of the tip should touch the cone of the icing base at or slightly below the midpoint, and the narrow end of the tip should point up and angled in over top of base.

Step 4: Squeeze the Bag, Rotate the Nail
Now you must do 3 things at the same time: squeeze the bag, move the tip and rotate the nail. As you squeeze the bag, move the tip up from the base, forming a ribbon of icing. Slowly turn the nail counterclockwise (clockwise for lefties) to bring the ribbon of icing around to overlap at the top of the mound, then back down to starting point.

Step 5: Finishing Center Bud
Move your tip straight up and down only; do not loop it around the base. Now you have a finished center bud.

Step 6: Starting the Top Petals
Make the top row of 3 petals. Touch the wide end of tip to the midpoint of bud base, narrow end straight up.

Step 7: Forming First Petal
Turn nail, keeping wide end of tip on base so that petal will attach. Move tip up and back down to the midpoint of mound, forming the first petal.

Step 8: Overlap Remaining Top Petals
Start again, slightly behind end of first petal, and squeeze out second petal. Repeat for the third petal, ending by overlapping the starting point of the first petal. Rotate the nail 1/3 turn for each petal.

Step 9: Starting the Middle Petals
Make the middle row of 5 petals. Touch the wide end of tip slightly below center of a petal in the top row. Angle the narrow end of tip out slightly more than you did for the top row of petals. Squeeze bag and turn nail moving tip up, then down, to form first petal.

Step 10: Overlap Remaining Middle Petals
Repeat for a total of 5 petals, rotating the nail 1/5 turn for each petal.

Step 11: Overlap Last Middle Petal
The last petal end should overlap the first´s starting point.

Step 12: Starting the Bottom Petals
Make the bottom row of 7 petals. Touch the wide end of tip below the center of a middle row petal, again angling the narrow end of tip out a little more. Squeeze bag and turn nail to end of fingers, moving tip up, then down to form first petal.

Step 13: Overlap Remaining Petals
Repeat for a total of 7 petals, rotating the nail 1/7 turn for each petal.

Step 14: Overlap Last Bottom Petal
The last petal end should overlap the first´s starting point. Slip waxed paper and completed rose from nail.