DIY Petal Dust-Maybe!

DIY Petal Dust via www.thebearfootbaker.com

Are you confused by the title of this post? Either it is Petal Dust or it isn’t, right? Well, this is where it gets a little confusing for me. It’s almost like petal dust, but it’s not quite the real thing. Let me start from the beginning.

DIY Petal Dust via thebearfootbaker.comNot to long ago I was decorating my How to Make Cloud Cookies that Actually Rain and I realized that I was out of petal dust. I was really sad because I wanted soft little circles of pink to help add a little color to the faces of my cloud cookies. I didn’t feel like running to the store so I grabbed my airbrush gun and added the cheeks to the clouds. They turned out the way I wanted and I was happy.

The only problem was I could not get the idea of making my own petal dust out of my head. The more time that passed the more I was determined to do it, or almost do it. Let me show you what worked and what didn’t.

Supplies for DIY Petal Dust:

Powdered Sugar
Food Gel (color of your choice)
Coffee Grinder
Small Jar for Storage

DIY Petal Dust-www.thebearfootbaker.comThe first way I tried to make my own petal dust was to chop up some DIY Sprinkles in my coffee grinder. It seemed to be working well until I tried to use it. Nothing happened. Nothing at all. It blew off my cookies like dust! I then tried to add a little water to it and it was not a pretty sight! So I came up with a Plan B.DIY Petal Dust www.thebearfootbaker.comPlan B worked pretty well and it was very simple to make. All you need is a little powdered sugar (10 x’s Confectioners Sugar) and a few drops of food gel color. There isn’t an exact recipe because you can make it any shade or amount you want.

I started with a few spoonfuls of powdered sugar and added some red food gel color and mixed it in the coffee grinder. Once I checked the color, it wasn’t quite the shade I wanted so I added a little more food gel and mixed it again. When I removed the coffee grinder lid I saw the perfect shade of pink. The petal dust color I had been hoping to make. Now for the big question, would it work.DIY Petal Dust with www.thebearfootbaker.comI grabbed my iced cookie and a dry paint brush and began to paint it on the cloud cookie. Sigh. Nothing happened. It fell off like someone was blowing a tumbleweed across the desert. It didn’t stick to anything. DIY Petal Dust- www.thebearfootbaker.comAs I looked at the DIY Petal Dust I wondered what would happened if I added a little water and then tried to paint it on. Hold your breath and give it a try!DIY Petal Dust by thebearfootbaker.comIt worked! I added a little too much water and I didn’t want it to eat away at the royal icing so I used a piece of paper towel to blot it a little. DIY Petal Dust by www.thebearfootbaker.comNo no, this isn’t the petal dust you can get in the store. So the “Maybe” part of the title is correct or at least a little correct. It isn’t petal dust but it paints like petal dust. If you want dry petal dust, you are out of luck with this one. If you want to paint petal dust and your cabinet is bear, you’re in luck!

I know that you can use food gel to paint cheeks on cookies and you can use an airbrush system. Sometimes I don’t feel like setting up the airbrush gun just to add a little color to a few cheeks, or I can’t seem to get the right shade of pink from food gel colors. It is nice to know that I will have this DIY Petal Dust just in case I need it.

I know it isn’t perfect and you might never decide to try it, but if you are ever in a pinch, it might help you out. I keep telling myself that everything we do isn’t always exactly what we want, but this has saved the day for me once or twice. One day I might decide to keep looking for the perfect DIY Petal Dust and I hope I will find it, but in the mean time, I am happy with this and hopefully you will be also. You know. If you get in a pinch.

More DIY Recipes:
DIY Sprinkles
DIY Sparkle Dust

Bear hugs,

Lisa