How To Use Wafer Paper Conditioner For Cake Flowers

Wafer paper conditioners can make a stiff sheet of wafer paper into a flexible and fabric-like sheet that can be draped on a cake or shaped into veined flower petals.

Conditioning the paper can make the paper far more versatile, and it can also be used to color and shape the paper to make flower petals.

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How much wafer paper conditioner should you use on flower petals?

wafer paper flowers — Wafer paper flowers

Wafer paper conditioner usually contains glycerin, which is a natural humectant that will soften the paper and make it pliable. People ask me how much they should be using on the petals that they make, because depending on the formula that you’re using, a little will go a long way. (You can get my recipe for the conditioner here.)

When you’re using conditioner for cake flowers, you should use a very small amount to start, and add more if you want the paper to be softer after it dries.

Using too much to start with can make the paper too soft, and the petals won’t hold details of veining or curling. If the weather is humid, less conditioner will be needed, and if the air is drier you will probably need to use more.

You’ll probably have to experiment a little to see what amount works best with the paper that you have and your humidity at the time.

In general, you can expect to need to use a little more in the winter months because the air is a lot drier than in the summer, and to use less on thinner paper.

Test it out on some scraps of wafer paper to see what amount works best for the conditions that you’re in.

For my Complete Guide To Wafer Paper, click here.

What’s in wafer paper conditioner?

Wafer paper conditioner is generally made from a base liquid and glycerin.

The base is usually water, but vodka can be used if the liquid needs to evaporate quickly. There may be other ingredients to add flavor and additional moisture, but the glycerin is the main ingredient that will keep the paper pliable when it dries.

Glycerin is a natural humectant, which means that it holds and attracts moisture. When it’s applied to wafer paper it draws moisture into the paper and keeps it soft and pliable.

If you add too much glycerin it can make the paper too soft, so you’ll need to test the formula of conditioner that you’re using to see what effect it has on the paper. The more glycerin in the formulation, the softer the paper will be.

How the conditioner affects the paper will also depend on how thick the paper is. O grade wafer paper is the thinnest, so it won’t need as much conditioner to soften. AD grade can handle a little more conditioner because it’s thicker than O grade.

I’ve seen formulas for conditioner that have water and a few drops of glycerin, but when I make it I put the water and glycerin at about a 1:1 ratio as a base to work with. That’s a lot of glycerin, but I find that it works well when it’s applied lightly, and you avoid a long drying time that way.

The surface of the wafer paper may be sticky if you apply too much, but you can get rid of the sticky feeling if you dust the paper with cornstarch after it dries for a while.

For making a conditioner for cake flowers you can dilute it to make it weaker. Mix 1 tsp of the full-strength conditioner with 4 tsp of water or vodka to vein petals and avoid making the petals too soft.

Adjust depending on the humidity in your area and how soft you want the petals to stay when they dry.

Click here for tips for making wafer paper flowers.

How to apply the conditioner to the petals.

To apply wafer paper conditioner to the flower petals, you can either brush it on using a soft paintbrush, or spray it on using a small spray bottle.

A spray bottle is better for larger areas, and a brush is better for smaller areas and for areas where you want more control of the amount of conditioner that’s being applied.

The conditioner can also be mixed with some vodka or water to reduce the concentration of glycerin in the mixture if it’s too sticky.

For wafer paper flower petals, it’s usually better to apply the conditioner with a brush so that you can apply it only to specific parts of the petal.

This can also help you avoid getting conditioner on the base of the petals, which can make it difficult to attach the paper to other parts of the flower later.

When applying the conditioner to the paper with a brush, use a minimal amount of conditioner to avoid oversaturating the paper, since that can shrivel the paper.

Tapping the brush on a paper towel to absorb some of the excess conditioner before brushing it onto the petal can help control the amount that you’re applying.

Brush the conditioner onto the paper, keeping in mind that the surface that you wet will generally expand a bit, making the petal curve up on the side that was dampened.

You may want to wet both sides of the petal at the same time, or just do one side at a time to prevent oversaturation.

After adding the conditioner, you’ll shape the petals and let them dry until they can be picked up without falling over or bending. This can be a few minutes to a few hours depending on the amount of liquid that you added to them.

If your petals don’t want to keep their shape and just flop over when you pick them up, you’ve probably added too much conditioner, so try again with a little less liquid!

Shaping the petals after conditioning.

After conditioning the petals, you can gently press them in a petal veiner, then let them dry on a curved flower former. One good option for this is an apple or pear crate from the grocery store that’s covered in tinfoil.

The texture of the foil will add a little shape to the wafer paper as it dries, and the curve of the crate will help the flower dry in a curved shape.

If you don’t want to use a petal veiner, you can just place the petals in the curved former and skip the texturing.

The extra step of the petal veiner can add a lot of time to the process of making the flowers, so skipping that step can speed the process. For less-realistic flowers, it won’t hurt to skip the veining.

Wiring the petals.

If you’re going to wire the petals, it’s probably best to do that before shaping them, since the wire will make them easier to handle in the veiner. To wire a petal, attach two petals together with a thin gauge white floral wire between them, or use an extra strip of wafer paper and some edible glue to cover the wire attached to the back of the petal.

After wiring the petal and conditioning it, you can put it into the veiner and use the wire to remove it.

I used conditioner to attach these two petals together, then brushed a little more on before veining them. By using the preprinted petals you can curve them and the edges will look correct even if the back of the petal is showing.

An alternative is to use the printed petal and color the back of the petal, or to use all-white wafer paper and petal dust the flower when it dries.

wafer paper conditioned petal — Place the second petal on top of the first one.

Click here to read about veining wafer paper peony petals.

Wafer paper supply list:

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Coloring the petals with conditioner.

To color the petals with wafer paper conditioner, you’ll need to use a colored conditioner and brush it onto the petals.

This can be done by adding food coloring to the conditioner, then brushing it onto the petal and allowing it to dry on a silicone mat, a veining mat, or a silicone petal veiner.

A silicone surface is the best choice because the petals will curl off of the silicone as they dry.

The type of food colorings that can be used includes gel colors, paste food colors, airbrush colors, and petal dusts dissolved in the conditioner. The petal dusts will result in the lightest colors, and airbrush colors will generally create the darkest ones.

If you want the petals to dry faster to avoid shrinking and shriveling, make a conditioner that uses vodka instead of water to speed evaporation.

Using a conditioner to color the wafer paper petals is a good way to get a deep color while still keeping the petals soft and pliable. You can paint wafer paper with airbrush color or a tinted vodka, but without the glycerin the paper will be very brittle when it dries, and the petals won’t be pliable at all.

The glycerin keeps the paper from stiffening when it dries and will let you get a good color while still maintaining the flexibility of the petals.

You can adapt these methods to fit the individual flowers that you’re making. Some flowers don’t need much conditioner, and others will need a lot, so experiment and have fun!