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For fruit leather flavor ideas, here are some posts to get the creative juices flowing.  Just remember, if you pick one of my leather recipes for your fruit leather flowers, pick one without nuts, seeds or other chunky ingredients.  The fruit leather needs to be pure and smooth.  If you want to make your own flavor of fruit leather but need a little help on how to go about it, you can visit here for instructions.  Now on to the fun part.
I hope these pictures are actually a help; I did my best. Â I must say that it is a REAL challenge to show some things in photos, especially when you take your own, and you need three hands! Â So, I had to get creative. Â My girlfriend, Ruthie, had given me this neat device that holds your iPhone while taking pictures, but since the move, I will be darned if I can find the thing. Â I am sure it will surface soon. Â But like everything else, when you want something now… you want something NOW!
I quickly made my way to the garage because I remember a few years ago at a garage sale Bob and I purchased some weird gizmo that looked like a sea creature. Â It had bendable metal arms, a magnifying glass and a few clips on it. Â I looked and looked, but once again… because I wanted it now, I couldn’t find it. Â I explained to Bob what I was looking for and why. Â I needed a “third hand, ” and the clip on the end of those “arms” would be perfect. Â So, to the tool box, we went. Â Drawer and after drawer we searched through them. Â We have a tool for everything so I knew we would figure something out! Â Got it! Â Vice-grips! Â Shew… now back to my tutorial. Â :) Â Thank you Mr. Bob…. thank you Mr. Craftsman.
Fruit leather tips ~
Cookie cutters/templates and scissors ~
Other items needed ~
Keep in mind ~
Storage ~
Where to use them ~
Start by cutting out your circular shapes.
To make the center of the flower, roll one circle into a cone shaped cylinder.
Here is another angle.
In the photo below, I added two petals to the core of the flower.
Remember, one circle equals one petal.
The first one IÂ wrapped around the right side and bent the tip backward,
creating a fold in the fruit leather as it came around the front.
I repeated these same steps on the left side.
Here is another angle.
And another angle. :)
Keep layering petals around the flower, just on the left, right and back side of the flower.
Do the same folding technique as mentioned above to make it look like the petals
are bending/folding backward.
If your petals are not cooperating, start over. Â The fruit leather is pretty tough but on
the other hand, be gentle. Â There are times that I must have redone a flower two to three times.
As you can see in the photo below, the more you bend the edges back, the more realistic
it looks.
Here is how it looks from the top. Â If find yourself with a large hole in the center of
your flower, create a smaller circle, pinch it closed and stick it down in the center
cone part of the flower. Â Problem solved!
 The more petals you add, the larger the flower.  So don’t get caught up in having to use
the same quantity of fruit leather petals for each flower.
The varied sizes will make the overall appearance even more attractive and realistic.
Here is how to make a carnation fruit leather flower. Â I used an average of 6
circles per carnation flower. Â In nature they have a lot of folds in them.
You don’t need my fancy dancy tool (vice-grips) to make these… this is my third hand.
Pinch each circle into an “X” shape as shown below. Â Give the pointy part underneath
a good pinch to help it hold together.
None of them will really look the same, and they might start to unfold a bit while you
are waiting to put it together as one big flower. Â That is ok; you can tuck and shove
things into place as you build the carnation.
When you are ready to put all little pieces together as one, tuck them up against one
another, keeping a grip on the pointy ends underneath. Â The folds will basically
snug up against one another and create the look of a carnation as shown below.
This is what it looks like underneath. Â I poked a few toothpicks in from different
angles to hold the flower together. Â I ended up wetting those tips a little bit and gave them
a final pinch, and they held together.
Once you feel the tips are secure, you can gently remove the toothpicks.
Once again, this is the finished look.
 Don’t they make amazingly gorgeous decorations?!
You are a true raw food artist!! That Danish pastry looks delicious too :) Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Julie, just having fun playing with my food. :)
Aimee, these are gorgeous!!!
Thank you Mary Beth :)
What a perfect way to start a day. Open my e-mail and this is the first one to read/look at. Beyond art and beauty. You trully are an artist… Just like your edible garden/veggie book!
Million Thanks for sharing with us.
Oh thank you Joz…. you always know how to make me smile. :) hugs
You are sooooooo creative. I wish i could get more organized to do more.
Keep going!!!!
Good morning Anne…. Thank you :) When the time and inspiration hits you… the directions and recipes will always be here waiting for you. amie sue :)
LOL!… I see you have waaaay too much time on your hands LOL!!!!… these are beautiful! I make fruit leather all the time and the different colors of the leathers will make wonderful bouquets!… thank you once again Amie-Sue… you are brilliant!
Hmmm, I never have ENOUGH time on my hands to be honest. If my body could keep up with my creative mind… I would have decorated this world with every creation I dream up. lol These really didn’t take long to make. Once you have the fruit leather, it’s just a matter of 15-30 minutes of play time. Have a wonderful day Annie!
Love the design. You make it look easy to do. thanks for the idea.
Thank you Jeri. I hope you are inspired to try your hand at them. It’s just another neat trick to have up your sleeve to dress any dessert or plate up! Have a great day, amie sue
Amie-Sue, your pics are great…..u make it look oh so easy, but I can tell it will be a real challenge for me:-).
You are clearly an artist, looks gorgeous!
Thank you Nicole, but stay encouraged and don’t feel that you can’t do it or that it will be hard. Just remember no flower is the same in nature. Turn on some nice relaxing music, have a glass of tea or your favorite drink beside you and just have fun. Don’t allow yourself to get frustrated. Enjoy the process. I have complete faith in you! amie sue :)
Amie Sue,
Oh my gosh, I had to laugh when I saw the vice grips in the picture holding the fruit leather. As I was reading your story, I am picturing in my mind the vice grips holding the phone (how I do not know, but that was what was going through my mind), and instead, I see them holding the making of a flower. I just started giggling. Don’t you just love tools? My kids used to tease me that I owned more tools than my husband…..I used to tell them that I used them more than he did also!!LOL And now another industrial use for them…food~~how creative… not just the tool, but the beautiful flowers!
A person has to get creative! hehe I love tools like I do kitchen gadgets, the two are sort of turning into one. So if you see my using my cordless drill equipped with the paint stirring attachment to make my next smoothie…. it might be time for intervention. lol Have a glorious day, amie sue
Ha, ha…. paint stirrer for a smoothie… now why didn’t I think of that? It would have taken up much less room when I traveled to NM than my vita mix did. Of course, I would have had to chew the lumps that the paint stirrer did not get out~LOL
I wish you were my neighbor, you must be a blast to be around. Lots of laughs and great sense of humor. :)
One has to have a sense of humor when you live on this planet. hehe May I ask where you live Linda? I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!
Good Morning Amie Sue,
Oh yes, I thoroughly agree about having a sense of humor~~keeps people happier. As of this year, I live in Redlands, CA. Have been here about 2 1/2 years, but have lived all over northern CA, Japan for a year, Virginia for a year, and once my husband retires (probably about a year and a half) we will move again!! Since I am in the process of moving right now, I can’t even imagine another one, but I have met some interesting and wonderful people with each and every move made! On one of my trips back to NM, I just might detour through Tuscon (is it?) and meet you in person~~that might just scare you silly…he he
Good morning Linda,
I grew up on the move and I have to tell you… I think I am done! lol I am ready to ground my roots deep into this soil that we now live on. :) We live in Hood River, OR. We use to have a house in Tucson as well, since our business is in AZ, but as of this past June, we shut that house down and now we are loyal to just one place. hehe *sigh of relief*. So, if you get close to this direction, let me know. :) Have a wonderful day, amie sue
Hi Amie Sue,
Boy did I have it wrong. I don’t know why I had Arizona on the brain, probably because of your business. My husband and I were going to drive through Oregon on Labor Day, but interrupted by move. We still want to do that in the future. He is planning on retiring in about a year and a half and we are beginning to look to where we will settle down. Please let me feel the sigh of relief that you have felt~~LOL Have a wonderful evening. Linda
You didn’t have it wrong Linda… we lived part time in AZ and part time OR. :)
Hi Amie Sue, I’m so sorry, here I go again – Are you going to post the recipe for the Wildberry fruit filled Danish pastry? Gene LOVES pastry -but alas he is gluten intolerant, I would so Love to surprise him with this !!!
You are so creative – it’s AMAZING !!!! :] Lyn
Good morning Lyn,
I will be posting the recipe… It just takes me time to get them all written up, but you will see it soon. :) Have a happy day, amie sue
Sharing on my FB fan page. Hope you are well!!! and that it brings you a lot of traffic.
Oh thank you Adrienne… spreading the passion of healthy eating… one can’t go wrong there. :) So nice to hear from you. Sending you love and hugs, amie sue
Thank you– these look like a great deal of fun to make.
You should have a youtube channel!
I agree. It would make some things easier to explain. hehe