Unicorn Sugar Shoe
Unicorn all the things!! But seriously, how GOOD are Unicorn cakes?! Well I've gone one better, and made a Unicorn Sugar Shoe! The best bit? It's easy to make, and with no cutters, templates, or molds!
Break the Mold
Or more accurately, break yourself of the notion that you NEED a kit, mold, tool, stencil, whatever, to create something. Imagination is the best tool you can own, and it only works if you use it!
This shoe was made using an exacto knife, cocktail sticks, and paintbrushes. That's it. Lemme show you how!
Tools
Freehand cutting out a shoe is not as hard as you think. I used Satin Ice Gumpaste for this project, because it dries fast, dries hard, and holds shape fairly well when you cut it (as is doesn't have the stretch of fondant).
Anyone who has ever trimmed a shoe insert has a rough idea of shape, and even if its a bit wonky, it adds character! Don't be afraid to have fun, instead of aiming for perfection.
Next up: Tools. For reals, all you need is an Exacto Knife. That's pretty much it. The little roses were hand made onto cocktail sticks to dry, the hair was hand rolled, a roller to roll out the gumpaste, and paintbrushes dry dusted the finished product. You seriously have the tools to make this already.
Next up, drying the pieces. I'm not known for my patience, and we had 4 weeks of solid rain here in Sydney, so it took a full WEEK for the shoe to dry *tears hair out*, so if you are planning to make a shoe for an event, start WELL ahead!
I made the Unicorn Horn heel by rolling out two sausages of gumpaste, and twisting them together, forming a rope shape. I tapered it at one end, s it would look more like a horn, and also a heel.
I used whatever I had lying around (that was food safe!) to dry the pieces on, which turned out to be a 4" styro dummy for the curve of the heel, and a chunk of modelling chocolate to support the base.
For the 'strap', I used of all things the McGreevy Face Mold, which is great for making Faces, and as it turns out, awesome for shaping shoe straps! (I ended up trimming the shoe strap after this photo, as I thought it would be too big)
Decoration
The roses are simple hand rolled roses. As you see, I premade some 'centres' using gumpaste, onto some cocktail sticks, and left them to dry. I actually have a bunch of these made up in case I feel like making a Sugar Rose.
To form the petals, just squash a small ball of gumpaste between your fingers, and wrap around the bud. That's it. There's no precision needed with roses this small, so have a go!
Once they were dry, I dry dusted them with Non Toxic Dusts, and glued them onto the shoe with Sugar Glue. I note that I used Non Toxic dusts, not edible dusts, as this item would be taken off a cake, and would not be consumed, so its safe to use Non Toxic dusts for this project.
You can use any dusts, but the ones I used were from Rolkem and Sweet Temptations.
For the Unicorns ears, I cut out two rounded triangles, and pinched them together at one end. I attached them to the show while they were still soft (an advantage of gumpaste!), and pressed them down with the end of a paintbrush. I dusted inside the ears with pink dust.
Once the pieces were glued onto the shoe, I painted the heel and the hair with Edible Art Paints Glamorous Gold. I painted them after I stuck them on, as I was worried I would ruin the finish fiddling. I'm a fiddler.
I used the Edible Art Paints Rose Gold on the little rose buds at the back of the shoe.
The finished shoe
All in all, it took me just over an 2 hours to put the shoe together, from cutting out the pieces, to making the roses, hair, and ears, and dusting it all up. The time was really letting the pieces dry, and this is such an important step. You are counting on the heel and soul to hold up not only itself, but also whatever you pile onto it, so make sure they are FULLY DRY before you try to assemble them!
My advice is no matter what the project, have a go at making it with as little tools as possible. It might sound scary, but its fun to experiment, and making things 'by hand' is a dying art it seems. Don't be afraid to break the mold, and try something different, whether its a Sugar Shoe, or Buttercream Flowers, or even a recipe. You never know what magical creation you'll make!
Viva La Buttercream xx