Fall Scarecrow Tutorial

Fall is my favorite of year. A little reprieve from the heat and humidity den here in the South. The promise of holidays, family gatherings and great food to come.

And I love Fall colors and decor. And Fall cakes.

So here’s a little tutorial for you for this cute and easy Scarecrow figure.   By our very own Rhu Strand, Sugarcraft Teacher, for SugarEd Productions.

 

 

Supplies:

dresden tool
scalpel
ball tool
shell tool
stitching tool
bamboo skewer or similar
cocktail sticks
circle cutters
scissors
paint brushes
ruler
6” cake drum
superglue
small piping nozzles for cutting circles
something to help you make a hole in the board – braddle or maybe a small screw that can be screwed in and out
blue sugarpaste – 100g
white paste – 150g
dark brown sugarpaste – 20g
mid brown sugarpaste – 50g
light brown sugarpaste (straw) – 70g
small amounts of black / red / green sugarpaste
food colouring for painting shirt
Edible glue

note: all sugarpaste has a stiffening agent added – tylose, gum trag, cmc etc

 

Cover the cake drum with paste. Make a hole in the middle with either a dowel or screw. Fix the bamboo skewer with super glue firmly into the hole on the underside.
 
 

Roll two 10g balls from the dark brown paste. Mark a line of stitching and glue to the board on either side of the skewer. These will be the shoes. Roll a 2” x 3/4” rectangle and use the shell tool to texture and cut into paste.
 
 

Fan the straw into small circles and place onto the shoes.

 
 
 

Roll 2 x 100g of blue paste into 4 1/2” sausages, or one long sausage and cut it in half. Mark creases into the bottom of the trousers with the veiner end of the dresden tool.
 
 

Insert cocktail sticks into the feet to help support the leg. Place leg onto cocktail sticks and glue to the Scarecrow support post (skewer).
 
 

Repeat for other leg. Glue top parts of legs together, only using a small amount of glue so that the paste is tacky. Put a stitching detail down the side of the legs – leave to dry.
 
 

Tear-drop 50g of white paste to about 21/2” long x 2/1/2” wide at the top. Flatten with the palm of your hand. Mark in creases with the dresden tool, put stitching detail down the front and add buttons with a small piping nozzle. Starting at the neck, gently twist a skewer down through the body to create a cavity.
 
 

Slide the body down onto the legs.

 
 
 

Paint a criss-cross of lines onto the shirt body to create a checkered effect, Do not worry over the painting; it does not need to be perfect – it will give movement to the shirt.
 
 

Make some more straw and arrange around the neck in a few layers.

 
 
 

Roll a pea-size ball of light brown and pop over the skewer to make a neck. Roll a small rectangle of white and wrap around for the collar; trim to right size. Paint the collar – you will see that I have now decided to paint over the shirt to give a base color too – leave to dry.
 
 

Roll 2 x 30g of white for the arms to about 21/2” long – trim these down if necessary. Use the ball tool to make a cavity at the wrist end of the sleeve.
 
 

Dip a cocktail stick into some glue and insert into the body at shoulder height. Leave to dry to give it some strength. Glue the remaining cocktail stick and insert arm onto it; glue at body.
 
 

Repeat the paint effect on the arm and insert straw into the wrist cavity.

 
 
 

Roll and cut some small rectangles for the dungaree bib and pocket. Add stitching detail and glue to body. Cut three narrow strips, add stitching detail, and glue two for the straps. Then add on the waistband. Make two buttons with a piping nozzle.
 
 

Roll 40g of light brown paste into a ball. Add eyes cut from black with a piping nozzle – the white dots are also cut from a piping nozzle. A red nose – very small triangle and mouth from finely rolled black. Add in stitches and pink dusting powder to the cheeks.
 
 

Cut skewer down to accommodate the head. Add more straw around neck if necessary. Add a strip of straw around the head for hair. Choose a circle cutter larger than the head and cut a circle from the mid brown colored paste. Shape over the head and add a strip to define the crown.
 
 

Cut some squares and add as patches.

 
 
Have fun using these techniques to create your own scarecrow!!
 
 

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Self taught with a background in creative crafts, sugarpaste became Rhu’s chosen medium after rediscovering it making her children’s birthday cakes. Founding Pimp my Cake with Mama Rhu in 2009, Rhu was soon asked to teach at a local college, and this progressed to teaching from home in 2011. She now teaches full-time in the UK, as well as being invited to teach internationally.

Rhu’s pages: Facebook, Website, French Cake Breaks

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