Gumpaste monkeys and bananas!

I had fun making these adorable monkeys. I need a LOT of practice making gumpaste figures so I thought I'd start with something easy. The bananas of course completed the scene.

Now for a close up of the monkeys...female monkey first.

The look of shock on her face as she watched her husband hog all the bananas is hilarious! I used the end of a paintbrush for her mouth and same goes for belly button. A toothpick was used for the nostrils and an X acto knife to leave indentations for the fingers and toes. The markings on the wooden crate was created with a toothpick.

Now let's look at this selfish little monkey!

The peeled banana on his hand made the arm a little heavy. I secured it with a wire but a toothpick could also be used. While it was drying, a cotton ball was placed under the arms to maintain it's position and shape. As you can see there are cracks on his hands. Gumpaste dries fast and I worked on his arms longer than I should have. Shortening helps with this problem but didn't want to start over because his arms were already secured. 

The smallest detail on gumpaste figures make all the difference therefore it's time consuming.  If something looks sloppy it would not look right. Just be patient when making them and most importantly don't forget to have fun!

* If you have any questions with how I made these, feel free to leave me a comment below* Thanks!