April showers brought some May Flowers…
Crate Paper general how to tutorial layouts Nerd Academy papercrafts Scrapbooking Tips & Tutorials
I love flowers…in the garden…in my house and especially on my layouts!!
This month I thought I would share how I make all of those flowers for my projects. As most of you know…I LOVE my dies!!
I’m gonna share why…I can match my flowers to whatever colours or papers I am creating with so it’s a match every single time…and I can make as many as I want!
I’ve been asked on a few occasions which dies I’ve used to make different flowers so I thought I would do a quick tutorial on making 3D flowers and adding a little lump to your layouts. It’s just how I roll!!! LOL!!
Here are a few of my favourites…These dies are from My Favourite Things or are also know as Die-namics. There are compatible with most cutting tools like the Big Shot, Cuttlebug and TH Vagabond.
Here are some of the papers once they have been cut out…soooo YUMMY!!
I use a quilling tool or bamboo bbq skewer to roll and curl the flowers. Fingers also work great…as a matter of fact, almost the more you kinda crumple and beat it up, the better the flowers look! At this stage you can also stamp onto your flowers…or ink the edges or use some spray mists on them…have some fun with it!!
This is the royal rose.It comes in three different sizes
This is the Rolled Rose. It also comes in a few different sizes. I use this one ALOT…
This is the rolled flower and the scalloped rolled flower. It makes a flatter circular flower and is a little funkier
There is also the rolled Mum and the Rolled daisy…These ones require a little more futzing with the petals to get them to sit nicely but that extra bit of effort is always worth it!! Stunning!!
One of the things that I find really kewl about my steel dies is that I can cut more than just cardstock and patterned paper. You can also cut fabric and felt….whhhaaaaaaat??!! Yep!! I admit when I first saw this die I was like what the heck is that?? But once I used it and saw how yummy of a flower it makes…swoon!! This is the loopy flower and a flower cut from felt.
I find the best way that works for me is to start rolling the flower from the end that is NOT in the center. I sometimes use a quilling tool but I have found that when you do there is a tendency to roll them too tight and you end up with a little micro flower. Instead I will use a bbq skewer or my fingers to curl the leaves as I loosely roll. Once I roll I let the flower `relax`and almost unroll it a bit so it isn`t too tightly wound. (Only exceptions are the daisy and mums..you want them wound more tightly than the others) I use liquid adhesive on the little ‘ball” in the center although I do use the adhesive here and there along the edge as I roll when I’m making daisies and mums. They have a little lip and the bottom edge of the leaves so I find that they sit up and stay together using a little more glue.) Once I’ve glued them together I will set something kinda heavy on top of them to make sure the edges catch and set in the glue. I want my flower to hold up when its in my album! I find a punch works well for this and I usually keep one handy on my desk. I flip the punch upside down on top of the flowers and let them dry for a couple of minutes before adding them to my project. Once the glue has set, I like to mould the petals with either my fingers or a quilling tool or skewer. Don`t worry about being gentle…it`s almost the more you handle them, bend the leaves, crumple them up…the more relaxed and natural they look. You want to use your nail or tool and curl the leaves. If they are too open in the centers I will add a little pearl or bling to finish them off. My last little hint is to add some leaves…I think they are a great way to anchor your flowers and fill in some gaps between. I also like how they lead the eye and are a great transition when overlapping your elements in your project. Besides…when do you ever see flowers without leaves? Lol!!
I hope that helps…And that you add a bouquet to your next project!
The Nerds are happy to order in any dies or other products you are interested in. Please send them an email at info”scrapbooknerd.com.
If you want it, it will come.
Happy Scrapping!!
← Older Post Newer Post →