Tutorial on making flowers

Mary J here with a tutorial on making flowers using the Marianne D Creatables Chinese Rose dies and my card spotlighting Carmen Medlin for SCACD 1st Signs of Spring...

 

 

   
I think this little lady is soooo beautiful!  I matched her up with papers from the Prima Madeline paper pad and for the sentiment I used the Whimsy Ticket Sentiment with the Whimsy Shapeology ticket die.  And aren't those flowers gorgeous?  I used 6mm pearl beads for the flower centres.  I found these Marianne D Creatables Chinese Rose dies are so easy to use and as promised, here is my tutorial on making them - I'll try to keep it short!


So first, here are the tools I use..

Hopefully it's self explanatory enough not to list them!  The first step is to cut out the shapes using your usual die machine (I use my Grand Caliber so I can do them all in one go!)...

 

The last two photo shows how I've tightly crumpled up one of the papers so I can show you a shabby chic flower.  I've seen some people crumple up the paper after they've die cut the paper but I find I tend to rip it!  So onto making a flower.

Onto making the flower.  As you can see below, you take the end of a thin paint brush and place it at the end of the die cut flower and begin to tightly roll it round onto itself.  I use my right hand thumb to push it along and keep my left hand fingers still to give it stability.  Keep the die cut flower behind your hand so you can clearly see what you're doing...

Once you get to the end, take out out the paintbrush and you can see that the round end of the die cut flower becomes the base onto which you glue the flower on...

Now at this point, you will have a tightly wound flower.  If you want it looser, simply slowly release your hold and it will unwind itself.  The more you release the hold, the bigger the flower will be.  Once you are happy with the size, squeeze some wet glue (I use Glossy Accents) onto the round and then press the flower onto it.  Hold it down until it sticks on its own and then leave it for the glue to dry fully...

And voila!  Here are the flowers with the shabby chic one on the far left...

 

 Finish it off with your chosen embellishment - I love using my pearl beads and I glue them with Glossy Accents as it dries clear.

If you have any questions or can share any tips on how you make your flowers, please leave a comment!