Hydrangea punch made this flower, a photo tutorial is included

Hi Friends, and Happy St-Patricks Day!

As promised I have another flower to share today.  It started from a Martha Stewart hydrangea punch which I had been wanting to experiment some more with coloring my paper to get a Vintage look.

(Note:  I make my flowers from many different weight of paper and cardstock.  Most times my cardstock of choice to make flowers will be of Very Vanilla by SU which I wet completely (both sides) before gently crushing the whole sheet.  Then I stretch back open gently and leave to dry.  I then use my Ebosser cutting machine to flatten back up the whole sheet.  If you don't have a full size machine to do this step, simply bend in half you sheet and pass it through your machine.  Bend more if you have a Cuttlebug.)

 

Here is a photo of what you will need to help you create this flower.  Or use tools that has been used in the passed that didn't require you to purchase anything extra.  Distress ink  (Peeled Paint) will be needed.  Also add some fast grab glue and a reverse pair of tweezers to the tools.

 

Step 1

Find a stamp that can be used to make a stamen look to the middle of your flower.  Stamp in center with Memento ink so the ink won't smudge using water on it.

 

Step 2

With the help of a sponge or finger dauber, ink up the edge of the flower with Distress ink, also do the back adding color to the tips only.  The back can be seen once the flower is all shaped, so this is why I color the back as well.

 

Step 3

With a spray water bottle soak the flower on a paper towel.

 

Step 4

This is what your flower should look like after folding it in half, two petals meeting and then bending again so you only have one petal.  Press gently to give the flower some creases or imperfections.  Re-open the flower gently, lay it flat on your paper towel surface and gently dab with Peeled Paint Distress Ink in the center of the flower.  We are not looking for too dark.

 

Step 5

Go ahead and form your petals after the flower is completely dry.  (I use my heat tool to speed up the process).  On wrong side up, use stylus to cup all of your petals.  For the center, turn the flower the right side up and with a larger end stylus press down on the foam pad to see your flower come to life.  The middle should be lower than the petals at this point.

 

Step 6

Gently pierce the center of the flower with the help of the foam pad.  Remove tool and use reverse tweezers to widen up the hole, but just be gentle, the hole should not be too big or your flower will come apart.

This hole is made to accommodate your stamens, so be gentle.

See photo below.  Now you have a hole and the flower still has its shape.  We want to keep the flower's shape as intact as possible.

My stamens I had on hand were all white, so I improvised, I used some Memento re-inker with a paint brush I painted all of the stamen tips as per seen on the photo above.  It dried quickly.  Then I slipped the stamen through the flower hole starting from the top of the flower, sliding it all gently until the stamens are touching the flower in the center.  I then apply some fast grab glue at the base of the flower, the under side of it so it will not slip or move.

 

Step 7

There it is.  The finish product. 

You can see I made several colors of them.  In this finished flower you see on Step 7 there is still some glue that hasn't dried yet.  But it is showing that I had to add one more stamen tip in there because it always looks better in odd numbers.  Adding another two would have NOT gone through the hole anyway.  So it was just as easy to add just the tip of the stamen for a fuller look.  This one flower I have used for the demo, doesn't have the blue in the back so depending on the angle you are using the flower on a box or a card later on, it could show the back.  I prefer playing it safe and see the color on top and on the bottom.

 

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial.  I am not an expert at making them, but I try to include all the steps for an easier time and great experience.  We were the two of us making approx. 75 to 100 of them in an array of colors pleasing for card making.  Go ahead, try it!

 

Next share will be a card.  It has a heart, made out of my own hand made paper, cheesecloth, pearls...  So come back soon to see what I made recently.

 

Hugs

Nicole