Sunday, January 23, 2011

Flower Tutorial

UPDATE:  IF YOU PREFER TO PURCHASE RATHER THAN CREATE .... COMPLETED FLOWERS ARE AVAILABLE IN MY ETSY STORE! THE LINK IS ON THE LEFT SIDEBAR!  ALTHOUGH SHOWN IN VANILLA WITH PEARL OR RHINESTONE CENTERS, OTHER COLORS ARE AVAILABLE IN ANY SU COLOR OF CARDSTOCK!  JUST CONVO ME!

Hello everyone!  I have had a number of requests for a tutorial showing how to make one of my flowers.  You can see this flower on a number of my older posts.  Here, and here, and another one here, in black on this banner, and in color on this card.  There are more examples but as you can see from these, this pattern looks great in any color - even black!  So, let's get started ...

You should use a good quality cardstock.  One that can stand up to water without falling apart.  For my tutorial I used a soft romantic shade called Pink Pirouette.  It's a beautiful color!  You will need three flower punches of different sizes.  I used a Fancy Flower Extra Large, the 5 Petal Punch, and an older small flower punch.  Three flowers of each shape will be required.


Stack your flower shapes from large to small.  Stagger the petals as you go.  Make a hole in the center (I use an upholstery needle) and secure the stack with a brad.


Spritz with water.  This is done at the beginning and during the process of folding the petals.  As you lift each petal you will see that the cardstock beneath is dry.  When that occurs, spritz a little more water on the dry spots.  You don't want your flower drenched but you want the cardstock "pliable".


Onto the petal folding ... lift each petal individually toward the brad.  See how tight I am to the center?  These small petals should be standing nearly straight up.


Spritz again to wet the dry cardstock you just exposed.  Then proceed to fold up each petal of the next three layers.  I turn the flower as I go - only doing one layer at a time and possibly spritzing in between if needed.  Pinch these petals so they are standing straight up .. or close to it.  Making them wrinkled and scrunched is ok - that's what you want!


Finally, the last three layers.  Same as before ... spritz, lift up to a "standing" position, and spritz more as you go.  See how wrinkled this has become?  Perfect!


I thought it best to show you the bottom.  You can see how small it is in relation to the wings on the brad.  That gives you an idea on how wrinkled and scrunched the petals are!


Now, it's simply the whole process in reverse.  Begin to peel back the petals from the wrinkled bundle.  Do one petal at a time and work your way around the flower until you have an entire layer complete before you start the next layer.  Carefully curl the petals tips down (I use my upholstery needle).  Remember, your flower will be damp so be a little gentle.


Now the next layers.  Same process here.  One petal at a time and complete an entire flower before starting on the next layer.  Wrinkled, crinkled, shabby goodness ...


The last three flowers all scrunched up in the center are so sweet.  This is my favorite part.  Just take the tip of your needle (or whatever tool you happen to be using) and push them back to expose the brad inside.  You can leave them tightly closed or open them up fully.  Whatever your heart desires ....


The flower was then spritzed with a glitter spray and allowed to dry.  As a final touch to this lovely pink, I added an elegant center embellishment from Basic Pearl Jewels


Whew - my first tutorial ... I hope it was easy to understand.  Thanks for stopping by - I'll be back later with more to share!  (Perhaps I'll find a home for my pretty little pink flower.)


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35 comments:

  1. amazing!! love this tutorial! gotta try it myself. you make it look so easy!

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  2. Thanks so much, Joanne! I have made these but not using the various flower punches, and not dampening the cardstock! Your tutorial was perfect!!!

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  3. Brilliant tutorial - thanks for sharing. I shall come back to this again :)

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  4. Wonderful tutorial Joanne, and yes, I saw your email this morning but was in a rush, I'll get back to you on that soon!

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  5. Joanne! Your tutorial is Great!! Very easy to follow and your pictures are fantastic! And the end result...the PINK flower...is so, so gorgeous. Can't wait to see the project you put it on. I know it will be a winner!

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  6. Thanks so much for that wonderful tutorial.. I think I need a couple more punches.. Hee Hee..

    I hope you had a wonderful Sunday!

    Hugs, Linda

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  7. Joanne! what a lovely tutorial and so nice of you to share. Have a great Monday.

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  8. Thank you so much Joanne for that tutorial! Now I know how to get that wrinkled effect. That is such a beautiful flower!

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  9. thanks for the tutorial!!! I've sent you an email about stampin up mat pack :)

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  10. amazing job in the tutorial! thank you! I'm putting this into my favs!!!

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  11. Thanks for the tutorial, i just made two flowers and love love LOVE them!

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  12. Had a moment to finally look at this tutorial. Clear as crystal! Thanks for the tips.

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  13. This is wonderful now I know what I will be doing for the next week, everyone I know will want one of these.

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  14. wonderful tutorial, love the flower, will definitely give it a go!! BTW You have fabulous nails for a crafter!!! : )

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  15. Thank you so much! What a great tutorial - I'm off to try right away!

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  16. Awesome tutorial, thanks for sharing!!

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  17. Marvelous tutorial. Thanks ever so much for sharing your time and talent.

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  18. Absolutely stunning! Brilliant tutorial; who knew something this beautiful could be so easy to make?? Thanks so much for sharing!

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  19. Just found your tutorial and it is fabulous :) Your flower is gorgeous and can't wait to try one of my own :)

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  20. It definitely is a "pretty little pink flower". I will be making a few of those. Thank you so much for your tutorial.

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  21. SUPER TECHNIQUE/TUTORIAL!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!! :)

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  22. I found your tutorial only a few minutes ago and decided to make one of your flowers right away - the result is stunning. I absolutely LOVE it.

    Thank you for sharing such a terrific, easy to follow tutorial.

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  23. Thanks for a wonderful tutorial! I can't wait to try this beautiful flower!

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  24. I just finished making a lavender flower with this pattern it came out so pretty and really looks so real. I know that I will make more.
    Thanks

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  25. wow wow and wow ~ TFS sharing, can't wait to do this with my girls! Fabulous tutorial!!! Have a great day!

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  26. Thank you for the gorgeous inspiration & the wonderful tute Joanne. :)

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  28. So amazing! I can't wait to share this with my technique customers and of course I will tell them about You...;o)

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  29. Thank you for the tutorial for this beautiful flower!

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  30. Absolutely beautiful flower and the instructions are so easy to follow! Thanks for posting!

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  31. Wow that is a fabulous tutorial for a fabulous flower - can't wait to give it a go. Thanks.

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  32. Beautiful flower and great tutorial. Thank you Joanne

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  33. Love it. Thanks for sharing the tutorial!

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  34. This is gorgeous and easy to understand, Joanne! Thanks for the tips.

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