Thursday Craft 'n Chat - Handmade Paper Flowers

Welcome to the second week of Thursday Craft 'n Chat! Last week, DT member Michelle shared some great tips on card composition and color. You can view her post here. This week, I'm going to be showing you how to make some cute and simple handmade flowers that are perfect for cards and other crafty projects. 

The great thing about making your own handmade flowers is that there are endless possibilities for how your flowers could turn out. They can vary in size, shape, color, texture, and dimension. They're easy to make and can be made with items you most likely already have stashed up in your craft room or around your house. Here are a couple of cards I've made using handmade flowers:

These flowers were painted with acrylic paint, the ones I am showing you how to make today are painted with watecolors. Either type of paint works great depending on the look your'e going for. :)

Now it's time for you to learn how to make them! :) Here's what you'll need:

- White cardstock 

- Scrap paper for painting on

- Flower punch or flower die cuts

- Watercolor paint (acrylic works also)

- Bling for the center (optional)

- Liquid tacky glue (preferably clear)

- Toothpicks

I purchased a McGill flower punch a while back and it works GREAT for making small, 1" flowers. If you have a die cutting machine, you can cut flowers at whichever size you like (1" works best for cards) and use those if you don't own a punch. The flower punch I have actually punches three different flowers and centers (see picture below), although I normally use some sort of bling for the centers. McGill has tons of different flower punch sets for sale on their website. I purchased mine at Michael's with a 40% off coupon. :)  

I used the punch four times so that each flower would have four different layers of petals. I'm going to be making one of each flower. 

Step #1: Painting The Flowers

Once you have your flowers all punched out (or cut from your machine), it's time to paint! Have your choice of watercolors ready along with a cup of water to dip the brush between colors (if you're using more than one). I've lined up my punches and they're ready to be painted. 

You could make each layer a different color or hue, or even make the tips of the petals a different color from the flower itself. I kept mine simple and painted each flower the same color in the same shade. Each flower got two layers of paint just to make the color a bit more vivid (when using watercolors, you tend to get more of a paler color unless you add more layers). It's okay if the paint comes out a bit uneven (if you look at the picture below you can see that some of my tips are lighter than others). It's important to remember to NOT expect your flowers to turn out perfect, otherwise you're never going to be satisfied with them. 

Let your flowers completely dry before moving on to the next step: assembling!

Step #2: Assembling 

To assemble your flowers, you'll need the glue and toothpicks I mentioned in the supply list. I like to use a clear glue in case it ends up a smearing a bit, that way it dries clear and is hard to see. The toothpicks work great for applying just a tiny dollop of glue in the center of the flower in order to apply the next layer. 

You'll want to place a tiny puddle of glue on your scrap paper so that you can dip the toothpick in it. Nothing is done to the first layer of your flower, it stays flat so that it can be used as the base. Take the second layer of your flower and fold the petals up, just a bit. Using the toothpick, place a tiny dollop of glue in the center of the base of your flower. Take the folded layer and apply it to the center of the base, as shown below. 

Repeat this step using the third and fourth layers of your flowers (or as many as you have), folding each layer a bit more than the previous layer. Make sure each layer has completely set before applying the next layer, otherwise your layers will become misaligned when trying to apply the next layer. The end result should look like this:

Next you'll want to apply a center to your flower, whether it be a pearl, a gem, a bling, or a paper center from a punch. I chose to use white pearls, which tend to be my go-to center when making these paper flowers. All you have to do to apply them is the same as you did for the layers, use the toothpick to place a small dollop of glue to the center of the petal and adhere your center to it, an iRock can be used as long as your careful. :) 

And here's what your final flower should look like! I propped them up to give you a better view of the layers, I love how the purple one turned out. 

Thanks so much for reading this week's Thursday Craft 'n Chat tutorial! If you have any questions, please let me know and I'll answer them as best I can. Have a great day! :)

Ashley