Small Rose Making Tutorial

I am often asked to show how I make the flowers I use on my paper projects.  So because I was making a card today for a friend who recently lost her Gran and I wanted to include flowers I thought it was a good opportunity to show in a step by step process how I make small roses.

I use the Stampin' Up! Sizzix Originals Die - Blossom Party.

I use all of the flowers on this die to make other 3D flowers.  For small ones though the two little ones are the best. This is the flower I have used for these roses.

I generally cut out 5-7 of the flowers depending on how big you want the flower to be and what kind of paper you are using.  Once cut out I distress the cardstock with a bone folder and make sure that the cardstock is malleable.  Quite often I will daube the card with some ink to add depth of colour or to lend in with a shappy/vintage theme.  (NB I even use the cut outs if I damage them during this distressing process).

So I decide which punch will form my centre and fold those petals up quite closely.  I try to be methodical about the folding process so that there is some uniformity in the way that the petals sit one in front of the other and fold inwards.  I then bend each additional layer accordingly so that they can fit around each other and compliment the configuration.

Using a hot glue gun or Towbow Glue if you don't have a gun I then stick the layers inside each other.  Glue guns are good because you can work through the steps faster.  Always make sure when you glue together that the petal placement is a little rotated and counterbalanced.

In the photo above I have stuck the inner part of the flower to two layers.  See how the petals are not aligned.  I have also curled the central petals into the heart of the flower.  I am using Pool Party which is a fresh light aqua blue but it doesn't photograph very well. 

So this is the flower with five layers. See how all the petals curl upwards?  The next step is to curl, bend and place the petals where I need them to be for the flower shape that I want.  I may need to use extra glue especially in the centre of the flower where I need to build a heart.  Sometimes I twist the centre a little too as flowers usually look like they unfurl.

Work the flower as little or as much as you like to get the exact look that you are after.  Don't give up - practice makes perfect in this instance.

As a finishing touch I sometimes spray the flowers shimmer mist (to look like dew), occasionally I use Crystal Effects to look like drops of moisture and other times I simply touch random petals with Two-Way Glue then glitter with Dazzling Diamonds or Super Nova Glitter.  You are only limited by your imagination.

I'll probably work on this one a little more to "train" it to sit how I want on the card.

Finally if you can't purchase the die I have used consider using other "daisy" style punches or dies.  My recommendation is that you use Stampin' Up! cardstock however as the card is vitrified which means that it is died consistently the same colour all the way from the outside through the core.  This means that you can distress and mold it exactly as you wish and maintain true colour.

Have fun and good luck
Shanni x