Friday, April 2, 2010

Embossed Fresco Flowers (with a 5 petal flower punch & a Cuttlebug or whatever you have)



These babies all share the same EK Success 5-petal
flower
punch for a Mommy
(petal progenitor of blossom siblings? flower family?):

embossed fresco flower --all from 5 petal ek success flower punch-- melstampz

You clever people have me thinking about faster ways to make painted paper flowers. Thank You! (I think I need 180 of them to decorate 3 tired old lamp shades, so thanks for the idea to do them with punching/die cutting. You're the best!)

double embossed fresco flower -- 5 petal ek success flower punch--  melstampz
shimmery

pearl outline flower mel stampz
pearly


...make embossed fresco flowers:

(1-punch or cut a flower;
2-dry emboss it;
3-colour it;
4-paint it white
5-sand it;
6-shape it;
7-embellish it!)

You will need these...

  • Cardstock (80-100lb seems best for shaping)
  • Something to make Flower shapes (punches, die cuts, digital cutter--or hand cutting)
  • Embossing tools: machine (Cuttlebug or whatever and embossing folders) or brass embossing plate & stylus. I used Provo Craft folder (3 from the Asian collection, textile, and swiss dots.)
  • Colouring medium Copic or other Markers (or what have you)
  • White acrylic paint (and paint brush or rag to apply it)
  • Misc common tools: Sanding block, dusting rag, scissors
  • Shaping tools (a stylus & foam mat or hands) ;o)
  • Shiny stuff: Lumiere, Shimmer Mist, Perfect Pearls, Shimmerz...
  • Bits for centers: gems, buttons, beads, glitter...
Optional: Adhesive (I used Zip Dry); Wax paper;



Step 1) Make a flower shape: Punch out, die cut or freehand cut your flower shapes.

This is a great way to use up scraps of cardstock or patterned paper. This is just medium quality white 80lb cardstock.



Step 2) Dry Emboss it: Dry emboss using a Cuttlebug, Big Shot, or other pressure embossing machine or the hand done dry embossing.



Step 3) Colour it: I used Copic markers, but you could ink it (apply the ink pad directly, drop watery colours on, sponge it, or brayer colour on...whatever you like best.)



3B) Add different colours & don't be afraid to go bold & messy. You can really slop the ink on there.

There's no need to worry about even coverage;
It can look hideous when it's simply coloured:



...but when you add the white paint, it's magically fixed:



Step 4) Apply a thin coat of white acrylic paint: I used white paint to get a fresco look, but you could try whatever colour you like, of course. You could use your flowers simply painted as is after this step (just as pastel flowers with embossing and paint texture) or continue on to the fun stuff.... ;o)



Step 5) Sand it to remove a little paint & expose colours (adds neat-o texture too.) I use a hardware store sanding block; my fave is 120 grit, or thereabouts.



Step 6) Remove the dust created by sanding. (I love using a Swiffer cloth.)



Step 7) Shape the flower using your fingers or a stylus.

And for Step 8)...
my ultimate fave of

ever

To get a hand cut look from speedily punched flowers,
you can just trim them a little bit:



All it takes is a couple snips to make your punches brand new to you! ;o)



here's a close up shot of how I trimmed this 5-petal flower shape
(an EK Success punch):


...snippity snip snip snip...

Here's a double hand-shaped flower with two of these snipped 5 petal
EK success punched flowers (an old SU flower punch):



I'll share all the details of the fancier cutting ideas soon,
in case you have the 5-petal EK success flower punch (or want
ideas for revamping other punches or dies in your collection.) :-)




Tips for multiple flower making:

To make multiple flowers easier to colour and so forth,
just glue them (lightly) to a piece of paper:



I used Zip Dry from Beacon Adhesives, being sure to add a little
to the back of each petal so they held up to sanding
then pulled them off of the paper when they were finished:



I used black paper here for demonstration purposes, but I would use white, normally, so that any bits of paper that stuck from the adhesive would be inconspicuous. (Using quite a thin coat of paint, when you're gluing to paper, makes this much easier & tidier, ask me how I know...) ;o)


These wee little "3 for you" punch flowers worked
well stuck onto wax paper first & then embossed...



...so there was no fiddling with teeny flowers falling everywhere.



Shape with a stylus on a fun foam mat

You can work in little ovals or circles with a stylus:


or the rounded end of a paint brush

...or shape with your hands:


Mold them however you like: the way I see it, the more you work them,
the more distressed & vintage they look...



Sanding one flower at a time:



If you really want to get at the colour under the paint on one particular flower
(or you just want to have a go making only one or two flowers) try holding down
the petals to protect them while you sand a couple at a time--it helps prevent rips.


Save them to colour or alter later
(when you need to use them)

You can set your painted flowers aside & when you need a particular look for
a project, you can colour over them in Copic markers (or
what have you) ...to get them to match a paper colour or something:



Please note: Paint can clog the nibs on your Copic markers, my solution to this potential problem is to always use the broad chisel tips of my Copics for things like this, since I don't colour with them often. Then I can play this way with all kinds of things, but not wreck my good brush tips. (I know I've said it before, sorry, but it can't hurt to repeat...since I do strange things with my Copics & don't want to wreck yours on you.) ;O)

...but I really love the colour Copics give over paint:


(This is a Putty YG91 Copic marker over the paint after sanding)

...and then crackle lacquer over the Copic colour brings it out even more:



If you prefer to keep your Copics markers pristine,
here's
an alternate way to add more colour:



Inking it up. These were inked with distress ink
(on the distress applicator with a foam pad on it.)



For more texture:


texture A) Double emboss (run it through another different
embossing folder, after you sand to reveal the pattern of the first one,
or use the same folder a couple of times):



texture B) Create a pattern while you're sanding by
using a sanding file or the edge of a sanding block:



texture C) Scratch lines on with a paper piercing tool:



Bling:

bling A) For shine, you can apply a clear lacquer glue
and crackle or try heat embossing in clear:



bling B) For shimmer:



You can use Lumiere or add glitter product like Perfect
Pearls or Pearlex to your white paint or Use a glue pen to add
glitter, or simply use a glitter pen.

For more colour, try coloured paint. I wanna try some black paint!

...and that's all she wrote!



Thanks so much for being You!

Hope you have a supercalicraftystampyscrumptious day!


(please click if you'd like to visit the blog
from an email or reader)

40 comments:

linda said...

Wow...beautiful flowers! Thanks for doing this tutorial and sharing...I am really interested in tips and tricks on making your own embellishments for projects like scrapbooking and cardmaking. :)

peggy said...

Stunning flowers and thanks for your great tutorial !!!

Peggy xx

Beth Norman said...

Wowza, another awesome technique and tutorial. It really shows how much heart and soul you pour into your tutorials. Thanks for the fab inspiration. I love the flowers so much!

Unknown said...

Fabulous you show us so many ways to work with making your own flowers, I love all your ideas, thank you.

SueB said...

your tips are always so great, Mel - TFS! I may never have to purchase pre-cut flowers again!

Finja said...

wow, it is so amazing... what a lot of time you need to do this... big thankyou for sharing it with us... hugs from Germany Finja

Margreet said...

thanks for all tips to make these gorgeous flowers!!!
xxx Margreet

Karen W said...

Wow what a fabulous tutorial and flowers. I will have to try this. Thanks so much!

sabine said...

Hello Mel, I'm french, and I love read all your tutorial , thank you for all.
Sabine.

Debbie Pamment said...

One amazing amount of hints and tips to create some fabulous flowers - thanx soooo much!
xXx

Dawn said...

awesome, awesome flowers!!!
I love my Zip Dry too!
xoxo

Karin said...

Mel, your flowers are stunning. I posted a link to your post on my blog. Thank you so much for sharing so many details. I just love the look and will have to make some myself. Karin

SAMARA said...

Were you always so brilliant or did you go to sleep one night and the magical dust fairies came along and sprinkles beautiful Mel with the most creative dust that exists in the magical dust fairy universe! You are the best beautiful!!! Love Samara

Sarah A said...

These are amazing and so many great tips and tricks you shared! Thanks for the tutorial, for once I have all the stuff I need to have a go at making thse myself - apart from the sanding block hehe.... I have an emery board though which will do the job I think!

Sarah x

lilscrappers said...

WAHOOOO, Mel does it again, lol.....I love it (I knew you would come up with something spectacular after reading the posts on your last flowers ;-))Glad your muse stayed with you on your move, lovely creative one! Even my babes can do this and give mom some sneaky craft time to boot. Thanks a mil for being wonderful and sharing!

Joanna said...

These are awesome, I will have to try this! TFS!!!

L.A. said...

Hi Mel,
Great flowers! How are you feeling? Settling into the new place?

Heather Huggins said...

Fabulous flowers!! Thanks for sharing, I'm going to try these..

Suzi said...

I usually have 30-90 emails when I turn on my laptop each morning. I just skip right over your! Why? Because it's so delicious I save it for dessert! TFS!

eLLe said...

Great textured flowers tutorial! Gotta try it out! You're so inspiring!!!

Anonymous said...

Another Fabulous Tutorial Mel! Thanks so much! You make me think I might be able to make these cute flowers. Hope you are doing well and have a Good Friday and Happy Easter! Mary

Elaine A said...

Hi Mel -

First - wishing you a wonderful Easter! A great tutorial (like always), and the flowers are just gorgeous!

Elaine Allen

Sue from Oregon said...

So pretty...and you make these seem so easy! Wonderful tute!

Natalie said...

Awesome tips, thanks so much! I'm going crazy with ideas!!

pinky said...

You are amazing, brilliant tutorial, just loved it.
Pinky

Heidi Kimmerly said...

ABsolutely fabulous! TFS!

Anonymous said...

thanks so much for sharing all
this beautiful flowers with us!!!!!!

tine

Cynde said...

Oh my goodness Mel these flowers are fantastic! Also what a great tutorial. I actually think I could make these with such a good step by step to follow. Love that! Thanks so much. The flowers are so very wonderful and my mind is spinning with ideas....Great!

Noreen said...

I LOVE these flowers! Thanks for the idea.

Carol's Ink Spot said...

Absolutely FabULous!!! Thanks for sharing how you made those flowers! Awesome job!

Kathlene said...

Another one of Mel's Terrifically Tremendous Tutorials--yep yep. Love these flowers--each one unique and beautiful in its own way. Thanks for all the time and effort you take to inspire us.

Gabriele said...

You know the problem I have whenever I visit your blog? ---> Correct! My todo-list grows and grows and never stops *sigh*
*ggg*
Thanks Mel for sharing another great idea with us... loads of inspiration, as always!

Hugs,
Gabriele

MichelleMc said...

These are so cool. Thank you for sharing your awesome techniques. I need to add that zip glue and marker to my shopping list. Hey, why not do all the embossing and painting to a quarter sheet of paper and then punch out the flowers? Seems like it would be quicker. And easier to handle. I guess it might be too thick for a punch, and you'd get less uniqueness in each flower. And the edges would be raw. Guess I answered my own question! Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

A friend sent me over to your blog today. I am in heaven! So much to learn, and you are so generous with your time and knowledge.
I have only been making cards for a few weeks and already I am addicted ... though my head is spinning LOL.
These wonderful flowers ... so exciting ... I already bought a Cuttlebug (b4 I knew what to do with it *grin*)
Could you give me some guidance on the flower punch you suggested, there are 4 sizes from 9/16 to 2 3/4 inches ... could you say what size you used here? Is there a site you prefer for purchases?
Thanks so very very very much :)

Unknown said...

These are amazing!! I am wondering how you did that double punch looking one, the one where the middle is cut out.

DanMary said...

Love the Idea!!! :)

Marion said...

Many thanks for this tutorial!!!!
Best wishes from Germany

Marion said...

Wooow ,many thanks for this tutorial!
kind regards from germany

Jennifer Joyce said...

These are super cute!!! Would love to try this technique, thanks for the inspiration :)

preeti said...

Wow !!! Pretty flowers, thanks for sharing the technique.