Technique Class - Building Flowers

Building Up Purchased Flowers
Using Prima "Flight of Fancy"

There's a huge variety of beautiful flowers on the market today from companies such as Prima Marketing, Kaisercraft, Green Tara, and Bella. They are becoming more detailed with gorgeous embellished centres, flocked and glittered petals and even the addition of stamens and leaves. With this tutorial, I'm going to show you one simple way to build up your purchased flowers to produce wonderful textured embellishments for your off the page projects... you'll get a creative fix and be much kinder on your hip pocket as well.

Requirements:
3 purchased flowers (1 smaller than the others)
3 purchased stamens
Liquid glue

1. Fold each flower a few times to soften the paper and make it easier to shape. Pinch the creases well so that they don't flatten out again.

2. Fold the stamens in half so that the beaded ends are all together. You will get a more natural look if you don't try to make the lengths even.

3. Push the folded end of the stamens through the smallest flower. Add a little glue to the stamens and the back of the flower. Squeeze the flower around the stamens to help shape it and keep it from lying flat.

4. Add the other two flowers in the same way, glueing as you go. When you have all three flowers on the stamens, pinch and shape the base of the flower until you are satisfied with how it looks.

5. Add a little more glue around the base of the bottom flower to help secure the stamens in place. Set aside to dry thoroughly.

6. When the blossom is completely dry, use your fingers to reshape the petals as desired. Separate the stamens so they are not bunched in the centre and cut off the excess at the back of the flower. It's now ready to use on a project.