6 Petal Flower Punch/Die Cut to Bloom Tutorial

Evening all! Wow can you beleive it is Wednesday all ready!
Bring on Friday I say! I wanna see the weekend!

As promised tonight I have for you my tutorial on how I make my flowers.
You will also find this over on the The Crafty Pad blog as well.

And ... You know what ... These would fit perfectly with our challenge this week of
#115 - FLOWERS
So why not have a go and show us your creations!

We are going to make this –

Be gentle with me - this is my 1st tutorial lol
- please leave me a comment if there is anything I should clarify more. 

 You will need:-

A 6 petal flower punch or die cut

-          4 flowers cut from punch / die

Complimentary ink to distress petal edges

Scissors

Toothpick or similar to shape and curl petals

Fast adhesive glue (I use my glue gun)

Tweezers

Optional –

Beads for centres

Glitter mist

Kindy Glitz

Step 1 - Cut 4 petals from punch or die cut. ~ For this tutorial I have used Marianne Design Creatables Rose LR0145 and am using the largest (bottom) die cut.  The cardstock is Core Dinations - Fortune Teller

Step 2 - Ink all the edges of the four petals. ~ I have used KaiserCraft Lilac IP715.

Step 3 - Make the following cuts as per picture- 

With the 1st flower cut out one petal.

With the 2nd flower cut out two petals.

With the 3rd flower cut in half  (you will have one spare 3 petal)

On the 4th flower make no cuts.

Step 4 - Line your petals up starting with 1 petal, then 2 petals, 3 petals ect, with the full uncut petal last.

Using your toothpick slightly curl the top of the petal edges over as per picture.

Step 4 - Using your toothpick again, make petal creases in your flower to prepare them for joining each ending petal together, try and make a cup shape.

Step 5 - Using your fast drying adhesive glue (or glue gun as I do), join each ending petal to each ending petal, forming a 'cup shape'

*The single (or 1st) petal can be tricky and I often glue it while on the toothpick*

Step 6 - Building your flower - Taking the single petal and your scissors cut in half, as per picture.  Discard the bottom segment you have cut away.  This is going to be your 'flower center'.

* Cutting the 'points' away from the bottom of each layer of your flower you build will help your flower to fit snugly together in each layer underneath that you add.*

Step 7 - Holding the flower center with your tweezers add some glue to the bottom and insert it into the 2 petal 'flower cup' creating your next layer, as per picture.  

 

Step 8 - Taking the 'beginning bloom' and your scissors cut away the point from the bottom of the bloom so it can fit nicely into the next layer flower cup, as per picture.  Discard the bottom segment you have cut away.  You are now building your bloom and it should be starting to take shape.

At this stage, do not worry if petals need to be curled back as you will do this with the finishing touches when the bloom is fully assembled.

 

Step 9 - Holding the beginning bloom with your tweezers add some glue to the bottom and insert it into the 3 petal 'flower cup' creating your next layer, as per picture.

At this stage try and off center the petals between each layer to create a more natural looking effect.  

 

Step 10 - Again, taking the beginning bloom and your scissors cut away the point from the bottom of the bloom so it can fit nicely into the next layer flower cup, as per picture.  Discard the bottom segment you have cut away.  

Step 11 - Holding the beginning bloom with your tweezers add some glue to the bottom and insert it into the 4 petal 'flower cup' creating your next layer, as per picture.

Again, try and off center the petals between each layer to create a more natural looking effect. 

Step 12 - As per step 10, take the beginning bloom and your scissors cut away the point from the bottom of the bloom so it can fit nicely into the next layer flower cup, as per picture.  Discard the bottom segment you have cut away.

As you add more layers you will find it increasingly harder to cut the point away.  So long as you have taken some of the 'point' away your flower will still layer nicely and have a space to place enough glue to hold it together. 

Step 13 - Holding the beginning bloom with your tweezers add some glue to the bottom and insert it into the 5 petal 'flower cup' creating your next layer, as per picture.

Remember to try and off center the petals between each layer to create a more natural looking effect.

Step 14 - As per the previous steps, take the beginning bloom and your scissors cut away the point from the bottom of the bloom so it can fit nicely into the next layer ' flower cup'.  Discard the bottom segment you have cut away.

Step 15 - Holding the beginning bloom with your tweezers add some glue to the bottom and insert it into the 6 petal 'flower cup' creating your next layer, as per picture.

Remember to try and off center the petals between each layer to create a more natural looking effect.

You have now created your bloom.  

If you find that your bloom is still somewhat 'pointy' you can again cut the point away, this will not effect the result of your finished bloom. 

Make your final touches and adjust and curl any petals that you feel need to be curled back again.  I usually use my tweezers to 'tweak' at this point or I will pick the whole bloom up and work the petal with a toothpick again. 

When you are happy with how your bloom is sitting, add your finishing touches.

With the bloom in this picture I have add a spray of glitter mist.

You may add a bead in the center if you would like.

You can glitz the petal edges (this looks wonderful for Christmas roses in red with a touch of gold glitter on the petal edges).

Using different sized punches / die cuts will result in your blooms being different sizes. As you can see in this picture these are all the sizes I can create from my original die cut shown at the start. 

Additional notes - If you do not have a 6 petal punch or die cut, you can use a 5 petal or more petal punch / die cut. A 5 petal punch will not result in a flower as big a 6 petal flower but you will still acheive a very similar result.  If you use a punch with more than  6 petals, as you will be adding more 'layers' it will be very important to try and cut as much of those 'points' away as possible so your end result will still sit flat. 

Here are a few examples of how I have used my finished blooms on various projects.

 You can also find this tutorial and other handy ones right HERE at The Crafty Pad.

If you use this tutorial I would love to see your creations using your blooms, so please come back and leave me a link to have a peaksie at :)  Happy crafting!