Make your own spring!

I am officially protesting all things winter and winter related!  The first day of spring is only a few days away and I am ready.  How about you?  I'm ready for warm sunshine on my face, flip-flops on my feet and flowers in my garden!  But, I suppose since it's still pretty cold here, I'm going to have to wait on the warm sun and flip-flops...and even the flowers.  Unless I make my own, that is! 

I posted some projects in the past month or so with these fun layered flowers. 

  

I offered a tutorial and many of you expressed interest, but time has gotten away from me!  BUT, I have it ready for you now...and I'm so glad I waited, becasue with Papertrey's new flower dies, my flower-making horizons have been broadened!  

I was originally making these with a scalloped circle punch, but Papertrey has released the new dies that coordinate with with the Beautiful Blooms II...and the scalloped circle flower (Beautiful Blooms II #2 die) works perfectly for these!  And since I can cut lots of different materials with the die that I can't cut with a punch, I'm having a ball! 

Here's how you can make your own!  I'm going to show step by step photos for the vellum flower, but the basic assembly for all of them is the same. 

I wanted to make a bunch from assorted materials, so I gathered some fun supplies...felt, fabric, vellum, crepe paper and some assorted goodies to embellish the centers...brads, buttons, gems...whatever your heart desires. 

For the vellum flower, diecut eight of the largets scallop flowers from vellum.

You can then spritz them with Glimmer Mist in the color of your choosing.  I'm impatient, so I sped up the drying time by hitting them with my heat gun for a minute or so. 

Now fold each flower in half three times to form the petals.

Now diecut oe more scallop flower, this time from cardstock.  This will be your base.  Cover it with some ScorTape and punch a small hole in the center. 

Now begin adhering the petals to the cardstock base, aligning the point of each petal with the punched hole.

Contiue around, using all eight folded flowers. 

Now you can insert a brad though the center punched hole.

I like to really jazz up the centers, so I added a gem and some pearls around it.

You can also make these out of the new felt!  They turn out so soft and full and fluffy!  If you're doing felt, you only need to cut four scallop flowers from felt + one from cardstock to use as your base.  Fold the flowers in half twice instead of three times like the vellum.  And don't worry about the petals unfolding after you adhere them to the base...whatever you add to the center will hold them down securely. 

One thing that works really well for the centers of these are the buttons with the shank on the back (the ones without holes).  You can just thread some twine through the holes in the back and then through the punched hole in the base of the flower. 
 

Bring the ends to the backside, pull it tight and secure them with a little adhesive.

You can use the same process for fabric flowers...use four petals, just like the felt flowers. 

Or how 'bout a fluffy crepe paper flower?  I used eight petals here, just like on the vellum version. 

And I can hardly leave you without an actual project using them, can I?  Here are a couple of very simple cards using the fabric flowers.  So bright and fun!
  

 
 If you give it a try, I'd love to see your version!  Send me a link!  :-)

 

Stamps: Blooming Button Bits, Fillable Frames #2,Fillable Frames #1 (hello), Background Basics: Tin Type
Ink:  Hawaiian Shores, Aqua Mist, Spring Moss, Hibiscus Burst, Sweet Blush
Cardstock:  Vintage Cream, Kraft
Dies: Beautiful Blooms II #2, Beautiful Blooms II #1 (centers of fabric flowers), Fillable Frames #2
Other:  Vintage Buttons,Green Boutique and In Bloom patterned paper, Hawaiian Shores Felt, Amy Butler fabrics, Melissa Frances crepe paper, assorted brads and gems, zig-zag scissors