Hello dear friends,
This is Anita here . I hope you all are having a super crafty time and shopping fun at Crafters Corner.
As you all know that flower making is my forte and I keep it above all . Its like a passion for me and I just forget the whole world when I am making flowers. I am so deeply involved in its creations , that I feel no other art gives me so much peace as flower making.
I have been making flowers since many years and over the time, my floral art has evolved and matured. All thanks to the beautiful products from all over the world now available at Crafters Corner. I actually owe my creative success a lot to Crafters Corner because it has given me the best brands to work with.
Many a times I have been asked several questions relating to floral art. This is going to be one long post with lot of discussions and pictures so please patient!!!
Let me see each one of them and answer for you.
Q. What paper or card stock is best for flower making?
A. I like card stock that are smooth and thick between 250 gsm to 285 gsm. Dress My Craft floral oriental papers and Exotica papers are ideal for flower making. They are in fact the best that I have used so far giving sturdy realistic flowers.
Q. Which inks should we use for colouring flowers?
A. It all depends on what technique you are using. If you are misting the flowers lightly with water , then distress inks and Memento inks but if you are soaking the petals in water then, waterproof inks like Archival or Color Box. You can use water colour, re inkers etc to colour your flowers.
A. You can use sponge daubers or foam applicators to apply inks.
Q. Why do we spritz or soak the die cuts in water to make flowers?
A. Soaking the flowers in water or misting them with water, breaks the grains of the paper, making the surface soft and pliable . Hence embossing and shaping becomes very easy and also gives a realistic natural look to flowers. Mister bottles for Rangers are a good buy.
Q. What are the tools required for flower making?
A. The basic tools are embossing ball tools, fine stylus, good pair of sharp pointed scissors, embossing foam pad, tweezers. Apart from these, wires, pollens, thread, applicators and sponge daubers for applying inks. Dress My Craft Groove Golf tools are a complete and ideal for embossing flowers.
Q. Which Glue is best for flower making?
A. Select a glue that is very thick, fast drying and holds the petals well. Aleene's fast grab tacky glue is the ultimate so far . For assembling on projects, silicon glue or hot glue is apt.
Q. How to buy inks shades for flowers?
A. Choose the base colour and then go for a medium or dark shade of that colour. For example in green shade, I would choose, Archival Fern Green and Library Green, In pinks-Magenta hue, Pink Peony and Plum.
Q. What type of centres should I use for flowers?
A. Study the real flower and see the nature of its centre. Based on that you can add pollens, prills for realistic look and pearls etc for dressy look. You can add flower soft to get natural look for flowers.
Q. How do I add shine to my flowers?
A. Apply glossy accents or crackle paint for the shine. You can add sparkling dust, sugar powder etc.
Q. How can I get beautiful realistic flowers?
A. By patience and dedication. Treat each flower with love. Try to study the actual flower before making the paper one. Do not hurry. Make each petal with utmost attention and care.
Q. On what type of surface do I emboss my flowers?
A. You can use embossing foam pads to emboss flowers. The surface should not be very soft neither very hard. Various options are available at Crafters Corner.
This is Anita here . I hope you all are having a super crafty time and shopping fun at Crafters Corner.
As you all know that flower making is my forte and I keep it above all . Its like a passion for me and I just forget the whole world when I am making flowers. I am so deeply involved in its creations , that I feel no other art gives me so much peace as flower making.
I have been making flowers since many years and over the time, my floral art has evolved and matured. All thanks to the beautiful products from all over the world now available at Crafters Corner. I actually owe my creative success a lot to Crafters Corner because it has given me the best brands to work with.
Many a times I have been asked several questions relating to floral art. This is going to be one long post with lot of discussions and pictures so please patient!!!
Let me see each one of them and answer for you.
Q. What paper or card stock is best for flower making?
A. I like card stock that are smooth and thick between 250 gsm to 285 gsm. Dress My Craft floral oriental papers and Exotica papers are ideal for flower making. They are in fact the best that I have used so far giving sturdy realistic flowers.
Q. Which inks should we use for colouring flowers?
A. It all depends on what technique you are using. If you are misting the flowers lightly with water , then distress inks and Memento inks but if you are soaking the petals in water then, waterproof inks like Archival or Color Box. You can use water colour, re inkers etc to colour your flowers.
Color Box Inks
Archival Inks
Q. What do I use to apply inks ?A. You can use sponge daubers or foam applicators to apply inks.
Q. Why do we spritz or soak the die cuts in water to make flowers?
A. Soaking the flowers in water or misting them with water, breaks the grains of the paper, making the surface soft and pliable . Hence embossing and shaping becomes very easy and also gives a realistic natural look to flowers. Mister bottles for Rangers are a good buy.
Q. What are the tools required for flower making?
A. The basic tools are embossing ball tools, fine stylus, good pair of sharp pointed scissors, embossing foam pad, tweezers. Apart from these, wires, pollens, thread, applicators and sponge daubers for applying inks. Dress My Craft Groove Golf tools are a complete and ideal for embossing flowers.
Groove Golf tool set
Martha Stewart Embossing Stylus set
Q. What type of scissors should I use for flower making?
A. Always go for scissors that are light in weight and pointed to allow you go deep in the edges of petals.
Q. Which Glue is best for flower making?
A. Select a glue that is very thick, fast drying and holds the petals well. Aleene's fast grab tacky glue is the ultimate so far . For assembling on projects, silicon glue or hot glue is apt.
Q. How to buy inks shades for flowers?
A. Choose the base colour and then go for a medium or dark shade of that colour. For example in green shade, I would choose, Archival Fern Green and Library Green, In pinks-Magenta hue, Pink Peony and Plum.
Q. What type of centres should I use for flowers?
A. Study the real flower and see the nature of its centre. Based on that you can add pollens, prills for realistic look and pearls etc for dressy look. You can add flower soft to get natural look for flowers.
Q. How do I add shine to my flowers?
A. Apply glossy accents or crackle paint for the shine. You can add sparkling dust, sugar powder etc.
Sparkling dust
Frosted Sugar Powder
Q. How can I get beautiful realistic flowers?
A. By patience and dedication. Treat each flower with love. Try to study the actual flower before making the paper one. Do not hurry. Make each petal with utmost attention and care.
Q. On what type of surface do I emboss my flowers?
A. You can use embossing foam pads to emboss flowers. The surface should not be very soft neither very hard. Various options are available at Crafters Corner.
Mini Molding pad
Q. What type of dies I should use to make flowers?
A. Crafters Corner has a huge range of flower making dies. You can choose according to your need and budget. Brands like Heartfelt Creations, Elizabeth Craft Designs, Spellbinders, Joy Craft etc are all wonderful for flower making.
Q. What are the other things required for flower making?
A. You will need, strong thread for tying the pollens, floral green wires, floral tape etc.
Q. How should I protect my flowers from dust etc?
A. You should keep your cards in plastic pouches or boxes. Wiping with thin cloth very delicately helps in cleaning flowers.
And now for the finale'. here is the live video that I did on flower making.You missed a few points. No worries!!! Everything is here.
Just Click on the link to take you to the video.
Some Eye Candy flowers for you.
Products from Crafters Corner
So I hope I have covered all the questions regarding flower making. But still there may be many queries. So ask me here and I will surely try to answer them. I hope you enjoyed this post.
Do visit the Crafters Corner store for all your crafting solutions.
What an extensive tutorial Anita...so detailed and full of information! Lovely flowers as always.
ReplyDeleteThank you rupa
DeleteHey,i wanted to knw does the water colour give the effect to flowers??
ReplyDeleteYou can give water colour effect from distress inks or zig markers
DeleteWow but a Well explained post mam I have also one question in ur one video I have seen that u have used 160 GSM paper than when we should or why we should use less Then 260 GSM is this for some particular type of papers or for it will better to give good squeeze
ReplyDeleteIn early video I had used 160gsm because that time DMC paper was not available. But now it is available and it's very good
DeleteWat a informative and detailed post...
ReplyDeleteU r superb at flower making,:-)
Thank you sampada
DeleteThank you dear, what a amazing post , you cleared many many doubts . This is the best ever post for learning flower making.
ReplyDeleteThank You Suzna
DeleteThis is such a beautiful and detailed post Anita! Your flowers are always so realistic and natural, love the video too! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Vinita
DeleteSuch a beautifully written post Anita...kudos!
ReplyDeleteCheers
Dr Sonia
Very helpful post! Thanks for sharing the amazing techniques!
ReplyDelete