22.12.18

Foamiran Roses and Leaves Tutorial

Foamiran Roses and Leaves
Hi friends...I love making flowers and  had a gala time experimenting with the new Dress My Craft Rose Die # 2. There are a total of 14 dies in this set and it is perfect to make roses ranging in size from tiny rose buds to really huge blooms!
Let me jump right into the Tutorial
Foamiran Roses and Leaves Tutorial 
You can use just 2 sizes of petals to make large  foamiran roses. Die cut 5 sheets of foamiran at a time using the petal dies.This not only saves time but helps to thin the foamiran even further!
Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
Die cut at least 2+3+5 [these are the petals in each layer from inside to out] =10 small petals and 5+7 [outer 2 layers of petals]= 12 larger petals. Always cut a few extra petals as foamiran is very thin and it is inevitable to tear a few petals as you work especially if you are impatient like me!
Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
Use a coloring media of your choice to shade petals if you wish. For these roses I lightly shaded the upper part of the petals with Mungyo Artists Soft Oil Pastels. I shaded the small petals slightly darker.
Tip:  Shading the central petals darker helps to give more depth to your flower.
Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
Shape the petals into a cup shape using your fingers or a ball tool. If you want to save time you can heat your petals by touching the petals to an iron and your petals will quickly curl into a cup shape  but this does tend to make your petals thicker !
Tip: Using your fingers is faster but make sure you don't have nails on your fingers as otherwise you will get nail marks on your petals!
Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
Take a forceps and grasp the upper edge of your petal as shown.

Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
Twist the forceps to the back  as shown.

Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
Heat this edge on the iron box for a few seconds

Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
Remove and curl it into place using your fingers again.This is how the back of your petal will look now.

Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
Do the same for the other side of your petal.

Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
Sometimes as your heat the petal the cupping may smoothen out...then use your ball tool/finger again to cup the central part again.

Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
Don't be frustrated if you tear a few petals in this shaping step !! Shape all your petals in this way. You will need around 10 small and 12 large petals to make your rose.
Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
The easiest way to make a rose is by starting with the bud. You can use  a crunched up cotton ball, aluminium foil , clay or even a paper ball  as your center. 
I used the pointed Styrofoam buds from Dress My Craft for my rose center...love that these come in many sizes,have a wire stem to hold and the shape is just perfect!
Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
Glue 2 petals overlapping each other around the central Styrofoam bud. 
Tip: the quickest glue for foamiran is hot glue but be very sparing in the amount of glue you use and only apply at the lower part of the petal...that way you wont see unsightly white blobs of glue when you make your flower!

Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
For the 2nd layer use 2 to 3 petals. The easiest for beginners is to use 2 petals in the 2nd layer as trying to get in 3 petals is a tight fit ...so don't be frustrated if your rose center doesn't look as cool as you wanted it to!

Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
Add 4 to 5 layers in the 3rd layer. Working in 5 petals in easier 
Tip: Once you have made one or 2 flowers you will quickly understand the right amount of overlap to get that perfect petal arrangement!
Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
Add the  outer 2 layers in the same way...overlapping the petals as you glue.
Foamiran Roses and Leaves
If you are making a bouquet or a home decor item the under-surface of the flower will be visible...add a calyx using the calyx die in the set.
Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
 Scrunch up the die cut calyx to make it look more natural. Turn your rose over and apply a blob of glue on the center . Add your calyx, curling it to overlap and cover the center and stem of your rose.
Foamiran Rose Tutorial 
How to make Foamiran Leaves

Foamiran Leaf Tutorial 
Once again die cut 5 sheets at a time  ...this helps to make the leaves thinner.

Foamiran Leaf Tutorial 
You can draw,use mould or even stamp to add veins to the leaves but here is a super easy way to add lovely veins.
Place the leaves on a perforating pad [ used in parchment craft and flower making] or a thick mouse pad and run the pointed tip of the Dress My Craft golf tool on the leaves to make your veins.
Foamiran Leaf Tutorial 
It is so quick to make your leaves using this method!
Tip: Hold your tool in a slanted fashion rather than vertically up...this way you will not tear through the delicate foamiran.
Foamiran Leaf Tutorial 
If you are making a bouquet you need to add leaf stalks...sharing a quick tip to make your job easy and fast: Insert floral wires an inch or so into the glue bottle, twirl and remove it.
Tip : Use a quick drying tacky glue for fast and mess free results. I used Aleene's tacky glue here.

Foamiran Leaf Tutorial 
Stick the wire on the under-surface of your leaf[ the surface with the less prominent vein markings]

Foamiran Leaf Tutorial 
It is faster and more fun if you batch process a bunch of leaves in one go!
Foamiran Leaf Tutorial 
Leave undisturbed to dry . Be patient!!

Foamiran Leaf Tutorial 
And voila...your beautiful leaves are ready to go on your floral arrangement!!
Foamiran Roses and Leaves
I hope you liked this project and found the tips and techniques useful.
I apologise I could not make a video ... I am much better at writing than speaking and I really wanted to share all the steps and tips in a post so that it will be easier for you to reference back to it at leisure!!
Here are the supplies used.
Everything is from Crafters Corner
Supplies : Foamiran SheetsDress My Craft dies  : Rose die #2 , Styrofoam Buds, Mungyo Artists Soft Oil PastelsFloral Tape, Golf ToolsBall ToolsFlower making wireAleene's tacky glue

20.12.18

Kitchen Notepad Holder

Notepad Holder
        Hi friends....if you are a super organised person you must be having all your gifts and cards already posted well in time but if you are like me and and leave things to the last moment ..here is an easy  handmade gift idea which you can quickly put together for that last minute special gift! 
         These are Kitchen Cutting Board shaped note holders to which you can add magnets to the back to act as fridge magnets or simply hang using the  hole at the top.
Notepad Holder
The notepads are not attached to the cutting board but hang on it using twine tied at the back so when your notepad is over you can easily replace it.
      I made a set of  3 Notepad holders  using dozens of Crealies   dies and made matching tags using the new Labelzz and Tagzz collection from Crealies. 
The tags  look so cute with the  mini cutting boards.
Handmade Tags
The  "handmade with heart"  is part of the new stamp release from Crealies  is just the perfect touch for a handmade gift!
Handmade Tags
I used fruit themed DCWV papers from the Botanical Stack to make the note holders
Kitchen Notepad Holder
The cute mushrooms and bows were made with Crealies  dies....as you can see I totally love products from Crealies and I am saying this not just because I am on their design team Hehe !!
Kitchen Notepad Holder

To make a sturdy Notepad holder it is best to make it using several layers of papers,cardstock and foam. Here are the layers from front to back: pattern paper,card stock [red], thick cardstock [white], thick foam [brown] and very thick cardstock. Optionally add a pattern paper on the back also.

Kitchen Notepad Holder
And here is the set on our bonsai orange tree !
Handmade Notepad Holders
I hope you liked this simple handmade gift idea.

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