Supplies Needed:
Flower die cuts (3 large, 2 medium, 1 or 2 small) I used a flower from the Flower Shoppe cartridge with the largest size starting at 3 1/4
Wilton Fondant Tool Set
Wilton flower forming cups
McGill Mat or other foam piece that has some cushion
TH Distress Ink
Mini mister with water
Hot glue or glue dots
I recently purchased the McGill flower making tool and mat set and use it often but really wanted something that would form bigger flowers more effectively. After a bit of pondering, I remembered my Wilton fondant and flower tool set and the flower molding cups that I bought while taking classes at Michael's earlier this year.
Looking at these tools I could see where most of them could be used to manipulate paper just as easily as they do fondant.
To begin, I decided that I wanted to create some lines or veins in the flower petals so I used the olive green handled mini wheel. On one end the wheel is smooth and creates nice lines and the other end is for a perforated look. When creating the lines work on a mat or other spongey surface so the creases created will be deeper.
I used the smooth wheel and ran a straight line from the edge of each petal to the center. The teal handled tool is used to create veins in fondant leaves, so I used it to make some horizontal lines running from the center crease in each petal to the side edge.
You can see the creases in this next picture. They are just random and not precise or neat. I am going for a grungy more than a realistic look. There are several other tools in the kit that could be used to make interesting textures and markings on flowers and other projects.
Using the Direct To Paper method, I used my Tim Holtz Wild Honey distress pad to color the flower. Using the pad directly on the paper made some nice contrast and really caused the creased areas to pop. I tried using one of the little TH sponges but it filled in the creases too much so the DTP method worked best in this instance.
To help break down the paper fibers and make the flower easier to form I sprayed the back of it lightly with a mini mister. Spraying the back will prevent the ink from running into the creases and ruining the look.
M's and J's both have several different kinds of the Wilton plastic flower forming cups. I used the smaller, deeper ones. Take the slightly dampened flower and press it down into the cup, inked side up. You can use your fingers to start it and then use one of the large ball end tools to gently rub a circular motion in the center of the flower to further break down the paper fibers and to cause it to "cup." If the flower is large enough, bend the edges over the sides of the plastic cup if you like. Set aside and allow to dry.
Repeat the above process for all of the flower die cuts. Allow each flower piece to dry in a separate plastic cup. When working on the smallest flower, the cup isn't as useful. The little flower can be formed easily with the ball tool or just bending it upwards with your fingers. I used the cup just to help it maintain its shape while it dried.
There are two stick shaped tools in the kit that are perfect for curling the edges of the flower petals. I used the smaller dark blue one for this flower and just randomly rolled either the edge of one side of a petal or the whole outer edge under. Repeat for each flower piece.
The cups really work their magic once you begin to layer all the pieces together. Keep one of the largest flower die cuts in its plastic cup and apply the adhesive of your choice to the center. Stack another large flower on top, staggering the placement of the petals between the bottom layer's petals. Repeat with all layers. I only used one of each size for this tutorial so my picture below will not show as many layers as needed for a full flower. Use one of the ball tools to push the center down and hold until glue is dry (if using hot glue). The thicker the layers get, the more the cup will push the flower up and give it lots of dimension.
Once the layers are assembled, remove the flower from the cup and make any desired adjustments like re-curling edges or pulling some of the petals up or down.
Below on the right is my finished grungy veined flower that I made earlier today with all the layers. The two flowers on the left are made with TH Tattered Flowers die. Although it's not as prominent and doesn't show up in the picture, I used the pointed tool with the light green handle from the kit to just randomly distress some of the petals on those two flowers and inked them with the distress ink and a sponge for a softer look.
I liked the results enough that I will dedicate the Wilton kit to paper flowers only and buy another kit to use with fondant. I know they can be cleaned and would probably be fine to use with food, but best to not take any chances.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and I hope you have fun making lots of pretty paper flowers!
