Good Wednesday morning and welcome to the CLASSroom. If you love making flowers for your card fronts then you definitely need to check out Susan Tierney Cockburn’s floral release by Elizabeth Craft Designs. My project today was made using the Susan’s Garden Hydrangea and the stem from the Susan’s Garden Notes Hydrangea. I framed my hydrangea using the Taylored Expressions Floral Lattice and the Impression Obsession All-in-One Rectangle Frames 2.
Cut out five sets of the hydrangea blooms. Apply color using a mini applicator, Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire distress ink.
Lightly apply purple ink to the mini applicator and dab some of the ink off on scrap paper a couple of times before applying ink to the flower petal.
Lightly touch the applicator to the petal to apply a soft layer of purple. Caution: Remember to use a delicate touch as you apply the color. A little bit of distress ink goes a long way.
Apply blue ink to the applicator, dab it on scrap paper and apply a fine layer of color over the purple. Using the two lightly applied colors together creates a more realistic looking two toned flower petal while still allowing the white to show through as well. Repeat these two steps on all of your petals. No two petals will look exactly alike. Some will have less color and some more but it all adds to the realism of the natural looking hydrangea when the flower is assembled.
Lay the flower face down on the molding pad and form each petal with the small end of the stylus.
Turn the flower face up on the molding pad and push down directly in the center with the small tipped stylus on the end of the leaf tool.
Lay the flower base face down on the molding pad and lightly roll the large end of the stylus all around to mold and create a rounded shape.
Attach three layers of mounting tape on the back of the base to hold and support the rounded shape while attaching the flowers. You will see only two layers in this picture but I took the photo before I realized it really needed three. Don’t remove the backing off the last piece of tape until after you have applied the flowers and are ready to attach to the card base.
Apply glossy accents in a circle about the size of a dime right in the center of the flower base.
Begin attaching the flowers very close together to the glossy accents in the center of the base.
Reapply glossy accents in small sections around the base and continue attaching flowers.
Lift up the outer petals of flowers that are attached close to the edge of the base, apply glossy accents and squeeze the flowers on to finish the flower. Don’t be afraid to attach all the flowers close together. Attaching them too far apart will not create the full appearance of the hydrangea.
If you have flowers left over like I did you can attach a few right in the cracks of the first base of flowers to fill in and add more fullness.
Lay the leaves on the leaf pad and score veins with the leaf tool.
Lightly apply yellow PanPastel to the center vein of the leaf to add a more natural appearance.
Lightly form the leaves with your fingers and attach the two larger leaves to the back of the stem with glossy accents.
Attach 1/4” double stick tape to the back of the frame and attach it to the top of the lattice frame.
Attach thin strips of mounting tape to the back of the frames and attach to the card base.
Apply glossy accents to several key spots on the back of the stem and attach to the lattice.
Remove the backing off the mounting tape and attach the flower to the top of the stem.
This floral card would be perfect for almost any occasion for someone who loves flowers.
I hope you have been inspired to try your hand at creating a lovely hydrangea project of your own. Thanks for coming by and I will look forward to seeing you next time.
Card size: 5.50” x 4.25”
