Punching Fancy Flowers

What else (I hear you asking) can you do with the fancy flower punch being offered in the Spring/Summer Mini Catalog?! Here are a couple of ways to make a 3D flower that will really dress up a project!

If you want to use designer paper, punch six flowers from the paper of your choice with the Fancy Flower punch (here I've used Ruby Red from the Patterns Pack available to hostesses). Sponge the edges of the petals if desired to give them definition and "shabby chic". Spritz lightly with water (this helps prevent the paper from tearing) and wad up into little pea-sized balls. Carefully open up each little ball (this is the stage where tearing is most likely to occur), but don't try to get the wrinkles out. Next, punch a "center" using the Boho Blossoms punch. You'll also need a 5/8" brad. Lay out your paper piercing tool and foam mat. Stack the punched flowers on top of each other, off-setting the peaks and valleys of the petals with each layer. End with the Boho Blossom punch on top. Pierce through the center of the stack, working the piercing tool around a bit to enlarge the hole (this helps prevent the prongs of the brad from bending as you're trying to insert it). Open the prongs on the back to hold the layers in position. Starting from the top, pinch the first layer up and around the brad, curling the petal edges under for volume and a natural look. Move on to the second layer, and so forth until you've worked your way to the bottom. You may attach the flower to your project using the prongs of the brad or a pop-up glue dot.

You can also make these flowers from magazines or catalogs you're ready to recycle. You'll need 12 layers for this approach, since the paper is thinner. No need to spritz these, just wad and open. Assemble as above, except this time I omitted the smaller punch in the center and used a corduroy button brad. To finish, I shot a little Log Cabin Smooch Spritz onto the flower and the button. This worked great to tone down the red so that it looked old like the magazine colors.

You'll be surprised at how quickly these come together after you've done a couple! Kathy