Week 3, Card 3 - Summer Card Camp - and flower tutorial

I have had a few requests for a video of how I made the flower in the last post.  I don't have the equipment or the know-how to put a video together, so I've taken a series of photos.

I got the idea for this from another crafter - but I can't remember her name - when I do, I will update this post.  She did it differently, though - her technique involved needle and thread, which seemed too much effort for me!! She also heated the ribbon before attaching it to anything - I just ended up burning myself doing that, hence the modified technique :)

What you'll need:  Ribbon (polyester, so it will melt), a circle of cardstock (in the same colour as your ribbon - slightly smaller than the size of the flower you want), scissors, double sided tape,  heat gun, and a pretty brad for the middle.

 Cut notches in the ribbon.

At the end of the ribbon that will be the outside edge of the flower, just cut straight.

At the end of the ribbon that will be in the centre of the flower, cut little triangles out, to make the petals smaller.
If you happen to cut all the way through the ribbon accidentally, it does not matter at all!!  You just add it in when you get to the sticking-down bit  :)

Completely cover your circle of card with double sided tape (I've tried this with snail adhesive, but it wasn't strong enough).  Cut the excess off the edges.

Start sticking your ribbon down as close to the edge as you can.  Don't worry about the frayed bits of ribbon - they will disappear. :)

 Keep on sticking down in smaller and smaller concentric circles.  Try to get the rings of ribbon as close to each other as possible, or you will get the circle of card showing through at the end. 

As you get in closer to the middle, you'll have to make little pleats in the ribbon to get the petals close to each other

When you get to the middle, you might need to use some glue dots to stick down the last few bits of ribbon.  Leave a tiny space in the middle for your brad.

Blast your flower with your heat gun (whilst holding it with tongs!) - you will see the petals start to shrivel and curl.  Keep going until you're happy with the amount of curling - this may take a while, depending on the heat of your heat gun. 

Cut a small slit in the middle for your brad.  Alternatively,  you could just stick a gem or a pearl in the middle, but I just love Stampin' Up's antique brads, so I tend to use them all the time!

Done!!








Here's a better photo:

And here's card 3:

 The background on the brown card (SU "Close to Cocoa" cardstock) is embossed with a Artee (an Aussie company) embossing powder called "Pearl Satin" - the photos just do not do it justice.  In real life, the background (Hero Arts "Antique Flower Backgound) has the most gorgeous shimmer.  I've tried to get an inkling of it in the next photo, but it looks so much better than the photo can show.