My 1st Flower Tutorial

I figured since I had 50 followers now I had better get on the tutorial band wagon lol.  I had planned on doing this a lot earlier but we were so busy the last 2 months with Christmas orders from our hand stamped jewelry business I had to keep that as my first priority.  Here is my first tutorial I have ever made so I hope you like it. 

This flower bow was made with my Big Shots.  I purchased mine from Joann’s for $59.99 a few months back on sale.  Here is the bow I will show you how I made it.

The first picture is of my Big Shots.  the second picture is of the die cut I used it is from Sizzix Flower Layers #5.  I cut out some paper in the shape and laid it over the die so you can see it better.  The two plates on the side of the die cut is what I use to sandwich the die between them when I put it through the Big Shots. 

I found the fabric I wanted to use for this and cut 4 of each size.  The fabric I used for this was kind of a suede not sure what it is is called (it was in the clearance section at Hobby Lobby) but it is thicker than most fabrics I think this helps it with the fuller look.  Since the die cut is not that large anyways I usually cut 4 of them to fit the whole thing.  Some of my other dies I cut them to fit what I am going to cut out.  I lay all 4 pieces of fabric on top of the die and put one of the plates on the bottom and then the other one on top and put it in my Big Shots and put it through.

This is what it looks like when it come out.  The fabric is already cut.  How cool is that?  I love this machine.  It makes making fabric bows so much easier. 

You should have 4 larger petals and 4 smaller petals cut out.  Take one of the larger petals and put a dot of glue (I use my glue gun) in the middle of the flower (on the back side) and fold over the flower so the petals match it to the other side. 

Once it is folded over put a dot of glue in the center towards the bottom and fold it over again in half (the glue will hold it in place).

Once you are through with all 8 petals folding them over in half then half again you should have 8 petals looking like this.  The round circle is a 2” circle of black felt.  I use this as a base for my flower.  I also have a circle die cut it is very handy, I use it a lot for my circles.  You first start out with the 4 larger petals and position them around the felt.  I usually put a larger dot in the center and play around with the petals to get them where I want them.  Sometimes they have to lay on top of other petals since there is not enough room for all of them to spread out it ends up looking fine lay them on a single row (not the folded over part). 

When you have the first layer done you can put a large dot of glue in the center and place the 4 smaller petals (I know there is only showing 3 of them in the picture but there were 4 used). 

After all the petals are glued into place get a clip and cover it with ribbon then glue the top of it all the way down and  place it on the back of the bow. 

I usually use scrapbooking brads as my centers for my flowers unless I make my own button with the same fabric.  Most of the time I bend the stems off the brads or cut them off and put a dab of glue where I want the brad and push down on it. 

Here is the final product.