Had a request.....

.....for a step by step on how to put the Sweet Pea's together that are part of Sheena's Perfect Partner range. So here goes, I warn you there are lots of photo's so you might want to make yourself a cuppa and get comfy!!

So first of all here are a couple of pictures of the finished flowers used on projects, the first shows them stuck directly onto a card, with some stamping and a bit of stencilling in the background.....

 This next one they are put together in the same fashion but I inserted a wire at the beginning so I could have wired sweet peas which I then used on this MDF plaque that I put together to use as a workshop project.....

So here we go with how to do them first of all lets sort out how many and which layers you will need. The first row shows what you will need to cut and stamp (lost the calyx stamp....whoops!!) for a small/single sweet pea. The second layer shows you what you will need for a larger/double flower...

 Just a quick point before we move on, these stamp die combos's are designed to be an exact fit so although you would nut normally stamp this way by far the easiest way is to die cut your petals and then lay your cut petal onto the inked stamp and gently press with your finger. This is the same with all the Perfect Partner stamp/die sets....

Now you've got everything cut and stamped you need to colour, I've used AquaTints but any wet colouring medium would work well. I say wet because these are made from copier paper and by wetting them you are able to manipulate and shape the paper to get a more realistic look and the water and shaping messes with the fibres of the paper so when it dries it's remarkably rigid. Therefore it's easier to use a wet colouring medium.

So lets start assembling, I'm doing these as wired flowers but the method is the same for unwired.....just leave out the wire and don't make the holes! So take a piece of 26 or 28 gauge wire and form a tiny hook at the top and make a hole in the centre of the middle petal as shown....

Insert your wire and add glue as shown, then fold over the smaller petal to form the very centre of your flower. As I said if you don't want to wire just do the same thing but without the wire, also you won't want as much glue. Once folded over it will look like the second photo.... 

Now add some glue to the other petal, but only at the bottom as shown, you want it to gently hug the centre not grasp it tightly!!! ;) Gently fold over the outer edge of the outer petal as shown.......

 

That is how you will form every centre regardless of the size of flower you are making. So if you are making a smaller/single sweet pea take your centre and add the outer petals as shown. Positioning the petals either side of your centre (again if you are wiring you will need to make a hole for the wire), adding a tiny bit of glue and then gently squeezing together.  Again don't add to much glue, you only want them to be attached at the bottom or the whole flower will look too solid.

Now you need to add your calyx by simply shaping it slightly, adding a tiny bit of glue and sliding it up tight behind the flower allowing the points of the calyx to bend backwards though away from the flower....

So you have a finished sweet pea! However it's sitting straight on the wire, and sweet peas nod gently so just give the wire a slight bend immediately behind the flower and you'll get a much more realistic look.......

If you want to make a larger/double sweet pea then take your centre created just as before, take your larger petals, shape them slightly then them fold back on themselves and position as shown below.......

 To glue in place simply sandwich a little glue between the petals and then put a tiny bit either side of your centre and squeeze your petals into place.........

Then you simply add your calyx as before.  If you are making unwired flowers then you're now finished and all you need to do is stick them in place on your project. If you are wiring your flowers you will want to tape them together using a florists paper tape............

Still with me? Lol! Well hopefully you'll be able to follow the steps, they're actually pretty simple and quick to make once you get the hang of it and make such pretty additions to your projects.

Thanks for stopping by

Donna xx