Come see how you too can create handmade sculpted paper flowers to add on a card or other paper crafting projects!

You all know I love creating projects with handmade sculpted paper flowers. I’ve taught myself how to take plain, flat paper die cuts and turn them into dimensional flowers and I am here to tell you that you can learn this too! Heck, if *I* can do it, I promise you can, too! 

Today I really wanted to show off how Rubbernecker’s brand new Decorative Rectangle, is the perfect thing to set off a bouquet of sculpted paper flowers. I heard from Rubbernecker that these new decorative dies are flying out of the store and you can see why! The ornate styling of the edges are enough to set off something simple as you will see in other projects, yet complement more detailed designs like this one. To make all those gorgeous blossoms, I used the following: Large Ivy, Stackable Flowers and Leaves #4, Stackable Flowers and Leaves #1, Stackable Flowers and Leaves #3, Mixable Flower Stack 5107D, Mixable Flower Stack 5109D, Gentian and Stems, Buchnera and Stems.

Below I am going to take you through the steps to make this card. Here are a few things to remember:

• Making these is like learning to ride a bike – you might fumble a bit at first but once you get it, you will NEVER look back;
• As in nature, your flowers will not and SHOULD not look the same – embrace the variations;
• You don’t have to use these same shapes and styles – shop your stash and use what you have until you learn which kinds of flowers you like making the best and then start adding to your die collection;
• It’s just paper – if you mess up, so what? Throw it out and grab another piece!

Ready? Let’s dive in!

Card Base and New Decorative Rectangle Die Cut Layer

• Use white cardstock to cut an A2 sized card base. 
• Cut the Decorative Rectangle using white cardstock.  Pro Tip:  To cut this die I used Papertrey white 110lb cardstock, ran it through my Big Shot one way, turned the cutting platform set up around making sure to leave the die in place and ran it through the opposite direction and I got a perfect cut.  You may want to use a shim when cutting a delicate die like this or using 80lb cardstock depending on how used your cutting plates are.  
• Apply strips of mounting tape to the back of the decorative layer and attach it to the card base.

Sculpted Paper Flower Assembly

• Die cut the flower sections using a variety of colored cardstock.  Pro Tip:  I usually pick colors that coordinate well with each other for my projects.  But for a card like this that reflects an outdoor garden I throw caution to the wind and mix the colors up.  They all look so pretty against the white background. Pro Tip 2: Shop your stash of scraps for the smaller blossoms; these are a great way to use those little pieces you can’t bear to throw out.
• I suggest you make one flower at a time so you can think about the shape and how you want it to sit on your project. For example, I knew I wanted the yellow, pink, larger red and lavender flowers to be the stars so I gave them the most dimension. As you assemble each type of flower, you can gauge how you want to use them and shape them accordingly. I like to add the most dimensional flowers in the center of the arrangement and gradually move out to flatter elements to enhance both the physical and illusion of depth.
• Place the flower layers face down on the molding pad and form the petals using a large round stylus. Pressing harder will add more depth and using a gentle fast circular motion will add the cupped look. This step forms the basic petal shape. Pro tip: Cut some “scrap” pieces and practice different motions and pressure to see what results you get. Everyone has a different “hand” and different tools so play around and learn your own process. 
• Place the flowers face up on the molding pad and push down in the center using the small round stylus. This forms the flower shape. A deep press in the center gives you a blossom that has more “vertical” petals and a gentle press gives you a flatter shape.  Pro Tip: For different looking flowers I formed  the large bright pink and purple flowers petals using needle nose pliers and bending the petals around the petal tips. 
• Attach the multi layer flower layers together using glossy accents. Pro tip: when layering your pieces, be sure to offset each layer from the others to create that natural, lush look.
• Adhere the round centers to the multi layer and single layer flowers using small pieces of mounting tape to add depth to the overall paper flower.
• Attach the stems to the individual flowers using glossy accents.

The Sculpted Paper Flower Arrangement

• Use green cardstock to cut several sections of the ivy and gently form the leaves with your fingers.
• Attach the four main center flowers to the decorative layer using glossy accents, staggering them over the area and letting them overlap and touch into one another for a natural look. 
• Tuck the ivy sections under and around the four main flowers and attach using glossy accents. 
• Tuck the individual flower stems under the flowers and attach using glossy accents.
• Attach the single layer flowers to the ivy branches using glossy accents.
• Finish by applying yellow stickles to the yellow flower centers.

Do you feel a little more confident to try your hand at sculpting some die cut paper flowers? Truly, there is no one way to make these – you just have to play around to see how what you do works for you and then go from there. 

Here are the specific dies I used from Rubbernecker today to make this arrangement – as I mentioned above, practice with what you have and then as you start to fall in love with certain looks, start to build your collection. Rubbernecker has TONS of flower dies and I like theirs the best because they pay a lot of attention to how their layers can work together and the size and scale of each set in comparison with others.

5600-02D Decorative Rectangle Die [ RBB ] Mixable Flower Stack Die 5107D [ RBB ] Mixable Flower Stack Die 5109D [ RBB ] 5508-02D stackable flowers/leaves #4 Die [ RBB ] 5508-03D stackable flowers/leaves #3 Die [ RBB ] 5508-01D stackable flowers/leaves die [ RBB ] 5162-02D Large Ivy [ RBB ] 5402-02D Gentian and Stems Die [ RBB ] 5402-03D Buchnera and Stems Die [ RBB ]

And here are the other supplies from my stash that I use in case you are are wondering where you can grab them:

Spellbinders – Susan’s Spring Flora… [ SBC ] Sizzix – Paper Sculpting Kit [ SBC | BLIC ] Ranger Ink – Stickles Glitter Glue -… [ SBC ] Amazon.com : Dahle 550 Professional… [ AMZUS ] Crossover II Fabric & Paper Cutting… [ RBB ] Scrapbook.com – Magic Mat – Standard… [ SBC ] Scrapbook.com – Magic Mat – Standard… [ SBC ] Susan’s Garden Ultimate Tool Kit [ SPL ] Scotch Advanced Tape Glider & Tape [ RBB ] Mini Glossy Accents, Ranger Accents [ ELH ] Connect Glue, Gina K Designs [ ELH ] Amazon.com: 1000 Pieces Foam Sticky… [ AMZUS ] Amazon.com: Mini Foam Dots… [ AMZUS ] Amazon.com: Scotch 1/2-Inch by… [ AMZUS ] Teflon Bone Folder, Bonefolder [ ELH ] Scor-Pal Measuring & Scoring Board 12×12 [ ELH ] Glue Dots, Mini (3/16″) [ ELH ] Amazon.com : Accent Opaque White 8.5”… [ AMZUS ] Brutus Monroe – Stick and Stamp – Mat… [ SBC ] New & Improved MISTI Laser Etched… [ ELH | SBC ] My Sweet Petunia – MISTI – Sticky Mats [ SBC ] Scor-Tape 1/8′ (3mm), Scor-Pal Tape [ ELH ] Scor-Tape 1/4″ (5mm), Scor-Pal Tape [ ELH ]

Hopefully this post has given you a good look at not just how you can create handmade sculpted paper flowers but how different floral shapes and styles can be altered and used together. As I said, once you get the hang of this technique, you will only be limited by your imagination and you can use these beautiful paper flower sculptures in zillions of ways!