Embellishing embellishments? Have I gone crazy? No. Not really. I was just thinking how can I stretch my supply a little bit and get a personalized look and this is what I came up with.

Many crafters have heaps of plain paper flowers laying around, but only you will have the altered version of these flowers… Think about all the possibilities… Exciting, isn’t it? Some companies offer pre-embellished flowers, but embellishing them yourself isn’t only cheaper, but also more fun and creative.

In today’s video I suggest and show just a few options: sewing, adding bling, embossing, flocking, stamping and decoupaging – but the possibilities are really endless.

You can use the embellished flowers on cards, layouts as well as on wall art and other mixed-media projects.

How-To

[I apologize in advance for the quality of the editing. I am slowly learning to work with iMovie…]

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On this video –

• Stamping – Use pigment ink and press hard on the stamp, to get into all the folds and crevices.
• Adding BLING – Apply some strong liquid adhesive that dries clear (like diamond glaze) and sprinkle beads, glitter or gemstones onto it. Allow it to dry and add a little bit of adhesive on top, to make sure it’ll stick.
• Flocking – Similarly to adding bling, just apply some Diamond Glaze and pour in the flock. Tap on it gently with your finger to make sure the flock is applied evenly.
• Decoupage – Choose a scrap of napkin or tissue paper that fits your flower. Use only the top layer of the napkin. Apply gel medium or Mod-Podge generously on the flower and adhere the napkin to it. Apply a second coat of gel medium on the covered flower. Allow it to dry and cut the excess with scissors.
• Embroidery – Add some appeal to the flower with an embroidery floss. There are many options. On the video, I applied sequins to the flower, using a “French Knot“.
• Embossing – Put the flower into an embossing folder and move it through a Cuttlebug machine (or another die-cutting & embossing machine). Make sure you pick an embossing design that fits in scale to the flower’s size.

More options –

• Inking – change the color of the flowers with an ink pad or an even coat of acrylic paint.
• Crackle Paint – Apply a thick layer of crackle paint on the flower and allow to dry.
• Photo transfer – The idea is similar to decoupaging, but instead of napkins you use a photo, printed on transparency with an inkjet printer. Note that this technique isn’t as smooth as decoupaging and the printed design won’t be transferred as crisply. (Use a gel medium for this technique).

Take a closer look at the embellished flowers (click on the photo):

Here’s a card I have made with the flowers:

[This card is based off CPS106.]