Today's Shoebox project from viewer Camille Petrocelli of Plantation, Fla., was another one of those serendipitous things. Camille wrote that while punching some very small holes in a piece of paper, the punched-out pieces fell into the glue on her work table and formed what looked like a little flower. So much for the project she was working on. Camille made her "accidental" flowers into earrings then turned her attention to making punched paper flowers on purpose.
The flowers that Camille sent to me were all made using various heart-shaped punches and a variety of papers. Most were of card stock weight. Some were made from colored card stock and some from magazine inserts. The centers of some of the flowers were made of single beads, others of a bunch of tiny beads. Some she glittered.
The uses for the flowers are many. They can be put onto cards for table place cards, onto picture frames, earring backings, pin backings, etc. Anything that has a flat surface and that won't get crushed in the mail should work.
Of course I had to give this idea a try. I have a feeling that there are no hard and fast rules to follow, merely guidelines. However, the kind of glue that you use is important. Camille said she had done some experimenting but found that the only glue that worked for her is Yes glue which I had never heard of but found in a rubber stamp store. Hot glue would seem a logical choice but it sets up too fast. You need time. I was sure that silicone seal would work, but when I tried it I discovered that it does not have enough body at first to hold the petals upright so Yes glue it is! It has the body to give the support you need, it stays workable for a long time and will dry hard overnight.
Camille did not say what sequence she worked in, but I found that working from the outside toward the center was easiest for me.
Steps:
1. Place a dab of Yes glue on a piece of aluminum foil.
2. Punch out a number of heart-shaped pieces and crease each one down the center.
3. Starting with the outside row, place the pointed ends of the hearts into the glue, working around in a circle and overlapping each petal just a bit.
4. The flower can be complete as is with only one row of petals or you can add one or more rows, working in toward the center. On the largest flower I made, I used a smaller punch for the very inside row of petals.
5. Cover the exposed glue with tiny beads, a single bead or glitter. I waited until the glue was dry and hard, then I covered it with glitter paint applied from a pointed-tip bottle.
Tip: Experiment with different papers. I used Christmas cards as well as plain and printed card stock.
I found this to be a fun project with a variety of applications that cost practically nothing!
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