Magnolia Tutorial and Die Cut Doily

Today I was very anxious to create a card using one of the new Doily Dies that Joan's Gardens is now carrying.  Oh my gosh, you are going to love these doily dies.  The Cheery Lynn doily I used for this card is called Italian Flourish (DL103)   Isn't it a dainty doily.  I could not believe how easily it cut out.  I have two others I will be using in the next few days. For this card I used some more new products I just received from Joan's Gardens.  The design paper is from the BoBunny "Timepiece Collection" paper pad.  What a perfect paper for my magnolia.  The corners were die cut from the new Spellbinder "Parisian Accents" die cuts.  I have been looking for some pretty corners and I love these.  There are a lot of other beautiful pieces in this Spellbinder set.   The sentiment is from one of the new JustRite cling stamp sets called "Vintage Oval Labels".  This set has gorgeous frames and flourishes, but the frames were too large for this card so I just used one of the sentiments and cut it out with a Big Scallop Circle Nestability.  The bow was made from silk ribbon.  All these products can be purchased from Joan's Gardens. 

I wasn't planning to get the response I did for the magnolia flower I created yesterday.  You are all asking for a tutorial so since you come here to learn new things, I thought I better teach you how I did it.  I had no instructions so maybe someone else has a better way of doing it.  I just looked at the design paper I used yesterday and tried to figure it out. Here are a few pictures I hope will help you. 

The punches I used were shown yesterday.  To create the stamen, I used one tan medium sun and four light yellow medium suns.  I used the card stock from Joan's Gardens that she carries special for creating flowers.  In this picture, in the first row, you can see I used a dark red marker to color the tips of each point of the sun.  I did this on both sides.  I also created a red circle just below the points. This is what it looked like on the design paper I used yesterday. This sun will be the bottom of the stamen.  In the second row, at the top you can see how I cut each point of the sun in half down toward the enter.  I marked it with a black marker so you can see it. For this stamen I used four suns cut this way. In the third row, I used only one sun and cut between each point. This sun will become the very top of the stamen.

Here you can see how I used the tools from the Flower Tool kit to weaken the fibers in each sun.  You use the large white tool and go around in circles and the sun will start to weaken and curl up.

In this picture I am layering all the suns.  Start with the gray sun first; add a dot of glue to the bottom of one of the yellow suns and push it way down into the black shaping mat, with a small stylus from the flower tool kit, making it curl up.  Keep adding suns and pushing down into the mat with each sun you want to add. Now take the yellow stamen that was cut between the points and push it down until it is a really tightly closed sun.  Add a pool of liquid glue down in the center of that sun and roll it between your fingers shaping it into a cone.  It takes a little time for the glue to stick and hold its shape.  Add some liquid glue down in the center of the other stamens and even a little between each layer and insert the pointed sun down in the middle.  Press all the points in until it has formed like the picture below.

This is what the stamen will look like when you are done pressing in all the points.

I used 13 medium pears to create the magnolia.  For this flower, I sponged ColorBox Yellow Cadmium Chalk ink lightly around the edges of the petals, including the backside.  I used ColorBox Amber  Clay chalk ink to sponge the stem end of each pear. 

To create the flower, you need a base.  I used a 1/2" green circle, large Sky Flake, and a small snowflake.  You need to condition each of these pieces, using your Flower Tools so they will cup.  This will help shape the flower.  To start, glue the Sky Flake to the center of the circle.  This is your starting base.

Start creating your flower by adding a tiny bit of glue on the stem end of the pear.  You are going to add seven pears to the Sky Flake.  Push each petal down for a few seconds, with a stylus, to help set the glue.  Add all seven petals to complete the first row. 

Next, you are going to add a drop of glue to the center of the small snowflake and add it to the center of your flower.  This helps to give stability for adding the next row. You are going to add the other six petals on this row. When adding petals on this row, alternate them so they look like a real flower.

After all the petals are added, add glue to the bottom of the stamen and attach it to the center of your flower.  There you did it.  You now have a magnolia.  I think it is amazing you can use a Pear and Sun punch to create a beautiful flower!

I hope this tutorial was helpful and now you can make some cards or boxes with a beautiful magnolia that you created yourself.