Susan's Garden Bearded Iris Tutorial

What is your favorite color Iris?  There are so many beautiful colors of Bearded Iris and you can easily create them using Susan's Garden Bearded Iris dies. When I posted all the flowers in the new Susan's Garden Collection, Janie Printz asked for a tutorial for the Bearded Iris, so below I have done a tutorial to show you the steps I took in creating these pretty flowers.

Here are the five different colors of Bearded Iris I created.

MY TUTORIAL FOR BEARDED IRIS

Sizzix has a tutorial posted with the steps Susan Tierney-Cockburn did showing how to assemble the bearded iris at this LINK.  Below I have a tutorial showing how I created the yellow and rust flower.

I die cut the petals for the flower using yellow card stock.  I shaded the top three petals a little darker yellow and the edges of the larger base petals with rust.  To color the edges of the lower petals, I sponged on the Susan's Garden Rust Pan Pastel around the edges of the petals, on both the front and back.

I assembled the flower following Susan's instructions.  Here I have drawn lines down the petal with the "leaf" tool from Susan's Garden Flower Tool Kit, to add character lines to the petal.

Next, I used the 3mm loop tool from Susan's Tool Kit to ruffle up the edges of the larger petals.  Start with the tool slightly off the edge of the petal and pull down toward the center.  You want the edges of the petal to cup up.

Being careful not to "smash" the edges, I used the large ball stylus to press down on the base end to kind of cup the petal up in the center.

Use the self-closing tweezers from the Flower Tool Kit to pinch the base end of each petals.

For the top three petals, I drew a line down the center of each petal with the leaf tool, then shaped the edges with the 3mm loop tool, to get a cupped shape.

Glue the lower petals to the calyx and let dry while working on the stamen.  I placed these petals in the Susan's Garden plastic flower pot tray to help hold their shape.

Add glue to the bottom edge of the stamen.  Do not cut the individual stamens down the center.

Roll the stamen ending with the long base rolled out the outside.  That base is what holds the upright petals.  Glue the top petals/stamen between the openings of the lower petals.

Allow the flower to dry in the plastic cup.  Once dry, you can work on getting the finished shape you want, by using the tweezers.

This was my finished Bearded Iris.

I went one step further -- I decided to add some short pieces of yellow pipe cleaners to the lower petals.  I used pointed pliers to bend down one end so the wire was not showing.  They were glued at the base of each large petal using Ultimate Glue.

Here is my finished Bearded Iris.

 I love to read your comments and hope you will let me know if this tutorial was helpful.   Also, I would love to hear from you and see pictures of your flowers.

You can purchase the products I use from Ellen Hutson, LLC.

Susan's Garden Bearded Iris dies 

Susan's Garden Pan Pastels

PanPastel Sofft Sponge Bar

Susan's Garden Flower Tool Kit

Susan's Garden plastic Flower Pot Tray

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Susan's Garden Third Release

 

My garden is full of many new flowers!   I have completed all the beautiful flowers in the NEW Susan's Garden flower release.  Today I have placed all of them on a poster board to show you the different flowers you can create with Susan's new dies. 

Starting at the top, here is a list of the flowers:  Hydrangea, Daylily, Bearded Iris, Gerbera Daisy, Aster, Primrose, Zinnia, Alstroemeria, Allium, Lilac, Clematis, Stephanotis, and Crocus.   In this release there is also a set of dies to die cut  two Branches and a stem. 

All these flowers were so fun to create.  I will start posting individual flowers and give you some tips on things I did to create them.   Do you have a favorite you would like for me to start posting first?    

You can purchase all the Susan's Garden Flower dies from Ellen Hutson, LLC.

Click on the link below to see a closeup of each flower and the number of dies in each set.

Susan's Garden Hydrangea

Susan's Garden Daylily

Susan's Garden Bearded Iris

Susan's Garden Gerbera Daisy

Susan's Garden Aster

Susan's Garden Primrose

Susan's Garden Zinnia

Susan's Garden Alstroemeria

Susan's Garden Allium

Susan's Garden Lilac

Susan's Garden Clematis

Susan's Garden Stephanotis

Susan's Garden Crocus

Susan's Garden Branches and Stem

 

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Susan's Garden Gerbera Daisy

 Today I have a quick card for you.  The pretty daisy was created with the Susan's Garden Gerbera Daisy dies.  Here is the LINK to Susan's instructions for creating a Gerber Daisy.  The background was embossed with the Sizzix, Basket Weave embossing folder.  For a frame I used the Memory Box, Twirling Vine Frame die.  The butterflies are the Memory Box Kaleidoscope and Pippi butterfly dies.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts.

 This is a picture of the Susan's Garden Gerbera Daisy dies and the daisy I created.

 

A close up of my Gerber Daisy

I still have about half of the new Susan's Garden flowers to create, but want to let you know that the next couple of weeks are going to be pretty hectic for me.    My daughter is going to the hospital, for her second back surgery, early tomorrow morning.   Next week my husband will have his second cataract surgery then later next week  I need to go to the hospital for one day.  Hopefully we will all be a healthy bunch after this!!  As soon as I can, I will work on the rest of the new flower collections and get them posted.  You can go over to Ellen Hutson, LLC to see all the new flowers in the Susan's Garden collection.  I will be able to answer emails, so if you have any questions, just let me know and I will be happy to help you.

Here are the links to the products I used today:

 

Susan's Garden Gerbera Daisy dies

Memory Box Twirling Vine Frame

Memory Box Kaleidoscope Butterfly die

Memory Box Pippi Butterfly die

Sizzix Basket Weave embossing folder 658455

Hero Arts, Say It All, stamp set

Susan's Garden Clematis

 There are many different colors and varieties of Clematis flowers.  In Susan's new Susan's Garden flower collection she has included dies for beautiful Clematis.  I chose to create a purple variety I found a picture of on Pintrest.  I have a tutorial below to show you how I created this variety of Clematis.  The delicate doily on this card is the Marianne Design Anja's Fillagran Heart. There are four dies in this set and I have used two of them on this card.  The Bird  Silhouette die cut is also a Marianne Design die (CR1264).

 Here is a picture of the  Susan's Garden Clematis Dies and the flower I created.

 I love how realistic the flowers turn out with Susan's Garden dies. I think this looks like a real Clematis!  Susan has designed all the dies necessary  to create a complete flower with leaves, includes a picture of the flower on the package,  has instructions on the inside, and a plastic "Seed Packet" to store your  dies in for easy filing.  Susan has completed videos for all the new flowers but they have not been released from Sizzix yet.  As soon as they are released, I will let you know so you can watch them for additional information on completing your flowers.

TUTORIAL FOR COMPLETING MY PURPLE CLEMATIS

 I die cut all the petals using a light purple card stock.  I used the leaf tool and green leaf pad from the Susan's Garden Flower Tool Kit to draw a line down the center of each petal.  The petal was creased down the score line then white Pan Pastel from the Susan's Garden Pan Pastel Kit was rubbed on down the seam.  To give the edge of the petals more definition, I sponged on Dusty Concord Distress Ink.  In the picture above you can see how much better the petal looks with the purple ink sponged on. 

 After the petals were colored, I turned them over and used the 3mm end of the Susan's Garden Loop Tool to add texture to the petals.  I drew the loop tool from the edge of the petal over to the center score line, going at an angle.  In the picture, on the left is a petal with out texture, in the center the left side is shaped and the petal on the right is complete.  I then used the 8mm ball stylus in the kit to press down in the center of the petal to shape it.  Next, I turned the petal over and used the 5mm stylus to press down on the tip to give it a little curled up tip. 

 Susan includes two types of calyx with these dies so you can create different varieties of clematis.  I used the calyx with four projections and created two separate rows that were glued together, for an eight petal flower.

Here are the two different layers.  I used four larger petals on the left layer and four smaller petals for the layer on the right.  The smaller petals where glued on top of the larger petals, alternating the petals.

The Clematis I created was a different variety than the one Susan has directions for, so I created my stamen differently, using the same stamen die in this flower package.

 I used two stamen pieces to create a very frilly stamen.  My stamen needed to have a green center surrounded with some yellow, then the longer stamens needed to be purple on the bottom and white on the top.  I used a green marker to color the green and yellow stamens.  On one I colored two stamens green and three yellow.  On the bottom stamen I colored three green and two yellow.  The other two levels of stamens were sponged with purple ink.  The top stamen shows how it looks when you die cut it.  I wanted very frilly stamens so I cut each point three times as shown on the bottom die cut.

 This is how the stamens looked after both were cut to create thinner stamens.

 I added glue to the bottom edge of one of the die cut stamens (in top picture). 

Next I glued the two pieces together but notice how I placed the top piece so there are no gaps between the stamens.  This gave me three green stamens and three yellow stamens on the smaller end.  There are no gaps now so when it is rolled, you will have a very full stamen.

As soon as the stamen pieces are dry, roll it using the self-closing tweezers, starting with the smaller end.  Add glue to the end and hold in place a minute so it remains closed.

The stamen is then glued to the center of the layered petals. 

I hope you enjoy seeing different varieties of flowers using your Susan's Garden dies.  I know you will have a lot of fun being creative with styles and colors.

You can purchase the following items from Ellen Hutson, LLC:

Susan's Garden Clematis Dies

Susan's Garden Flower Tool Kit

Susan's Garden Pan Pastels

PanPastel Sofft Knife and Covers

Ultimate Glue

Marianne Design Anja's Fillagran Heart Die

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Susan's Garden Alstromeria

 I received all my  flower dies in the NEW Susan's Garden Release the same day I got sick and have not felt like working in my studio.  I am finally feeling better and today I created a few of these flowers.  On my card above, I created the Susan's Garden Alstroemeria flowers .  I am totally in love with these gorgeous flowers.  I followed the directions in the package to assemble them, but created them in a different color.  I went to the florist shop to see real Alstroemerias and to see the variety of colors these flowers come in.  My favorite color was this pale pink with the lime green highlights.  The picture above does not show the beauty of these flowers, so I have a closeup picture below so you can see the dimension and details of my Alstroemeria.

The beautiful heart on my card is a new Marianne Design "Anja's Filligran Heart". Isn't it beautiful.  Behind the Alstroemeria I placed some of the new Poppy Stamps Massa Leaf. To finish off the card I added Hero Arts Accent Pale Pink Pearls.

Here is the Susan's Garden Alstroemeria die package along with the three flowers I created. Susan has 14 new die sets; the 13 other new Susan's Garden Flower Dies you are going to love are the Lilac, Clematis, Aster, Bearded Iris, Crocus, Gerbera Daisy, Daylily, Hydrangea, Globe Allium, Primrose, Stephanotis, Zinnia, and Branches & Stem. You can see all these dies at Ellen Hutson, LLC.  In the search box type "Sizzix" and the name of the flower.

 These Alstroemeria were die cut using white card stock and were colored using Susan's Garden Pan Pastels. I used Georgia Pacific 110# card stock.  A lime green marker was used to draw the line on the larger, lower petals. The flowers were shaped using the tools in the Susan's Garden Flower Tool Kit.   You first glue the larger petals on the calyx, then the three smaller ones on.    The stamens were die cut using white card stock.  The upper portion of each stamen was colored with light pink and bright pink Pan Pastels, the brighter pink on top.  The base was left white.  On the very tip, I used a black marker.  To create very thin stamens, I cut each stamen "leg" twice to create three very thin stamens.  They were rolled and glued at the base, then glued into the center of the flower.  The flowers were placed in the Susan's Garden Plastic Flower Pots to hold the shape of the flower, and the stamen glued in the center.  As soon as the stamen was dry, I used the Black Viva Decor Pearl Pen to add tiny little dots to the tip of each stamen.

I have started working with Susan's new lilacs, hydrangeas, and stephanotis.  These are beautiful and also very easy to assemble.  Here is a picture of the flowers I have created so far:

You can purchase the following products from Ellen Hutson, LLC: 

Susan's Garden Alstroemeria dies
Susan's Garden Hydrangea dies
Susan's Garden Lilac dies
Susan's Garden Stephanotis
Black Viva Decor Pearl Pen
Susan's Garden Pan Pastels
Susan's Garden Flower Tool Kit
Susan's Garden Plastic Flower Pots
Ultimate Glue
Poppy Stamps, Massa Leaf Background

Hero Arts Accent Pale Pink Pearls
Memento Pear Tart Marker

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Secret Garden

 

Today I have a quick and easy card for you.  This card was designed with a  new Marianne Design die (CR1265) that I received from my dear friend Eva.  I used it with a sheet of design paper from the Graphic 45, Sweet Sentiment 8x8 pad.  I used a spray adhesive on the back of the die cut and arranged it with the little girl in the center.  To give the card some dimension, I die cut some Susan's Garden Quince flowers, which match the flowers in the design paper. I have posted a tutorial on how to create these flowers in an earlier post.   Flowers were added on both sides of the sentiment.

 

 

Here is a little closer view of the flowers.

Thank you for stopping by.  Hope you are having a great weekend.

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Get Well Card

 Today I tried to dream up something different to show you.  I designed a "see through window" card.  The card size is 6"x6".  Below I have a tutorial to show you how I created the window with a piece of clear card stock; you could recycle acetate from some of your craft supplies or use a transparency, for the window.  The embossed frame was created using the Embossalicious embossing folder.   The green frame was die cut using the Memory Box "Twirling Vine Frame" die.  The pretty little pink and blue flowers were created using Susan's Garden Quince dies. I love having these small quince dies because I can create so many different little flowers with them.  They were die cut using white card stock and I sponged ink on the edges of the petals.  Yellow Flower Soft was added for the stamens.  The yellow flowers are Susan's Garden Forsythia.  They were glued to a folded piece of brown wired Sisal Rope. I am sure you will want to watch Susan's video for creating these pretty flowers at this LINK.  You can add extra leaves, pearls and a bow to complete the card.

Here is a view of the card from the side.  A piece of design paper was attached to the inside of the card and shows through the clear card stock window for a background to the flowers.

 You can see the reflection in the clear card stock window.

 Inside of the card.

Tutorial on creating the die cut window and inserting the clear card stock and die cut frame.

 I first centered the Memory Box Twirling Vine Frame on the front of the 6"x6" card.  I use the Sizzix Magnetic Platform to hold the die cut in place.  This platform is great because you do not have to use tape to hold your dies in place. I only need the outline of the Twirling Vine Frame for this step, so will save the actual white Twirling Vine Frame die cut for another use.

 Next I attach the clear card stock (slightly smaller than the front of the card) to the inside of the card, using double sided tape.

The Memory Box, Twirling Vine Frame is die cut using green card stock.

 Place the green Twirling Vine Frame, over the clear card stock, inside the white card stock frame, and tape it down along the edges using regular clear (Scotch) tape.  Make sure you don't get the tape into the inside of the frame, or it will show on the front -- just catch the edges of the frame with the tape. 

 To cover up the tape and make the inside of the card look nice use another piece card stock and die cut the frame.  If your machine will die cut two thickness of card stock, it is easiest to die cut this at the same time you do step no 1.  If not, you can place the die cut frame over the opening, matching it perfectly, and draw lines out the outside edge to create a "cover" for the inside of the card  - it should be approximately 6"x6".   It will look like the picture above.  Using double sided tape attach this piece over the acetate. This will give you a nice finished look to the inside of your card.

You can purchase the following products from Ellen Hutson, LLC:

 Susan's Garden Quince dies
Susan's Garden Forsythia dies
 Memory Box Twirling Vine Frame die
Sizzix Magnetic Platform
Glue Glider Pro Tool

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