Punched Flower Valentine Tutorial

Once upon a time a friend sent me a lovely sheet of vintage car scrapbooking paper. I also had gold embossed stickers on hand from a kit, so combined the two and decided to add punched flowers in the center of the heart to tie everything together.


But alas, my punch wasn't making clean cuts. I'd heard that punching with foil is a good way to sharpen one... I can't say it worked perfectly from then on, but the experiment did leave me with lots of little flowers. Here I was, just getting started...


The foil is the heavy, textured kind that comes on yogurt containers. I find I use it pretty often as a craft supply.


To give a punched flower a bit of dimension, hold it on a fingertip or place it on your palm or a computer mouse pad. Rub in a circular motion with the top of a glass head pin or the end of a small paint brush... something rounded. This will cause the edges to cup so it looks more like a natural flower. The two upside-down flowers on the far right show the definite curve that results.


I dusted some older-than-I care-to-remember eyeshadows in rose, lavender, and blue onto the flowers with a little brush. They stuck surprisingly well to the textured surface of the foil, as would true chalks that are made for coloring stamped images.


I like the way the colors complement the hydrangeas on the car, and have to say it's fun when a play session goes well - definitely not always the case!