Tutorial: Distressed Flowers

Here is a very simple way to make some beautiful embellishments with just a few simple things.

First, freehand cut three (or more) circles out of patterned paper. Make them large, medium and small, depending on the size of the flower you want to end up with. Don't worry about your circles being perfect, they actually look better if they are uneven.


Next, take some dark ink, such as a dark brown craft ink and distress (ink) the edges. You can use the ink pad directly on the paper, or use a brush or piece of foam to apply it. Play around with some different colors to see what you like.

Another thought is to take a distressing tool and run the edges through it to fray them.

Now, pretend you are making a ball out of the paper. Squish it between your fingers - the more you wad it up, the better. You want it to look all crumbled up with lots of folds.

Then, open them up, but don't flatten them. You want to keep them three dimensional. Take your ink pad you used earlier (or applicator) and rub the ink across the surface. All of those folds stick up and will catch the ink, and when you are done, it should really looked distressed.

Layer all three circles with the largest on the bottom, and hold together with a brad. You can use any color or size. Play with some different ones and see what you like.


Add a few leaves behind your flower, such as these from Prima, or make your own, as a finishing touch. Voila - you have created your very own distressed flower embellishment!

I have included an example from a project I am working on to show you what it might look like on a completed page. I've been having a lot of fun playing with cardboard and other found objects to create this project.

Enjoy making your own distressed flowers!

Friendship Card Tutorial

I thought I would share this card I made at the scrapbook crop. I used these stamps by Tim Holtz, and the "Key to my Heart" paper set from Close to my Heart.

I stamped the oval design first in the rust color ink, and then the friendship saying in the open space with a dark blue ink for contrast. I also stamped the "peacock" design in blue ink. I inked all the paper edges with dark brown ink. The card itself is 6"x 6".

I layered several of the paper patterns on the card, along with the solid paper. Then, I cut out the oval stamped saying, inked the edges and
popped it up. I then cut a slit in the folded edge, and tied 2 ribbons around the card and tied them off with a square knot.

My final step was to add a bit of "smooch" from Clearsnap to both stamped designs in contrasting inks. (I love Smooch! It is wonderful to use, looks like nail polish, and the applicator is similar, so you get just what you need. It adds a wonderful pearly accent to your designs.) I used a full patterned page to make an envelope for this beautiful card.