PAPERCRAFT ESSENTIALS ISSUE 58 SNEAK PEEK!
Inside issue 58 of Papercraft Essentials – on-sale 5th August – you will be treated to a vellum masterclass where you can learn to make this beautiful creation.
Materials…
- Pink and green vellum
- Green florist wire (for stems)
- Cotton buds
- Glue with small nozzle applicator
- Metal tea spoon with rounded handle
- Large & very small ball embossing tools and embossing mat
- 1.5cm heart and star punches
- Pink inkpad
To create…
1Take a cotton bud and cut the bud part away from the stem. You will notice the stem is hollow and there is a small hole in the end of the bud – put the tip of a small glue nozzle into the hole and fill with glue. Push wire into the hole and turn the bud until it feels secure, then wipe off any excess glue.
2 Dab the bud with a pink inkpad, then put aside to dry. Once the bud is firmly stuck in place, you can then begin to build up the rose.
3 Punch 14 hearts from pink vellum – you may need more or less depending on the size of the rose you want. Lay the hearts on an embossing mat and, starting from the pointed end, use short, sharp strokes on the rounded end of the heart with a spoon handle, taking care not to press too hard or you will damage the vellum.
4 Move quickly up the heart and across from side to side until the rounded ends of the heart start to curl. Roll your first petal to make a cone shape and glue it to keep the shape. Add some glue to the end of the bud, then slide the cone up the wire so the bud fixes in at the bottom of the cone.
5 Take the second petal and coil it around the cone, being careful not to coil it too tightly. Take the third petal and, once again, fold it around the second petal – avoid putting the ‘v’ shape of the heart in alignment with each other. Overlap the petals as you work around the rose, building up the layers. As you get nearer to the outside of the rose, the petals will need to curve less (sometimes a small cut in the pointed end will allow the petal to be glued in place a little more easily). Fix the outside petals on slightly higher up on the underneath side of the rose so they show. If you stick them on too low down you will end up with a ball shape rather than a flatter rose shape.
6 Once you have built up the rose, punch a star from green vellum. Make small cuts up between the points then, using the large ball embossing tool, rub in circular motions in the middle of the star so the points ‘cup’ upwards. Pierce a hole in the centre with the wire and glue in place on the back of the rose.
7 Cut out a basic leaf shape. As you cut, wiggle it a bit so the edges of the leaf look a little serrated. Make sure to leave a bit of a stem on the leaf so you can glue it in place under the rose onto the green sepal you have just made with the star shape.
8 Before gluing in place, add some character lines to the rose (such as veins and shading) so that it looks more realistic. Gently curve the leaf with your finger, then fix in place to finish.
Project by Wendy Martin. Originally published in Papercraft Essentials issue 58.