How to: 3D Flower Art

Due to injuring my back on the 30th December 2012, I have had to rest up a bit, which is not an easy task for someone like myself who likes to be on the go and always has something happening somewhere. So I have made the best out of a painful situation by going into creative mode and revamping a few things in my living area. The previous post of my 'Earthy Flower Cushion' was something I wanted to try for a while and I really enjoyed it, but after sitting back and admiring my new cushion/s (as I made two). My attention kept going to a piece of art I had bought at Target.
The red in the picture was not sitting well with my (other) new cushions, the reds did not complement each other and as much as other people didn't mind it, it was driving me crazy every time I walked in the room, (I have this 'colour' thing, it's hard to explain, but colour needs to sit well in my eyeline). 'Light bulb moment'; why not embellish the painting with the same felt flowers that I used on the cushions and make it 3D?! So here goes, this is a quick and easy way to revamp an old picture, or start completely new with a white canvas and go crazy!

You will need:
A large canvas (already painted or blank)
1 metre (40 inches) of felt of your chosen colour ($5 from textile traders)
Paper, pen, scissors, pins, ruler or measuring tape
Glue gun
Glue sticks (around 6-8, depending how generous you are)
Something to embellish the centre, I chose 2 satin flower hair clips that I already had.
Here is the old painting:

Start by making yourself a template for the petals out of paper, I have 4 different sizes! You can choose to make the petals rounded but I made mine pointed, and you can make them to your own size or use the sizes I did: (measurements in inches) you will need 2 lots of the following; I made a few extra petals for the larger flower but you can use the below amounts for two flowers the same size.
16 - 5" x 3"
16 - 4.5" x 3
8 - 4" x 2.5"
8 - 3" x 2"

Make sure you use your felt very sparingly as it will take the whole lot. I used a half template and folded the felt so that Both sides of petal were the same. Cut out the above amounts, (this is the longest part of the job, so make yourself a cuppa and put the music on)

Take a petal and glue gun and place a tiny amount of hot glue on each bottom corner and turn them into the centre to form more of a petal look. Do this to the first 16 largest petals. Once done, place a petal at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions onto your canvas, make sure they fit 3 more petals in between those 4 main petals before you glue. Now take the 12 o'clock petal off and place a strip of glue on back bottom half of petal and place back in position holding down for a few seconds to make sure it is stuck.

Now you can position and glue the rest of the first 16 largest petals into the first outer circle. Now start the process again with the next 16 petals. Once they have the curled petal look, glue the next 16 positioned slightly down and in-between each of the first petals. Now do the next 8 and position in a circle slightly down from the second circle, finish this layer and do the same with the 4th and final layer

Finish off with your chosen centre embellishment and hang on your wall straight away!

How to: Earthy Flower Cushion

Yay! I finally set aside some time to blog! I have been creating 'stuff' and 'delectable delights' for years, and have have told myself so many times, 'you should blog this Kitty!' (Yes, I do talk to myself :-)
So here is one of my lastest creations, nothing that hasn't been done before but still very easy and lots of fun!

You will need:
One cushion (mine was $5 from Kmart and I chose a neutral colour to complement the felt)
1/2 metre (20 inches) of felt of your chosen colour ($2.50 from textile traders)
Paper, pen, scissors, pins, ruler or measuring tape
Glue gun
Glue sticks (around 6-8, depending how generous you are)
Something to embellish the centre, I chose a strip of hessian

Start by making yourself a template for the petals, I have 4 different sizes! You can choose to make the petals rounded but I made mine pointed, and you can make them to your own size or use the sizes I did: (measurements in inches)
16 - 5" x 3"
16 - 4.5" x 3
8 - 4" x 2.5"
8 - 3" x 2"

Make sure you use your felt very sparingly as it will take the whole lot. I used a half template and folded the felt so that Both sides of petal were the same. Cut out the above amounts, (this is the longest part of the job, so make yourself a cuppa and put the music on)

Take a petal and glue gun and place a tiny amount of hot glue on each bottom corner and turn them into the centre to form more of a petal look. Do this to the first 16 largest petals. Once done, place a petal at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions with a pin onto your cushion, make sure they fit 3 more petals in between those 4 main petals before you glue. Now take the 12 o'clock petal off and place a strip of glue on back bottom half of petal and place back in position holding down for a few seconds to make sure it is stuck. Place a pin at the front and middle of petal so that it dries firmly in place and then do this to the other 3 main petals.

Now you can position and glue the rest of the first 16 largest petals into the first outer circle. Now start the process again with the next 16 petals. Once they have the curled petal look, take the pins out of the first circle and then glue the next 16 positioned slightly down and in-between each of the first petals, only pin these at the end. Now do the next 8 and position in a circle slightly down from the second circle, finish this layer and do the same with the 4th and final layer.

For the centre I rolled and glued a strip of hessian fabric to embellish the flower centre, but you could use beads, sequins etc... I have put another example just below that my 15year old daughter made with beads in the centre.
Hope you enjoy making your very own flower cushion!