get frilly...

Hello my wonderful friends!

I promised a lacy flower tutorial, so here it is!  Get ready to get frilly!

First off, let's talk dies.... since we are cutting lace, the steel rule dies are best. You know, the thick dies that you run through your manual die cut machine. You can do this with the thin dies, but be prepared to do some scissor snipping to finish off the cuts. 

I'm using the Tattered Floral die from Tim Holtz/Sizzix. I love this die. However, there are lots of flower dies out there, so use what you love.

 Step 1: Start out by cutting a strip of lace fabric or tulle. (you can do this with regular lace, but it needs to be at least as wide as the flowers you are cutting.)  Fold your lace strip so you have several layers.... you might as well cut several at a time. =)

 Step 2: Layer the lace between 2 pieces of paper on the die. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, copy paper or scrap paper works fine.  For some reason this little trick seems to really help when cutting fragile fabrics like lace.

 Step 3: run your die sandwich through your machine.

 Step 4: run a piece of cardstock through the machine to die cut some paper flowers.

 Step 4: Spray the card stock flowers with water. It doesn't have to be soaking, you just want to make it damp.  For a nice sheen, spray it with pearlized water. (Perfect pearls mixed with water)

 Step 5: Scrunch up your damp flowers. Let them dry that way. This will help give dimension and body to the flower. 

Step 6: Un-crumple the flowers and layer them with the lace flowers... Cardstock, lace, cardstock, lace... you get the idea. The cardstock gives the lace dimension so it doesn't just lay flat as well as help break up the layers.

Step 7: Finish it off with the center of your choice... pearls, rhinestones, buttons.. whatever works for you.

Enjoy!

~Kassi