My First Attempt at 3D Flowers

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at Susan Tierney-Cockburn’s 3D flowers for quite some time, and I finally decided to give them a shot! I’ll admit, though, making realistic 3D paper flowers is a little harder than it looks. There are lots of little details involved in shaping and assembling the pieces, and getting everything to look natural definitely takes some practice.

A Learning Process

Thankfully, Susan has YouTube videos showing the process for each of her flower sets, which makes learning the techniques so much easier. I definitely needed to watch the video a few times as I worked my way through my first flowers!

I started with the Marigold dies from her new Cottage Garden Collection and made a trio of marigolds in different colors. I love how changing the colors can give each flower a completely different look.

I’ll be honest—I wasn’t entirely happy with my first results. But that’s okay! We all have to start somewhere, and I’m sure I’ll get better with a little more practice. As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect, right?

Choosing the Right Paper

As I learned by watching her videos, die-cutting from white cardstock is the way to go. I had a package of Susan’s Garden Specialty Paper, so that’s what I used. It’s a nice thickness and has a texture to it.

I like that her dies each have a number etched onto the back, which tells you how many pieces you need for each flower. That’s super handy!

Coloring, Shaping & Assembly

After I had a nice pile of die-cut pieces, I sat down for the next step which was coloring. I used my Ohuhu Alcohol Markers to color both the front and back of each flower and leaf piece. It took some time, but since I enjoy coloring, it was a pleasant task.

Following Susan’s video instructions, I used some shaping tools that I picked up on Amazon to give each piece it’s form. I used a foam piercing mat to work on top of during this step.

Finally, it was time for the easiest step-gluing the pieces together! It was fun seeing how the flowers came to life, even if mine were far from perfect. I’m much better at flat flower-making as you can see in this post: Lush Tropical Blooms! But I won’t give up on the 3D flowers!

Background & Sentiment

For the background, I textured an Alabaster panel with Molded Frame 3D Embossing Folder. After playing with placement, I glued the leaves and flowers into place.

I added a greeting using Cottage Garden Sentiments which are Press & Foil Dies. I used the BetterPress Letterpress System and dark brown ink, cutting it out with the coordinating die. To give it a raised look, I die cut four more with the same die, gluing them together with the sentiment on top.

In Summary

Since a card with 3D flowers is a challenge to mail, I’m thinking I might frame this piece and display it somewhere in my house. It’ll be a reminder of my first attempt at 3D flowers!

I have a feeling this won’t be my last try with the Marigold dies. There’s something really satisfying about taking a handful of little die-cut pieces and turning them into a dimensional flower. I’m looking forward to trying again and seeing if I can improve my technique along the way.

Have you tried making Susan Tierney-Cockburn’s 3D flowers? If so, I’d love to hear any tips you have for a beginner!

Until next time,

~Krista

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Products Used:

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The Cottage Garden Die Bundle by Susan Tierney-Cockburn Shop at: SP	Marigold Etched Dies by Susan Tierney-Cockburn Shop at: SP	The Cottage Garden Sentiments Press + Foil Plate & Die Set by Susan Tierney-Cockburn Shop at: SP	10 Pcs Dotting Tools Shop at: AM
Molded Frame 3D Embossing Folder by Yana Smakula Shop at: SP \| SC \| AM	Ohuhu Alcohol Markers Shop at: AM \| WFC	Platinum 6 Machine Shop at: SP \| SC \| AM	BetterPress System Shop at: SP
Alabaster ColorWheel Cardstock Shop at: SP \| SC