Big Shot Fabric Flowers

One of the projects I learned about at Leadership was these really cute fabric flowers. I've seen some other fabric flowers & we were even shown a different type at Convention last July but these are totally different. I loved the other ones I've seen but don't have the correct die to create those.....until Monday. ;o)

When I got home, I couldn't wait to go shopping for fabric to make these flowers! I bought lots of fabric, rushed home to make the flowers and found that I don't own the die that was used at Leadership! :o( I was bummed but my "punch puppy" card fiasco taught me to get out of the "tunnel" and look for solutions right away! And so I did!

This is what the finished product looks like.


I think it looks a lot like a Posey and it's cute-as-can-be in real life! I used the ugliest fabric I bought for this flower. Yes, I thought it was an ugly design but bought it anyway. Why? Because I thought it would end up making the prettiest flowers.....and so far, I'm right! lol

Let me tell you how I made them.....I used my Circles die and cut out 8 layers of fabric (IMPORTANT side note here - you can cut out 8 layers of fabric when you're using a die that does NOT have score lines but only 3 layers if it does). Also, be sure you use fabric that will melt such as Polyester or nylon. Basically, if it's flammable it's good for these flowers!

See, I told you the fabric design was ugly!

Here are the circles after they've been cut out - I think they look much better here!

I forgot to take a picture of the circles after they were layered onto each other so you'll have to see how cute it looks when you create your flowers. ;o)

Next step is to "tack" the layers together. I did this by sewing the pin back on at the same time so I didn't have to do another step. Some call this lazy, I call this working more productively! LOL!

After you tack the layers together, put a pin back on your flower (if you didn't follow my "working more productively" lead).

Once you have a pin back on your flower, you'll want to put it on a clipboard. I put a "bulldog clip" on the end of a Popsicle stick then slid my flower on it & let the flower slide to the clip. I then put the other end of the Popsicle stick under the clip of a small clipboard. This is to 1) hold the flower still & 2) hold the flower with something other than my fingers!

At this point, you'll want to heat up your heat gun. Once it's sufficiently heated, start from the center of your flower, work toward the outside and "melt" the fabric so that it starts curling up.

After you've melted the front of your flower to your liking, flip it over (holding the Popsicle stick!) and "melt" the back a bit so that it will support itself.

Once you've done this, set it aside so that the metal from the pin can cool off......DON'T touch it before it's totally cooled off! ;o)

So, what do you think? If you make some flowers yourself, be sure to either send me a picture of yours or post a link to it (if you have a blog & add it as an entry on yours)! I would love to hear what you think of my "Posey". I'll be working on the other flowers after I receive my other dies so check back to see those.....I can't wait to get started!!