Hello my friends! As many of you know I have a line of dies called “Quite Contrary” by Spellbinders that include shapes for making many kinds of paper flowers. I have had a few tutorials featured here in the past but I have yet to showcase the Hydrangea die. Although there are many flowers that actually comprise a hydrangea, they are really quite easy to create. I am giving you step-by-step instructions today so that you will see how nicely they come together. One can pretty much use any type of paper but I have chosen to use mixed media paper because I wanted to apply watercolor to the paper. Regular paper is not recommended if using watercolors because it causes the paper to buckle. However, using a blending tool and water-based inks work really well on cardstock, as well as on mixed media paper. With that said, let’s get started!
Supply List:
Hydrangea Florets Die by Spellbinders
Platinum Machine by Spellbinders
22 or 24 gauge floral wire (wrapped is best)
18 or 20 gauge floral wrapped wire
Mixed Media Paper
Cardstock of Your Choice
Dimensional Paint (I got the “glow in the dark” color)
Floral Tape
Hot Glue Gun
White Gelly Pen
Watercolor Paints/Brush (Or distress/water-based inks and a blending tool)
First I cut several lengths of 22-24 gauge covered floral wire, varying from 2″ to 4″ in length. A good number of pieces would be 12 but you can include up to 22 depending on how full you want your hydrangea to be.
Next insert the 18 gauge wire into the mix keeping its length. Once the thicker wire is inserted into the grouping, wrap floral tape around the base of the smaller stems, twisting and tying them into the larger wire and continue on down the stem. See picture. Trim some of the top wires so they are uneven in height if they weren’t already that way. 
Now you will need to die-cut your paper using the Hydrangea die. Because this is a steel rule die, you can cut five piece of paper at a time! This will save you a lot of time :). You will need to cut at least a dozen pieces, 20, even better. (Isn’t it nice to have a die do the cutting instead of you having to hand-cut each one?)
Now I chose to watercolor my pieces but you can use markers, colored pencils or even distress ink. The choice is yours.
This is the look with distress inks and a blending tool:
When I was finished, I added stroke marks onto my petals with a white gelly pen. You do not have to do this step. I just liked the look. I then bent the petals up and out.
Attaching the petals to the stems are easy. First put a bit of hot glue onto the tip of the floral wire. Let cool for a few seconds then attach the back of the flower to wire. Continue adding all florets in that fashion. If you cut out the tri-circle die piece, you can place these randomly on the wire tips in the same way. Oh, and looking at this pic, you may want to paint the backside too. Though it doesn’t generally show, it might look finished and I’m all about that, especially if it’s a gift!
When you have completed your flower, you are ready to cut your leaves. This time I used green card stock. Remember, you can cut all of them out at the same time. I say no more than 5 pieces for the cleanest cut. Again, I water-colored the leaves but in a darker shade of green. I did not mind if this paper got a little warped as this made them look more natural.
When dry, adhere thin wire to the back of the leaves using glue or hot glue. Attach to base of flowers when the glue is dry.
Finally, I gently splattered my flowers with a bit of paint using a toothbrush and watercolor paint. The centers are created by using dimensional paint. You could also use half pearls. Allow to dry and your flower is complete!
How was that? Were you able to do them? I think I could make these for hours on end. Although they do take some time, I really enjoy the whole process. How about you?
XO,
Debi
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