MFT February Die-namics Feature and Pep Rally!

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Now that we've teased and tempted you all week long, it's almost time for you to shop for your favorite Brand Spankin' New products from MFT.
But first... it's time for our Die-namics Feature and Pre-Release Pep Rally!


Our Design Team has been busy creating jaw-dropping and inspiring projects for you, and we've saved the best for last.
We've taken an in-depth look at this month's Die-namics, while re-visiting the amazing sets being released tonight at 10 PM EST RIGHT HERE in the MFT Boutique.
And while we are at it, how about we make your life even easier with a "cheat sheet" of all that's new?  Head over to the MFT Blog to print out a shopping list.
Here are the details about the upcoming release on February 7th at 10 PM EST:

• You can attend the New Release Party on February 7th from 8-10 PM EST HERE in the MFT forum, where you can enjoy fun, games, and PRIZES!
• The MFT release, including all new stamp sets and Die-namics, is on February 7th at 10 PM EST.  You'll find all the newest products HERE at release time.
• You have just a few more hours to submit your entry for this month's guest designer contest.  Check out the forum for details on how YOU can win $200 in stamp sets and Die-namics, and play along with the MFT Design Team for a month.
• If you'd like to see all the designers' posts for today, please click on over to the MFT Blog NOW.  Be sure to leave comments as you go for the chance to win one of 2, $10 gift certificates given away daily.  The winners will be posted on February 7th just before the release party, on the MFT blog.

Welcome! I have a photo tutorial for you today with lots of pictures, so settle back with a cuppa and enjoy! It looks like a lot of steps, but once you get one flower done you’ll see how easy it is.
If you stop by here very often, by now you should know how much I love flowers, and since it’s still too cold to *grow* flowers, I’m going to show you how to *make* this gorgeous bouquet :) I swear, IRL this looks like a bowl of zinnias! I might have to do another set of bright yellows and oranges for summer, I love it so much! I have this sitting on a china cabinet and it adds such a nice touch of color this winter.

First of all, I started by cutting out lots of layers with my Botanical Beauty Die-namics dies, which will be available tonight at 10pm! Make sure you put this on your shopping list so you don’t forget it—it’s amazing what you can do with this die set!

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The next thing you’ll need is some covered florist wire. You can get that at any craft store and probably at Wal*Mart. Here’s what it looks like:

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You’ll need to straighten it out and then put some right angle bends in the center of each wire like this—about 1/4” apart. I use an old hemostat, but needle-nose pliers should work just fine.

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Next we’ll assemble the flower base. First I shaped each petal a bit with my fingernail and then layered them up on the foam block on which I do my paper piercing. Then I poked two holes in the center, about 1/4” apart. You know where this is going, right?

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Yep, you got it—then I put the wire ends through the holes like this.

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This next step is not essential but it will help keep you from tearing your paper  when you do the next step. Just bend the wire “legs” in opposite directions from where they are…

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…and start twisting the two “legs” to form the stem.

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After I had them twisted, I wrapped the newly formed stem with florist’s tape. This is also not “essential” but will give you a nicer finished product. If you’re not familiar with florist’s tape, you can also find this at craft stores. It’s a little sticky and will adhere to itself if you stretch it a bit as you’re winding it down the stem.

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OK, now it’s time to add the centers. I like to put my center layers together with hot glue, but you can use any adhesive you prefer. One reason I like the hot glue is that with it you can get even more dimension by essentially using a paper tole (layering for dimension) technique. Before I start to adhere the layers, I bend the “stamens” up—this makes it easier to shape them, after the center is assembled, by breaking up the fibers.

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I put a dab of hot glue on the bottom of the smallest layer and place it on the next one—but don’t press it all the way down—leave it popped up a bit. Just make sure it’s even and let it set up, which takes only a few seconds. Repeat with the third layer and your center is done! I hope you can see the dimension between the layers in this picture.





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The next step is to attach the center to the base. Simply apply a dab of hot glue right on the florist’s wire and position your already-assembled center on that. The wire would make the center “rock” without the hot glue, but it lets you level it out perfectly.


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Now, I knew I wanted to add some leaves to these flowers, but the largest layer is a pretty good size and none of our existing leaves were the right scale. So, I looked around at my dies and EUREKA! I spied the perfect thing!! I knew I could make the football in the All-Star Die-namics set work! Here’s what I did: I simply cut it out as usual and trimmed a little off the larger side! Voila! A larger leaf, complete with center score line! To give it even more dimension, I gently “cupped” it along that score line to shape it—you can see that in the picture directly above. Some of my flowers only have two layers and the large leaf from Upsy Daisy Die-namics worked great with them. Ah, MFT Die-namics—they open up a whole new chapter in paper crafting :)

The only thing left to do now is to attach your leaves under the flower with more hot glue. I tried to make sure I stuck the pointed end of at least one leaf on each flower in the space between the flower and where the wires started to twist—this added a lot of stability to the finished flower.
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Here’s the finished project again. Can I just say I’m in love with it? ‘Cause I am, and I hope you are too and will give it a try--I’d love to see what you come up with.

Here are all the Die-namics dies I used on this project:

Thanks so much for stopping by!
~Supplies~
Stamps: None
Paper: Gumdrop Green, Sour Apple, Jellybean Green; Daffodil Delight (SU!); 6 x 6 (Crate Paper)
Ink: None
Accessories/tools: Vagabond (Tim Holtz); Botanical Beauty, All-Star, and Upsy Daisy Die-namics dies (MFT); hot glue and gun, florist’s wire and tape, paper piercer and mat, needle-nose pliers