Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Coloring Petaloo Flowers with Distress

I absolutely love Petaloo Color Me Crazy Flowers! I usually buy the white mulberry paper layers. These give a nice starting base to my flowers when I don't feel like cutting my own from scratch.

The photos below show how I colored some of the flowers with Ranger products. I like to create my own sprays using Distress Reinkers (not shown), Perfect Pearls, and water in a Mini Mister. I make them up beforehand - and I get several uses out of them. The reinkers have a lot of pigment so only a drop or two will do, depending on how much color you like. Perfect Pearls gives it some sparkle and shine. Alternatively, I may mix in, or paint on later, Winsor & Newton's Iridescent Medium. Be sure to shake the mister bottle each time before spraying; I usually add a small metal bead for mixing.

Another way I color the flowers is by using Distress Stains. First I spray the flowers with some water, then I swipe a selected color of stain across the Craft Sheet and spray some more water in the stain puddle. Finally I just mop up the color with the flower. For a marbled effect, I will use two or three colors swiped near each other on the sheet - they will start to mix slightly when I spray in the extra water.


For added dimension, after drying the flowers - with my heat gun to speed up drying time - I tap some acrylic paint on the top or on the ends of the petals with a dauber, or I paint it in the middle with a brush. The daubers I use are Adirondack Acrylic Paint Daubers by Ranger but you could use any acrylic paint, just dab it on with a sponge applicator instead.

I also add Rock Candy Distress Stickles to some of the flowers - either painted on the petals or just near the center. I add regular Stickles near the center on other flowers for a different look. Once the layers have been glued together (I mostly use Glossy Accents - it dries fast and really sticks), I stick a half-pearl in the middle. I typically buy only the off-white self-adhesive pearls since I can make them almost any color I want using Adironack Alcohol Inks and a Q-Tip. The pearl in the large blue/purple flower was colored this way.

You should be able to find all (or at least most) of these products at your local craft store.


To shape the flowers I use a bone folder (burnishing bone - if you're a framer) to line the petals from the front (some come with lines already) and shape them from the back. Hint: do this on the back of a rubber mouse pad. I also use a die pick for finer lines both on petals and on leaves (not shown). I use the die pick or paint brush handle to roll the petals under slightly, or up as he case may be. You might have to experiment with these techniques to get your desired effect. Look for these flowers on cards in later posts!

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