Snowdrops

Snowdrops are one of the first flowers to appear in England and so I felt it appropriate to make a little basket filled with these beautiful flowers that herald the onset of warmer times. 

The snow appeared briefly as I was making these hence the background in the picture.

I began by making up the basket that was to hold my flowers using the beautifully detailed decorative chipboard basket and magic glue. When putting together 3D pieces I like to start by laying out all the pieces, so I know where they go.

Having glued the pieces to the base I then fitted the top piece and then the part that holds the handle in place. 

Once constructed the basket was filled with reindeer moss. 

My little basket was now ready to receive its flowers. To make the snow drops I cut the flower shapes using white foamiran and the leaves with green one, and then set about assembling them.

If you look at the heart shaped inner layer of petals of a snow drop it is marked with a green heart which can be achieved using a yellow green alcohol pen. I cut the outer layer as a single piece but pulled the individual petals apart. The petals were then shaped by holding briefly against a warm iron. I gathered approximately 4 of the double ended stamens together and then folded them in half looping a piece of wire in as I did so and then added some hot glue. The wire was then passed through the heart shaped petal group before the single petals were added individually, so they covered the area between the first petal layer. 

 The ends of the stamens were cut off approximately 3-4 mm from the petals and then the wire used to pierce through the base of the flower before attaching the small green circle of foamiran forming a “cup” around the base of the flower and covering the stamen ends and wire. The stem was then covered with florist tape and thin leaves cut free hand from the green foam added at the base of the stem.

I pushed the flower stems in to my basket filled with dimensional glue and moss creating an arrangement that was pleasing to my eye before adding two little birds from my stash.

In my work I've used:

 

 

  

I hope you like my tutorial!

Take care, 

Gill