Prima Black Tie Paper Flowers Tutorial
Jessica Rich & Barbara Strembicki

 

Prima’s Black Tie Collection of paper flowers is a whimsical way to add a distinct signature to everything from the mundane to the extraordinary.  The papers are die-cut and most are embossed.  They’re very absorbent but resist the wrinkling that normally occurs when paper gets wet. 

I was lucky enough to play with them a bit before we debuted them at Joggles.  I used LuminArte’s Radiant Rains Sprays on most.  But before I did, I used one of Krylon’s Leafing Pens to highlight the embossed patterns and make the edges pop.  It dries in no time, so it’s easy to leaf a few flowers and then move right along (instant gratification, anyone?). 

Even though the Radiant Rains come with sprayers, they’re also fantastic to use straight from the bottle.  The colors are vibrant and flow well when applied with a paintbrush dipped into a well-shaken bottle. 

This flower was actually done with the Krylon Leafing Pen and then finished with Radiant Rains in Key Lime.  The five-petal black flower has a spray of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist over the Krylon Pen.  Artists beware!  The black flowers leech an amazing amount of their black pigment when they get wet.  Unless you like the “My Marker Bled Through the Paper” Look, I’d suggest always working on a safe surface and letting them dry thoroughly before applying them to your project. 

Each flower has a pre-cut hole in the center so that the flowers can be applied with a brad.  I found some cute dragonflies that I thought were as much fun as the flowers I put them on.  But why let yourself get in a brad-related rut??  Consider applying them with traditional paper adhesives and then covering the center hole with a bead, button or charm.  Poke stamens through the center and trim to an appropriate length for dimensional effects.  Try “sewing” them down with fun fibers with a dab of glue to keep the “stitch” from pulling through. 

Don’t think the painting ends with watercolor-style pigments!  Many other products will work very well, depending on the look you are trying to achieve.  Lumiere and Neopaque will both provide more substantial coverage, but can be thinned down to any desire consistency with tap water.  Alcohol Inks, Radiant Rain Daubers, Twinkling H2O’s, Adirondack Color Washes and Walnut Inks will all add color and shine in their own unique ways.  

Barb here...  These are some examples of flowers I colored using Luminarte's Twinkling H20s.

I tend to like softer, more pastel colors.  To achieve that look I dunked each of the flowers in clean water to completely soak them.  I created very transparent washes with the Twinkling H20s, applying the colors to the wet paper flowers.  I discovered that it's possible to blend and move the color on the flower after the fact by taking a brush full of water and squiggling it around on the color.  It softens and bleeds the pigment out, creating a pretty pastel effect.

 

Once the flowers were completely dry I edged them with a Krylon leafing pen - copper on two and silver on the others.

The possibilities for these fun, economical flowers are limited only by your own creativity.  Let your muse soar and I hope you have as much fun with them as I did!

Click here for the Prima Black Tie flowers. 

Click here for Luminarte's Radiant Rains sprays and here for their Twinkling H20s.

Click here for Krylon leafing pens.

Click here for Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists.

Click here for Adirondack Color Wash Sprays.