Shaping Die Punch Flowers

Before buying my Silhouette SD digital die cutter, I bought die punches like these. I toyed with giving them away, but now I'm really happy I didn't.

I shudder to waste paper scraps and want to use every inch of it before tossing it out (see my post on How to Use up Scrap paper). Using these die punches was easier and faster than trying to register the exact placement needed on my Silhouette. However, I still used the Silhouette to cut my cherry blossoms (middle punch) because I wanted the cup the petals more readily.

Top left: If using a cherry blossom die punch, snip in between the petals to make them easier for cupping.

Top right: This blossom is cut from my die cutter - see the deeper gaps between petals? I used a burnisher and rubbed the petals against a mouse pad. For those who have a digital die cutter, here is the cherry blossom I made in SVG, DXF and PDF format.

Bottom left: Continue rubbing into the center to make a small bud.

Bottom right: If you want the blossom to stay open, flip it over and poke a smaller burnisher into the middle, then add dots with a felt marker to represent the stamens.

I then used them to decorate this 3D cake card.

3D Cake Card with Punched Flowers

My sister in law is always well-dressed, so put together. She is feminine without being girly. I  wanted to give her a 3D birthday cake card that expressed that (I hadn't chosen my greeting yet when I took this photo).

I had so much fun making these flowers after being inspired by Michelle's version. After stepping back I worried I had gone too far and overdid it, but I think I'm just not used to so much adornment, being a tomboy at heart.

I cut some 1/8" quilling strips in half which made them more pliable as I decorated the cake. This let me strew blossoms in a more random way. I used a white felt marker to dot some stamens in the middle of the blossoms.

I dipped the blossoms into Aleene's Tacky Glue and they held fast when applied to the cake. I didn't have to sit there and wait around. I'll be showing how I shaped the blossoms in a following post soon.