Friday Featured Artist: Chinese Lantern Flower by Lourdes

I am glad you are back again for another featured artist post! Today we will be learning how to make some COOL flowers, I know you will be inspired. Our featured artist, Lourdes comes from Spain!  I checked out her blog and I found a ton of layouts and projects that were so unique and pretty. Much of her projects have this gorgeous vintagy feel to them .. I love it!  You can visit her blog at: http://tarjetasydetallitosenpapel.blogspot.com/ so make sure you take time to see her other work!  Well, it time to get to know Lourdes and then I will post her tutorial (yea!!)...

My name is Lourdes and I’m from Venezuela (South America) but I live in Barcelona (Spain) because of my PhD  studies in Chemistry.
My mother introduced me to papercrafting.  She is a wonderful crafter too! I started with cardmaking several years ago. About three years ago I discovered embossing machines, inks, stamps, designs papers and it was love at first sight. I love to combine different materials and techniques on my projects. I don’t have a specific style, I just do what I like. This can be bookbinding, scrapbooking, cardmarking in different styles. Due to my studies, I do not have much time to do all the things I want and I have in my mind, but I do on weekends.
I'm very pleased to be a Featured Artist at IFS and I will show you to do a chinese lantern flower as embellishment in your projects.

Chinese Lantern Flower by Lourdes

Materials:
·    Natural small leaves with well marked veins
·    White tissue paper
·    Claudine Hellmuth Multi-medium Matte
·    Brown floral tape
·    Sponge
·    Distress Inks: Tattered Rose, Aged Mahogany, Peeled Paint (optional)
·    Tacky glue
·    Wire
Directions:
·    Make a star of five points with small leaves and well marked veins and put  a piece of tape, as in the photo
·    Flip over the star leaf and spread multi-medium matte by Claudine Hellmuth on the leaves with a sponge or foam

·    Place a piece of white tissue paper and spread more multi-medium over the paper. Try to mark all the veins of the leaves.  Repeat with other 3 layers of tissue paper.
·    When the piece of paper is still wet, remove carefully the natural leaves. Let it dry.
·    Cut the excess of paper with a scissor and try to make the flower shape.

·    Apply Distress Ink Tattered Rose to the flower shape with a ink blending tool.
·    In order to remark the veins of the flower, add Distress Ink Aged Mahogany. Let it dry.
·    Wrap a aluminum wire (4” = 10cm) with brown floral tape

·    Make a little hole on the center of the flower and pass the wire through it.
·    Bend the wire to the interior of the flower.  Fold carefully all the petals to make a curve shape.
·    Apply Tacky Glue to the edge of one petal and paste the next one.  Repeat with the other pair.
·    Finally, apply a little bit of Tacky Glue on the tip of the petal and put together all the petals

·     If you desire, you can ink the center of the petal with Distress Ink Peeled Paint and continue with the Distress Ink Aged Mahogany, as you can see in the photo

As an example, I put my Chinese lantern flower in this layout.

I hope you like this tutorial and I would like to see all your flowers. Thanks for this opportunity Ideas for Scrapbookers.

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Thanks you, Lourdes for such a great flower tutorial! :)