denim wild rose brooch

New Video Course on Fabric Flowers in partnership with Domestika


If you follow me on social media, you have probably already noticed some of my posts on the textile flower course I have been preparing in collaboration with Domestika, the largest global creative community.

The filming and shooting for this course was done last July in London, where a team of professionals helped me create this beginner friendly yet exciting video tutorial on textile flowers made with denim.
In the course I show and teach how to create two very different roses using such well known and universally loved material as denim.

The course is aimed at beginner flower makers, because you will not need any specialist tools here, just your hands, patience, my guidance and an odd pair of tweezers. So even if you have not made any textile flowers before, you are welcome to join this course.

 

 

diy kit denim wild rose

 

NEW
You can now order a DIY kit for making your own Denim Wild Rose if you prefer to work with specially designed kits.

The kits are avaialble from my online shop here

 

 

However, as it always happens with flower tutorials, even flower artists with experience will be able to find some useful tips and tricks to use in these as well as other flower designs they make.
Amongst other techniques I have included my method of finishing open roses (and other similar flowers) absolutely flat which I extensively employ in many of my designs, including leather flowers.
Another great benefit, thanks to Domestika, is that the course comes with subtitles in
❀ English
❀ Spanish
❀ Portuguese
❀ German
❀ French
❀ Italian
❀ Polish
❀ Dutch
So if the language was an obstacle on your way to learning textile flowers before, it is not an issue any more 🙂 You can choose your language and enjoy the creative process.

In the course I am sharing a number of ideas on how you could make other accessories with the flowers we’ve covered. By changing the size, the finish, the fabric, the stamens etc you will be able to create infinite number of roses suitable for every occasion and taste.

Now I would like to invite you to watch the introductory trailer to my Domestika course after which you will be able to purchase it from Domestica website at the special launch price if you decide to join

I am really excited about this course and so happy it is finally out and available for students to learn, experiment and enjoy the therapy of handmaking. I hope you will be able to join me on this course.
To watch the trailer and purchase the course use the button below.
denim wild rose brooch
yellow silk rose hat

Flower shaping tools, part 2: TWEEZERS

For 2019 I have planned a series of short videos demonstrating how to works with different types of flower tools.
I believe this will help you understand your tools better and use them to their full potential achieving great shapes and lines on your petals and leaves.

This is the second video in the series, for which I have chosen the oh-so-ambiguous and not-so-specialist tool: a pair of tweezers. flower shaping tweezers

It’s true, the tweezers we are using are not a specialist flower shaping tool as such. You can pick up a pair at your local craft store or online. Just make sure they have smooth straight tips and a very good grip (I mean the tips can be put really close to each other without any space between them and they can grab and hold even the finest of fabrics without it being able to easily slip out of their grip when shaped).

If you have not had a chance to obtain a suitable pair of tweezers for your flower shaping jobs, you can order a pair on my website

Once you’ve got a pair that you can work with, the next step is to master that curl ☺
I am going to be completely honest with you here: there’s no other way but to practise (a lot). The more you try and work with your tweezers the better you become at curling edges of flower petals.
I can not stress enough how important this technique is. So it is all worth it to spend some time grasping the idea and fine tuning your movement for a decent result.
By all means watch the video I have prepared for you (see the link below) where I am trying to not only show but also explain all the minutiae of this technique.
But please remember to practise enough to nail this technique. Believe me you won’t regret it as it will take your rose, iris, poppy, peony and many other flower petals to a completely new level.
Make tweezers your good friend and enjoy shaping flower petals.

Tools for shaping leather flowers

millinery tools
SET OF 2 EXTRA NARROW MILLINERY TOOLS

What tools for shaping leather flowers should you choose?

ph-open-leather-rose-close-2-logo1

Now that we have chosen thin and soft leather for creating leather flowers it is time to talk about the right tools which are going to help us turn a flat piece of skin into a 3D floral masterpiece.

Tool number one is (believe me or not) our hands. A lot of shaping can be done with just hands. In fact, some flowers are made without any special tools. Different ways of folding, twisting, stretching and rolling leather give a wide range of special effects that allow us to create beautiful leather flowers.

Tool number two is a floral iron with interchangeable tips used for shaping fabric flowers. This tool can be used to almost the same extent with leather but bear in mind that leather can not withstand high temperatures. It can burn and shrink if the flower iron is too hot for it, so I recommend to always check the temperature of your iron on an off-cut before touching a petal or a leaf. I wrote about my set of tools in this post here, so if you have not seen it you might want to read it now.

tweezers

The third tool I would like to mention is a pair of tweezers like these ones in the picture. Tweezers are heated in the body of the flower iron and used for curling petals for roses, poppies and other flowers.
Leather petals might be quite stiff to the touch but the shape you are giving them will make them look light, airy, breathable and ever so live! I highly recommend to get yourselves a pair of tweezers like those. Humble as they look the role they play is very important and the results will impress you.

 

A PAIR OF SUITABLE TWEEZERS FOR SHAPING FLOWER PETALS CAN BE PURCHASED HERE.

The work on the new leather tutorial is in full swing at the moment. Tomorrow I will reveal what flower can be created with the help of the tutorial, but if you are good at guessing here as a couple of photos for your inquisitive minds:

tools for shaping leather flowers                         tools for shaping leather flowers

If you are interested in learning how to make fabric or leather flowers feel free to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more flower making videos.

flower making tools

My flower making tools

millinery tools
SET OF 2 EXTRA NARROW MILLINERY TOOLS

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

LIMITED OFFER ON SETS OF EXTRA NARROW FLOWER SHAPING TOOLS
If you are interested please click here to find out more  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Those of you who admire handmade silk flowers might have thought about making them yourselves and wondered what magical equipment is required to do the job. So today I would like to give you an insight into the tools I am using for making my flowers.
My set consists of flower making tools which belong to both the European and the Japanese flower making schools. They have been acquired over a couple of years through different makers. The best flower making tools are thought to be made of brass as it holds the heat better than stainless steel that is why my tools look yellowish brown in the picture.
Here is my set:

A soldering iron is needed to work with these brass heads. There are a number of round heads of different diameter, several knives, a rat-tail tool, a tool for making hollow tubes and another one for making lily-of-the-valley tiny flowers, as well as a number of curved both smooth and grooved Japanese tools.

All of them are used to achieve a certain effect on different sized petals and leaves and the choice usually depends on the particular job to be done. For a more impressive result the flower making tools are used on rubber pads which vary in thickness and density.

Here is my collection of pads:

Not only do they allow to achieve different effects when used with tool heads but they also protect the work surface and are a must to have.
The tool set might seem to be an expensive investment but without them it is impossible to create any pure silk flowers from a humble daisy to the most sophisticated rose. Some free tips and how-tos on the subject can be found here on my blog.

Video tutorials on flowers from £39
Video tutorials on flowers from £39

 

I now offer range of flower making tutorials in video and photo format for your millinery and accessory projects. For more information on the tutorials please go to my Tutition section 
For the fresh news from the exciting world of handmade fabric flowers, new releases and discounts on tutorials please subscribe to our newsletter if you haven’t done this just yet. Should you wish to learn how to make silk flowers I am happy to share my know-how, knowledge and skills through individual Skype classes. Please contact me via this site or e-mail me at enquiries@presentperfectcreations.com to discuss the details
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