Naptime is Stamptime: Stamping 101: Tips for Using the Festive Flower Builder Punch

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Stamping 101: Tips for Using the Festive Flower Builder Punch

The Festive Flower Builder Punch doesn't look too impressive when you first see it. But what it can create is just beautiful! When you order the punch, here is what you'll get:

This punch can also be bundled with the Reason for the Season stamp set, getting you a 15% discount!

The punch creates a beautiful poinsettia flower, perfect for topping Christmas gifts, adding to holiday banners, or creating a really special 3-D card. Today I'm going to share a few tips I learned while trying the punch out.

First of all, I highly recommend viewing the video that Stampin' Up! has created about this punch. In the video, you are shown how to put the poinsettia together, as well as some alternate color schemes to create flowers for other seasons. Take a look:

If you don't have time to watch the video, here is a picture showing the pieces you will need to punch out to create a basic poinsettia. You will need 8 of the large petal, 4 of the smaller petal, and 2 of the double piece.

Depending on how you want to finish the middle, you may also need a few pieces of the x-shaped piece. I used pearls to finish the middle of the first flower that I made.

Isn't the poinsettia just stunning with the Red Glimmer Paper? I love the sparkle! Of course, regular cardstock will work just fine too. For the second one, I used Cherry Cobbler cardstock, with Daffodil Delight cardstock for the middle.

When you are putting the poinsettia together, the video suggests using the 3/4" or 1" circle punch to punch out a base that you can attach the petals to. I don't have those sizes of circle punches yet, so I just cut out a very imperfect circle, and it worked very well. You don't see it in the finished product, so it's not a necessity to have the extra punch.

My final tip when using the Festive Flower Builder Punch is to plan ahead! I used Tombow Multipurpose Glue to attach everything together, as suggested in the video. I do think this is probably a good choice, but it takes a very long time for everything to dry together. So make sure that you leave yourself plenty of time to let the poinsettia dry before adding it to the rest of your project. If you have tried a different adhesive that worked better, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

The coordinating stamp set, Reason for the Season, can also be used to stamp on the petals. I haven't tried this yet, but I've found a gorgeous example to share with you today from Dawn Tidd. I love looking at her blog for all of her creative ideas, and the poinsettia she created is just beautiful!