Howto3DFlower

1 8" x 10" Shadow Box with precut (oval or rectangle) mat, Carson 90 Lb, Water Color Paper, Tracing paper, Paper Craft Glue, X-acto Knife with #12 or #16 blades, Self-Healing Cutting board, 1/4" thick Styrofoam mat board (get the quarter size), Tooth pick, Tweezer, Knitting needle, Dried out ball point pen or wood burnisher.

PREPARING:

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 1

Fig.4

DRAWING 1

DRAWING 2

1.   Print out DRAWING 1 and DRAWING 2. Color prints will be better.
2.   Use DRAWING 1. Trace along the dotted line with a yellow line on the water color paper using a light table or window
      pane (Fig. 1). This will be the BASE. Do not erase the pencil lines after cutting out along the dotted line. (Fig. 2)
3.   Trace all the pieces on the tracing paper from DRAWING 2 using B or 2B pencil including numbers. (Fig 3) Make sure
      to secure the tracing paper with tape.
4.   Cut out all the pieces on the Self-Healing cutting board with an x-acto knife. Be careful not to smear the pencil lines.
      Using a piece of paper on the underside of your hands will prevent smearing. (Fig. 4)
5.   Erase all the pencil lines except the numbers with Gum Eraser. If you accidentaly erase the number, write it back
      with pencil. This will save time when you are doing a more complicated job.

EMBOSSING & CURING:

Tools for Embossing

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

****Practice embossing with different tools on the water color paper. I like to use a dried out
ball point pen for the fine lines and use a knitting needle for the bold lines. A wood burnisher is too blunt for the delicate job.

1.   Do veins on the leaves and flower petals (Fig. 5).
2.   Hold a piece as in Fig. 6 while pressing down between your thumb and the needle, making a curving
      motion around the needle while pulling out with your left hand (Fig. 6). Finall pieces (Fig. 7).

ASSEMBLING:

1.   Lay down THE BASE on the middle of an 8" x 10" mat, secure with small size
      removable tape. This taping is just a temporary measure.
2.   Refer to DRAWING 1 while gluing down pieces on THE BASE for a guide.
3.   Lay down pieces by group before starting to glue down. (Fig. 8)
4.   Apply glue to the area where the red hatch marks are (see DRAWING 2) with a tooth
       pick. Use a tweezer to hold a small piece for this.

***All the pieces will be glued on THE BASE not on the mat.***

Fig. 8

Start to glue down in this order: 12, 8, 9, 10 A, and 11, let it dry. Next-6, 7, 18, 13, 14, 15, B, 16, 17 and W.
Make three groups. Group 1: A to H. Group 2: I to OO. Group 3: P to L.
Start to glue down Group 1 then add 19. For Group 2, start with N, K, then add the rest of the pieces. Do the same way with Group 3. Add 21 & 22. Assemble 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, let it dry. Glue on this between 8 & 6.

FINISHING:

Fig. 10 (Back side)

Fig. 11

Fig, 12

Fig. 9

1.   Grab THE BASE with the tweezer and lift off from the mat. (Fig. 9 and 10)
2.   Cut Form Mat Board in 1/4" wide strips then cut two 5" and 7" long strips. Cut 3/8" long pieces. Let call
      these THE SPACERS. (Fig. 11)
3.   Put glue on one side of the 3/8" pieces. Lay on the back side of THE SPACERS. Leave a room at least 3/8"
      from the edge. (Fig, 12)
4.   On the mat (See Fig. 13-Blue area) glue down a 5" piece on the top and bottom side, 7" pieces on each
      side. let it dry. (Fig. 13)

5.   Put glue on the red area, lay down the pre-cut mat (pink), make sure both boards
      are lined up.
6.   Before gluing down an assembled flower, position it in the middle and move it
     around to find the best position, then mark it down with pencil VERY LIGHTLY,
     so you can erase later.
7. Glue on the under side of SPACER, lay it down in the position.

Fig. 13

Voila! You've done it!

MAKE YOUR OWN TOOL:

I used an aluminium knitting needle for my embossing tool. Use medium grade sand paper, rub the needle on sand paper along the angle of a needle, while turning the needle between the thumb and forefinger. Make sure not to make too sharp a point. I rolled a 3"wide paper towel on until it felt comfortable to hold. Now you have 2 different sizes of embossing tools.

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