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I really like the look of "bouquet" cards...you know the ones that are stamped with an image and then embellished in the corner or around the edges with handmade or purchased flowers, but for the life of me I can't get mine to look right. My placements are either skimpy or just not balanced right where it just looks odd. In the end I usually end up with just one flower in the corner of my card because I get so frustrated trying to make it look right. Does anyone know where I can find a tutorial about flower placements or any hints or tips?
I always try to use the rule of odd numbers. I have seen on a lot of the home shows that when you are grouping stuff together, to use the odd number rule. Like groups of 3, 5, 7, etc...
It works in home design, so I figured it would work on cards. So far I have had good luck with it.
Try just playing around on your desk with the flowers for a while, before putting onto cards. Find a nice grouping, then photograph it with your phone, so you can refer back. i usually go with a largish flower first, then start adding smaller and smaller flowers, either in a line, or a curve, or a corner. The rule of odd numbers is a good one to follow. Try Pinterest too- save pics of arrangements you like, then you can go back and revisit, and try making your own based on what you see. Also maybe look at general flower arrangements-that may give you some placement tips.
I have tried "copying" arrangements that I've seen on other cards, but it doesn't look natural when I do it...it looks like I threw the flowers in the air and where they landed that was it. When I've tried to figure it out by myself I tend to over analyze it and I end up with things looking to structured. Like if I have a daisy on one side then a daisy should be on the other side, if there are three red flowers up here, there should be three flowers down there etc. Maybe flowers aren't my style...that's why feels like work.
Lolled at your answer! You sound like my lovely DIL- everything has to be symmetrical . Its more about balance, than symmetry though. For instance, balance 1 large flower on one side with 2 or 3 small ones the other side, or in an opposite corner?
In the end,if its stopping you enjoying what you are creating, give it up. We all have stuff that doesn't work for us, my personal bogey man is colouring images! I never feel happy with what I've done, so it turns what should be something relaxing into a complete stress for me. Go with what you enjoy.
But I know exactly what you mean about looking like it got glued where it landed. I love all the tags I see on Pinterest, with all the additional elements - stamps/ pen nibs/flowers/lace etc etc- mine look like an explosion in a craft factory when I try it!
At least I'm not alone Shazsilverwolf...and in good company! To take it a step further I've seen cards in the past that the image is colored in one color scheme and the flowers added were in a totally different color scheme and it looked amazing, but when I do it it looks like I did it in the dark...with my eyes closed. Or the image has daisies on it but the flowers used are everything but daisies....and then I do it and it looks mismatched and tacky, almost like an afterthought.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to have 15 straight hours of undivided, uninterrupted craft time and I wasted 4 hours trying to make a flower placement look right because nothing looked right.
At least I'm not alone Shazsilverwolf...and in good company! To take it a step further I've seen cards in the past that the image is colored in one color scheme and the flowers added were in a totally different color scheme and it looked amazing, but when I do it it looks like I did it in the dark...with my eyes closed. Or the image has daisies on it but the flowers used are everything but daisies....and then I do it and it looks mismatched and tacky, almost like an afterthought.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to have 15 straight hours of undivided, uninterrupted craft time and I wasted 4 hours trying to make a flower placement look right because nothing looked right.
Maybe you are being to hard on yourself, have you asked someone else to have a look, as sometime we are too close to the project to be objective.
If it feels forced then maybe flowers are not for you, but I am going to guess it is down to you being self critical
When I narrow it down to who I can ask for their unbiased opinion:
1. I have a Mother who's favorite saying is "It's not bad." Which I can never determine if she means it's not good at all or is it way past bad into horrible.
2. A Dad with terrible eyesight.
3. A husband who is indifferent to card making.
4. A friend who doesn't get crafts.
5. A sister who lives 5 hours away.
6.I take care of 4 day care children, with the oldest being 5, who thinks anything red is beautiful.
Sometimes it helps to set that card aside and go on to the next project, then look at it again tomorrow. Sometimes, for some reason, it looks better in the morning. :
No idea on a design tutorial but here are a couple of tips:
Decide on the focus or center of interest of the card - is it the flower or sentiment? You want to draw draw the person eyes to a particular place on the card so I tend to put things a little off center and around the edges unless the focus is just the flowers themselves.
You want to create harmony on the card - everything needs to be related to the other items. Complementary colors, textures, etc. so that everything matches in some way.
Consider the balance of the items - if you use a humongous flower and tiny sentiment, all you see is a big ol' flower whereas a single tiny flower is lost.
I do better when I stay within a color range unless I want to create a mixed bouquet. For me it's easier to design when I limit the colors.
I've attached a few samples of cards with my handmade flowers. HTH
BTW - the mixed bouquet is a project from my flower making class. I wanted the attendees to make several different kinds of flowers so the card is all about the flowers. : )
Doll card - your eye will travel from the top right, diagonal to the doll, down the doll to the lower flowers
Tan distress flowers - your eye will go from left to right and end at the sentiment (note how the leaves are on the sentiment so you will look at the lower right corner)
Easel card - your eyes start at the upper left corner, circle down and end up on the base of the card
Purple - simple and clean with the focus on the flowers
Orange - no distractions just left to right and big bold blossoms
Mixed Bouquet - a lot going on in the card but the colors are complimentary, the size ranges from large to small; the background paper is muted flowers and leaves; I wanted the person to think of a cottage garden in full bloom
I really like the look of "bouquet" cards...you know the ones that are stamped with an image and then embellished in the corner or around the edges with handmade or purchased flowers, but for the life of me I can't get mine to look right. My placements are either skimpy or just not balanced right where it just looks odd. In the end I usually end up with just one flower in the corner of my card because I get so frustrated trying to make it look right. Does anyone know where I can find a tutorial about flower placements or any hints or tips?
There are times when I struggle with a particular arrangement too. I usually create the whole card but don't glue anything down. I place it on a small white tray I have and set it aside for a day or two. When I come back to it, I can usually see immediately what the problem is. One or two small adjustments after the fact and I'm happy.
__________________ Louise Bergmann DuMontAuthor, Speaker, Serious About Her Coffee, Lover of all that is Chocolate...Worshiper of El Shaddai (The All Sufficient One)
A friend of mine told me to arrange the flowers and if there are gaps or empty spots, take a flat flower and squish it together. Put a glue dot in the middle to keep it squished. Stick it into empty spaces. It fills in and give it a little texture. Hope this makes sense.
Use the different challenges to practice and try different ideas.Take courage and post your creations in your gallery. You will get feedback from people who know and care. That will encourage you to keep trying. Send cards to others - maybe even through a ministry. People are thrilled to receive a card made with love. Don't be discouraged that the people close to you (no matter how much you love them and they love you) can't support you in the way you need to be encouraged. And have fun!
__________________ Jo AnnMy SCS gallery / my blogThe cure for everything is salt water - sweat, tears or the sea~Isak Dinesen FS 776
A friend of mine told me to arrange the flowers and if there are gaps or empty spots, take a flat flower and squish it together. Put a glue dot in the middle to keep it squished. Stick it into empty spaces. It fills in and give it a little texture. Hope this makes sense.
I do this too. If you have flowers in your yard or a neighbor's yard study them. You can always see the squished flowers. It makes a perfect focal point for the others to bloom around. I use my flower garden a lot for inspiration. I had a relative who was a flower arranger. She always start off with a flat kind of flower and go from there.
While I do admire great looking gardens I have to laugh at lylacfey's answer to look at my flowers in my garden because I was born with two black thumbs. If you want your houseplants to die send them to my house and they won't last three days...if you send me a bouquet of flowers from the florist I can rest assure they will be dead and wilted before sundown (which is why my husband refuses to send me any). My house is the only one on the block that doesn't have any living things growing in it...this includes grass. When my husband goes out to cut the "grass" it really means he is going to go out to knock down the weeds. We did have a cactus once.. it shriveled up and died.
But on another note Thank you ladies for all of the tips and videos. I'll keep trying because I'm stubborn and hate to admit defeat (except if it has to do with a plant!)
I do the flowers last....sometimes I move them around a dozen times or more before I find the right placement. Sometimes, I have to add more and on occasion I decide that a flower won't work.
Or this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lri8...Npy1VpR1XscYPA
__________________
This gal is fantastic, watched 3 of her nice videos and wrote down the addresses of her blog and web site so I can "visit" with her again!
Thank you Kathleen Mc! :p
Last edited by fool for stampin'; 09-30-2014 at 11:51 AM..
Reason: Didn't have the links posted.
May I throw in a couple of comments? First, in response to this statement: "...it looks like I threw the flowers in the air and where they landed that was it." Sometimes, if I want a nice, random look and I think I'm being too symmetrical, that is exactly what I do: hold up the flowers I selected about six inches off of the table and let them drop. Sometimes they need to be pushed around a little bit, but they usually wind up looking really nice once they're placed.
August29, maybe you could assemble a couple of flower cards and just glue them with temporary glue to photograph them. Then you could post them to this thread and get some helpful hints that way.
__________________ SilverSnow Lois Malachi 3:10 "See if I will not throw open the floodgates of heavenand pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it"
I have a drawer full of flowers which I very, very rarely use because I just can't work out where to put them on my cards - so you aren't alone Anna Lee. I love what other people do with flower embellishments but when I put them on my cards, my cards just look too busy. I very much admire how Bev Rochester from her blog "All the Things I Love" embellishes her cards - every detail of her flowers and leaves looks amazing. But in the past 12 months, I have learned to embrace my own style and not worry about flowers. Most of my cards probably have a button, twine or ribbon and some glitter/rhinestone somewhere on it because that is my comfort-zone and I feel my cards look finished with those things. It doesn't mean I will never use a flower - only if I feel super-inspired to use one. Maybe flowers aren't for you?
I agree with the triangle thing. I was a florist for 15 years and this was one of the main rules we followed. Tall in the middle triangle, right angle triangle, low flat triangle they all work. Another suggestion is to keep the heavy shapes (large flowers/leaves/bow etc) close to the bottom and work with odd numbers. Hope this helps.
I play around with my flower arrangement before gluing anything down. I snip the stems off and then lay the flowers on my card and move things around until I like how they look. I think playing around with them helped me the most. It's kind of a trial and error until you find a look you like. I love the look of lots of different kinds of flowers together, but haven't mastered that look yet.
I haven't read all of your replies so I don't know if anyone else has recommended Susan Wilson on You Tube. I love her card tutorials and she more often than not has flowers on them. She likes to keep things balanced. I think you will enjoy her videos, she designs beautiful cards.
Flower Placement
Flower placements
