Mother's Day Craft

On page 129 of Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts, you will learn how to punch flowers out of fabric - something I've never done, nor considered doing until I read about how simple the process is. The crafts below are perfect for handmade Mother's Day gifts and cards. Best of all - there's still time! These projects don't take very long to complete and the materials needed are minimal.

How to Punch Fabric Flowers:

1. Lay a piece of fabric in a shallow tray. With a medium paintbrush, apply enough fabric stiffener to saturate, but not soak, the material. Let it dry - about one hour. Repeat with all remaining fabric.

2. Punch out petals and leaves as close together as possible on the fabric using a store-bought floral-shaped punch, available at craft stores. The petals will be stiff enough to work with, layering and manipulating the shapes into three-dimensional creations.
These bouquets of fabric flowers are everlasting and memorable. These ones include pink violets, blue hydrangeas and purple-and-gold panises. To make this project you'll need the fabric, the stiffener, the punch, floral pips, contact cement, floral wire and floral tape, as well as the vessels you plan to place the bouquets in. Punch fabric flowers. Using a micro hole punch, make a hole in the center of each flower. Slip a pip through each hole and secure it with a dab of contact cement. To make a stem, cut a length of floral wire and wrap it around each pip with green floral tape. For leaves, glue flroal wire to each one to create veins and stems. Wrap the stems with floral tape. Gather blooms and leaves into a bouquet and either tuck them into in a vase or wrap the stems with more floral tape to join them, then decorate with fabric ribbon.
An array of petals and leaves appears to sprout out from this handmade greeting card. Surprise your mom with a card depicting her favourite flowers. For this project you'll need the basic fabric-punching supplies, cards, a pen, an envelope, white craft glue, ribbon and double-sided glue dots. Punch the fabric flowers and leaves using the decorative punches. Glue just the centers of the leaves and flowers to a card so their tips curl upward a little. Use different colours of fabric and different-shaped flowers to make a vibrant bouquet. Layer the leaves first and place the smallest flowers last, gluing the flowers in place as you work. Draw the stems using a coloured pen or pencil. With a double-sided glue dot, affix a knotted ribbon on top of the stems as a bow.

Floral fabric cutouts can also be used to decorate fabric-covered journals and boxes. Punch out the flowers as usual. Lay out your design before beginning to affix the flowers to the object. For a linear pattern, use a grid ruler as a guide to keep your lines straight. Apply the petals or flowers with a glue stick; make sure to cover the back of each shape completely with the adhesive to prevent curling.