Diet Coke Can Flowers

Hi Everyone, Beth here from Thunderbirdlindybydesign.  Today I want to share with you diet Coke can flowers.  I am not sure if this has been posted on The Bug Bytes before, but I want to share with you my technique.

Gather empty soda cans, or beer cans(anything will work as long as it's silver on the inside) Adirondack Alcohol Inks, Sizzix or any flower die,  Die Cutting machine, Mcgill Tools, soft surface, Round pliers, 12 year old daughter.

My daughter loves to cut up the cans and cut these out using my sizzix, and then she hands them over to me to finish.  She experiments all the time with my different dies.  She even uses embossing folder on the metal.  It works swell.  The cans can be kind of sharp, but regular scissors can cut them no problem.  Just be careful

Here is the right side of the can, turn them over and using the inks and inking tool, ink the back side.  Wait till the inks dry for the next step. 

Here they are colored.

Mcgill makes a thick mouse like pad you can shape flowers on, I have one but can't find it, so I use a special mouse pad with lots of silicone in it and a place to rest your wrist.  I use the wrist part to shape my flowers on. 

Using the Mcgill tool, press the flower into the pad and rotate the tool in a circle.

Here is the flower cupped

Taking the round nose pliers after you get the flower cupped, bend the petals back around the tool.

I use 3 larger flowers and 3 smaller floweres for each flower.  I also use hot glue to assemble them.  Hot Glue is my friend.  When you assemble, rotate each flower so the petals do not line up and are offset.

Here are some flowers done on a project.  They are very Steampunkish.  You can manipulate them more once you get them done.  Just add whatever you would like in the middle of the last flower for a center.

Thanks so much Pam for having me as a guest designer.

Beth.