Thumbprint Flower Brooch for Mother's Day

When I got the Riley Blake fabric from Oh My Crafts, one of the first things I wanted to make was a big shabby chic fabric flower.  I knew it I knew it would just be beautiful and I was so right!  I just finished this gorgeous flower brooch. With a very special thumbprint center, it makes an extra special Mother's Day present...for um, myself.  Ya, ya, I know...but if I don't make it I won't end up with a keepsake like this.  Cause you know my hubster may be a smarty pants and very sweet but I can't see him whipping out the sewing machine, not in this lifetime!

When I went to figure out how to make the flower, I didn't have to look any farther than A Crafty Soiree, the weekly linky I co host.  Melissa's burlap bows and flowers caught my eye, her flower was exactly the look I wanted.  I pretty much followed her directions for the basic flower so I won't recap here, not when you can go check out her very nicely done tutorial.  Just a note, the circles I used are 3 inches and 3.5 inches in diameter.

I did make a couple of changes.  I decided to outline the circles for my flowers with a thin tip pink Sharpie.  I thought this would give the circles the look of being "inked", a look I really like in scrapbooking.  I also sewed on the folded up circles to the brooch, to make them lay flatter.  This allows the thumbprint heart to be attached more easily.  I love seeing all the stitching, it gives it such cool artsy look.

The best part of this project is that it's a mother daughter creation and I wind up with a keepsake of my little girl ♥  To make the thumbprint heart:

1. Take some white Crayola Model Magic and stamp directly onto it with a pink ink pad until you like the shade. 
2. Mixed both together, transforming the color from white to pink. 
3. Rolled out onto wax paper.
4. Cut out a heart with a cookie cutter.
5. Ink thumb with a slightly darker shade of pink. 
6. Press thumb into the Crayola Model Magic twice to make a heart.
7. Let dry overnight or several days, it will harden but still be slightly squishy.
8. Gently peel heart off wax paper.
9. Add a thin coat of clear nail polish to protect your heart.
10. Glue to center of fabric flower brooch.

I also added some green leaves, that I hand cut and then stitched, poorly as you can see, to felt backing.  Don't worry if bad stitching happens to you too, just hide that part beneath the flower and no one need ever know.  Like how the stripes alternate and are both horizontal and vertical?  Yep, I actually did that on purpose, and was quite pleased by the funky look they give the brooch.  I was kinda worried it would look ridiculous, isn't it nice when things work out the first time?  Use some fabric glue to stick them on, hot glue if you're in a hurry, and a few stitches if you want it to look pretty.  Guess which way I went.

To finish up, since you've already got the hot glue gun out, just glue a pin backing onto the back of your flower, near to top so it hangs properly when worn.  Then enjoy a punch of color on your lapel, handbag, or wherever else you can think to pin it on!  Now you can wear your kids over your heart ♥

Fabric used for this project include:

Dainty Blossoms 3 Pack, Main

Dainty Blossoms 3 Pack, Stripes

Disclaimer: Riley Blake fabric provided by Oh My Crafts.

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