In this example, I’m cutting rectangles of 40mm x 20mm for the flower petals.Begin by cutting 20mm strips with a sliding tile cutter. If you dont have a tile cutter, you may have to use shards that are big enough to fit this size shape.
Once you’ve cut the strips, turn them around & cut 40mm pieces.These tiles aren’t quite 200mm, so notice how I’ve taken a smaller piece as an offcut – that way my pieces won’t have any tile edges on them.You’ll need 6 pieces per flower, but it may be wise to cut a couple extra for mistakes.
It’s personal preference as to whether you pre-draw the flower shape before cutting.Normally I don’t, as I like an irregular shape. If I want a regular shape, I’d make a template from cardboard and trace them onto the tile.I’ve drawn them in for this example, but you’ll notice that I don’t follow the lines anyway – more use them as a guide.
Starting from the base, start removing the waste material with tile nippers.It’s better to make lots of small nips than to try and take larger pieces out.
Then take the waste off from the other side of the base as shown.
For the rounded section, take the corners off as shown.
And in tiny nips, shape your rounded sections.
Cutting completed.
Using a tile file as shown will provide a nice smooth finish.
For the pointy petals, it’s best to start with the point – this is the most difficult section.If it were to go wrong (and sometimes it will), you can save time by throwing it away and starting on a new one.
Finish the point by cutting down the other side.
Then start from the base…
…and work your way around one side of the petal.
Do the same on the other side resulting in your finished petal.
Use your tile file as shown to achieve smooth edges.
Cut all your petals out, making sure you have 6 per flower.
For the centres, I’ve cut 20mm squares on the sliding tile cutter, and used a 5c piece to trace a circle.
Take off the corners first…
…. and then slowly nip your way around the tile up to your drawn circle.
Use your tile file to achieve nice smooth circles.
Put it all together for these nice neat flowers.Of course this is only one simple method of making flowers. By observing real flowers in nature, I’m sure you could think of many different ideas for shape.Double flowers look great, and theres no reason you couldn’t make the petals in two or more pieces with different colours. The only limit is your imagination.
Same flowers with glass beads instead of cut circles.Less work, and will add texture to your work. It’s always worth being on the lookout for ideas like this!
