You Will Need

Apart from the basic items, you will also need the following:

• rose template
• length of wire for the stem
• round object such as a permanent marker or a lipstick container
• long-nosed pliers
• thin florist’s wire
• gold-coloured sheet metal
• gold-leaf glue or size
• tissue
• shellac
• gold paper leaf (available from scrapbooking suppliers)

To Make
1 Cut off a piece of pewter, then patina and polish it (see instructions).

2 Trace the rose template onto tracing paper, then transfer onto the pewter. Cut out three sets of petal whorls and one calyx.

3 Use a strong piece of wire to make a hole in the centre of the three petal whorls and the calyx. The stem will be inserted here later.

4 Place the first petal whorl onto a soft cloth with the wrong side facing up. Place the end of a marker or lipstick container in the middle of the whorl and fold the petals around it. Leaving the first petal whorl in place, repeat with the second and third whorls, then add the calyx to form a rose.

5 Use a pair of long-nosed pliers to bend one end of the piece of wire to form a loop. Insert the straight end of the wire into the rose from the top to form the stem.

6 Tightly twist a short length of thin florist’s wire around the stem directly below the rose so the flower won’t slip down the stem. Use pliers to pull the wire really tight.

7 Use a tracer to open the rose petals slightly in order to create a natural flower appearance.

8 Cover the stem with gold-coloured sheet metal. Paint the entire stem with gold-leaf glue or size. Leave to dry for approximately 15 minutes. Carefully lay a piece of sheet metal on top. Press down to secure, then use a tissue to wipe away any excess. Paint with a thin coat of shellac, leave to dry, then wind gold paper leaf around the stem to complete.

NOTE Like fabric, pewter has a right side and a wrong side. The shinier side is not necessarily the front. The back has a blue tint and the front is whiter. If it comes rolled up, the inside is the wrong side.

Text and images: Ideas