These hollyhocks can also be made with small pre cut five petal paper petals from the vendors listed on the first page of the instructions. Hollyhock petals should be punched from white, yellow, apricot, pink, or purple papers.
Prepare the Flower Centers - the centers of the hollyhocks are made from short lengths of green sewing thread dipped in yellow acrylic paint. Set these aside to dry while you prepare the petals.
Punch and Shape the Flower Petals - The hollyhock flowers are made using the smallest five lobed flower punch shapes from the commercial punch shown. I punch them holding the punch upside down so I can see the location of the shapes I need and punch only those small shapes, not all three sizes available. Shape each flower by pressing the petal gently in the center using a paper embossing tool or a rounded toothpick or empty ball point pen. You can press right through the center of the flower petal if you wish as you will need a hole for the flower center.
Assemble the Flowers - Place a tiny bit of PVA (white) glue on the base of the yellow flower center you made in the first step. Insert the flower center through the base of the shaped petal and use tweezers to press the petal to the center just below the yellow paint. Set the flowers and their stems aside to dry.
Prepare the Flower Stalks - Cut 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inch lengths of fine paper covered wire (#28 or #30). Use a toothpick or pin to apply small dots of glue around the upper third of the wire, leaving space between the dots. Dip the stalk in small green (if possible) No Hole Beads or small balls of bead styrofoam, or small balls made from polymer or air dry clay. (see photo) Set the stalk aside to dry. When the beads are dry in place, knock off any extra beads (you need three to four per flower cluster) and paint the beads green if necessary to match the color of the stalk. Paint one or two beads in each cluster with colored paint to match the color of your hollyhock petals or dip the stalk into colored no hole beads to make small flower buds.
Prepare the Leaves - Cut out small oak leaves from green paper and trim the base to make them look more like ivy or large geranium leaves similar to those found on hollyhocks. If you wish you can order small ivy leaves from vendors pre punched, or punch leaves from a small ivy punch if you can find one. Brass ivy leaves can also be used in the correct scale. Cut out some small slivers of paper (or even smaller ivy leaves) to use as leaves with the flower clusters.
Assemble the Hollyhocks - When all the section are dry, glue a flower or two and a tiny leaf to each group of beads, Glue four or five leaves down the stem to within 1/4 inch of the bottom of the stalk. Set the hollyhocks aside to dry.
