All About Poppies!

It's Stefanie's birthday month and since poppies are the birth flower for the month of August...what is more fitting than to have this month's specialty dyeing blog all about poppies!! We have so many sola wood flower styles to choose from to create beautiful versions of this versatile flower. Here is a guide to get you started!

Traditional Varieties

OYL Flower: Poppy (what better way to start than the style we named after a traditional poppy!)

Painting Technique: Dip Dye and Hand Paint.

• Use the dip dye method to get your flower fully covered in your red paint (for this flower, we used FolkArt "Engine Red"). Once the flower is mostly or fully dry, use a paintbrush to apply black paint to the center.

OYL Flower: Mature Poppy 

Painting Technique: Dip Dye and Hand Paint.

• Use the dip dye method to get your flower fully covered in your red paint (for this flower, we used craft smart "Crimson"). Once the flower is mostly or fully dry, use a paintbrush to apply black paint** to the center.
• **Since the centers of these flowers are longer and a little trickier to paint, we suggest adding a small amount of water to your black paint so it is able to easily slide down the center spikey part towards the center of the flower.

OYL Flower: Mona Lisa (pictured) or Belle

Painting Technique: Dip Dye and Spin Method.

• Gently flip the petals away from the center of the flower. It will look a little like a shuttlecock/birdie!
• Dip the center section into a mixture of black paint/water/glycerin.
• Once dry, gently pull the petals back around the center area.

• Use the spin method to add your red (for this flower, we used FolkArt "Lipstick Red"! Mix your red paint with water/glycerine in one container. While holding the center of the flower, turn it on its side and dip in the paint mixture. Spin the flower until every side has paint on it. Once you turn the flower upright, the paint should flow to the center section and cover any remaining raw spots.

Poppy with a White Center

OYL Flower: Ginger

Flower Morphing Technique: Sometimes the flower you want to replicate takes a little bit of extra craftiness. The ginger has the perfect petals and center swirl but the center wispies are a little too long. To change that up, simply cut the wispy pieces down to size!

Painting Technique: Spin method (outer petals) and hand painted (centers)

• Use the spin method to add your red (for this flower, we used craft smart "Cherry Cobbler"! Mix your red paint with water/glycerine in one container. While holding the center of the flower, turn it on its side and dip in the paint mixture. Spin the flower until every side has paint on it but make sure the center remains white. 
• For the center, dab your paint brush in black and hand paint. 

Non-Traditional Color Poppies

OYL Flower: Charleston (pictured) or Belle

Painting Technique: Dip Dye and Hand Paint.

• Use the dip dye method to get your flower fully covered in your red paint (for this flower, we used FolkArt "Crushed Coral"). Once the flower is mostly or fully dry, use a paintbrush to apply black paint** to the center.
• **Since the centers of these flowers are longer and a little trickier to paint, we suggest adding a small amount of water to your black paint so it is able to easily slide down the center spikey part towards the center of the flower.

Icelandic Poppies

OYL Flower: Charleston (pictured) or Belle

Painting Technique: Dip Dye/Spray Paint and Hand Paint.

• The outer petals:
• For the white poppy - Use the dip dye method to paint your flower white. The paint we used was FolkArt "Pure Artist Pigment Titanium White."
• For the orange poppy - Use the spin method to add your orange (for this flower, we used FolkArt "Hot Saffron"! Mix your paint with water/glycerine in one container. While holding the center of the flower, turn it on its side and dip in the paint mixture. Spin the flower until every side has paint on it but make sure the center remains white. 
• For the pink poppy - Spritz with a water/glycerin mixture first and then spray paint with Design Master "Fuschia Bright," making sure to keep the center raw/white.
• The center:
• For all - Dab your paint brush in yellow (we used craft smart "Yellow") and hand paint the centers. Once you have the yellow on, dab a separate paint brush in green (we used craft smart "Celery") and add that to the centermost section.

The Full Collection

There are so many beautiful poppy styles and so many versions of our sola wood flowers to use to make them! We look forward to seeing what you create with them this month and all year long!

Happy painting!