Templates are basically a set of pre cut shapes made out of possibly cardboard, something a bit firm so you can easily manipulate. First you get a patter of a flower maybe a rose and you cut the templates as instructed. Let’s take a rose for instance with a template example. There are say fifteen (15) full petals for the main rose, three (3) petals for the center of the rose, the outer row will consist of seven (7) petals and five (5) petals for the second row of the flower. So now that you have the dimensions of the rose you want to create, decide on how many roses you want to make then cut each of the above materials for the number or roses you want.
It is also a good idea to cut all your materials for each flower so it will be easier when you start to put them together. So you will not only cut the roses from the template that you have made but also the stems and leaves, which you will be using. You can also use a template for your different sizes of leaves. This will really give the product a professional finish, because they will all be the same or as close as they can be.
You can make a template for any flower that you would like to create; all it really needs is some form of dimensions to guide along the right track. You do not have to go out and buy templates you can draw them from a picture in a book or a magazine. If you are not very artistic you can always use tracing paper to draw the outline of your template.
When cutting leaves for templates remember always to duplicate the amount you are going to use because these have to be used in pairs, one on top of the other for a firmer finish. Also one side of the leaf goes on top of the wire and the other side goes on the bottom, so the wire in the middle becomes the stem to connect the leaves to the flower.
