It really depends on your sewing experience & what your long term goals for applique would be. If you try precut shapes as suggested, they don't have the seam allowance to turn under. That's fine for machine applique but your post mentions a challenge.
When I'm teaching someone applique, I like to start with needle turn or at least back basting and then I show freezer paper method. There are simple flower patterns that you can try to get the hang of layering fabrics at the same time. I'm self taught, so there are plenty of resources available for free online to help you through the process.
If you're interested, I have some resources on my blog (address below). There's a tab under the title for applique tutorials. A couple videos explain the various methods for tackling basket handles or vines (combined with piecing to make it go quickly) then there are a few basic photos to get you going in the various methods. If you have experience in hand sewing, please start with needle turn. It's really not as difficult as people say it is and you can take it with you anywhere so it goes very quickly.