Project: Winter Flowers

I don't know about you, but this is the time of year when I start to think a lot about flowers and gardens and the smell of wet dirt. Winter still powers on for at least another month or two. So one of my solutions is to buy fresh flowers occasionally. Yesterday I was feeling the need for flowers, but I decided to make them myself. I spent all of five minutes making these, a great craft for kids.


Supplies


Fairy not required

Supplies:
Scissors (if working with little ones you will need to do the cutting)
tissue paper
floral wire
a bit of tape or glue or even a rubber band in a matching color

Directions:


Fold your tissue paper over a few times. I made four layers with mine. Then free hand cut some circles. I suppose you could trace circles, but it really isn't necessary, a little imperfection adds to the finished project.


Now take your stack of circles and fold them over a few times.


Unfold them and then wrinkle them up a bit with your hands.



Poke the floral wire through the center and make a little loop at the top. Underneath the flower put your tape, glue or secure a rubber band to keep the petals in place.


Mess it up a bit. I squeezed the paper in my hands and made it look how I wanted.


You can bend the stems or leave them straight. Your call.


Done deal.

Pirates, Green Baby Fingers(or toes), Animals, Flowers

We are off to a slow start to this morning. The last bits of illness are being coughed out in a symphony of hacking between Cordelia and I. We are both feeling fine, but the little bits of cough tend to linger as a phlegmy souvenir of this weekend. I am not really dressed for the day. I am wearing yoga pants and a t-shirt from the Alamarosa truck stop/restaurant. Despite how this may sound I have been super busy this morning and Cordelia has been playing like she's making up for lost time. She only stops briefly to hug or smooch me. Her hugs are always a little overwhelming and I end up with a head butt or a handful of hair missing from my scalp, but who can complain about sweetness at its most intense?

Cordelia wearing a pirate dress and sporting a serious case of bedhead

Elsewhere the house is calm. The sun is streaming in through the open curtains. The cats are lounging downstairs.

Ophelia


Mia

Bumblebee has quietly climbed onto the couch (she knows it is against the rules). I didn't bother to enforce the rules this morning. Bad and inconsistent of me. Shame---or I should feel shame, but generally I feel apathetic. Bum is such a sweet girl that I just don't mind this little indescretion. Ceasar Milan would not approve!

Sneaky Bumblebee

While the animals have been snoozing and Cordelia has been playing I have been crafting tons of flower clips. Why, you may be asking, am I making so many flower clips (see here for the tutorial)? I am so glad you asked. Well, on the 24th of this month my mother and I are going to be participating in our first craft fair with Wyoming Rose goodies. Between the two of us we are crocheting and crafting up a storm!

Pile of flowers

Finally, on a completely unrelated note check out this plant...

This succulent plant is called either baby fingers or baby toes. The translucent tips are where photosynthesis occurs. Cool huh?!

How is your morning going?

Project: Flowers and GIVEAWAY WINNER

I love flowers, a lot. Maybe it is because my middle name is Rose, not really sure. Maybe it is because I can be a bit of a girlie girl. I often wear flowers in my hair. My friend Sarah commented on it the other day. She mentioned that it was my "thing". I shared with her a little secret, I did not invent the trend of flower wearing. So, I invited her over to make some flower clips of her very own. Now, I did not invent the burnt flower technique, but there are many variations on it. I thought I would share with you how I go about it.

Supplies

• Satin fabric. You really don't need a lot. I bought 1/2 a yard of several different colors and I can make about one zillion flowers from this.
• Paper and pencil
• Something round to trace, I used a small cup
  
• Felt square, you won't need much (the vegan in me says to use synthetic felt and not wool felt)
• Needle and thread to either match or contrast your button and/or fabric
• Hair clip
• Candle and something to light it with
• Scissors
• Pinking shears, not necessary, but helpful
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
  
• Buttons
• Beads, glitter, other ephemera (optional)

Directions
First you will need to trace and cut out a circle onto a piece of paper. The finished flower will be about one to two inches smaller than the circle you trace.



Take your satin fabric and fold it several times, you will want 6-8 circles. Pin your paper circle to the top of the folded fabric.



After you have cut out your circles you can remove the paper and pin. Hold your stack-o-circles in one hand and cut at an angle into the center to create the petals. Be careful not to cut all the way to the center, you will need an area to sew them together in a bit. I think I cut about 5 petals, but you can experiment and see what you like.



Now it's time to add an element of danger to this. Who needs safe crafting right? Grab your candle and light it. I do this next to the sink in case things get out of hand. Just use common sense and don't set yourself, your home, or anything else ablaze please.



Grab your circles of fabric one at a time and hold each petal to the flame, but not actually touching the fire. The fabric will curl away from the flame and darken. Note that if you have pre-washed the satin it may react a little differently to the fire and burn a bit more easily. You can play around a bit here and see how holding the circle at different angles results in different effects.



Once you are happy with each circle you can stack them back into a pile (once the risk of fire has passed). Blow out your candle and move over to your button stash.



Choose a button to go with your flower. Sew the button to the pile of circles. Once the button is secured and the flower is stable you are ready to finish this flower up.



Set your flower aside for a moment (you can take a second to admire your handiwork if you like). Grab your felt and cut a rectangle that is about the same width and length as your hair clip. I used the pinking shears to cut it out. This is also a good time to note that you will want your flower to be slightly larger than the clip, if it is small you can just make two flowers to attach to the clip.

When you have a rectangle of felt cut out you fold it in half lengthwise and snip it twice in the middle, don't cut all the way through, the idea is to make some slits.



Slide the top of your clip through the slits you just cut.



Now use your hot glue gun to adhere the flower(s) to the felt and the pin. Now you can add beads to the button top, some glitter, a little bee, whatever strikes your fancy.You're done!



They make great hair clips, but you are really limited only by your imagination. I can think of many places that I might need flowers (presents, decoration, headbands, necklaces, wristlets, shoes, bags, etc).


Crazy excited about her flower



Go forth and have a creative weekend. If you make these I'd love to see what you come up with, just send me a link.



GIVEAWAY WINNER!
The winner was chosen by way of the random number generator and the winner is...
AKM! Congratulations and please contact me to ensure that I have your mailing address.

Stay tuned I have some big giveaway plans in the not too distant future.