Sunday, February 13, 2011

Shabby Flower Tutorial & a Winter Wreath!

It's a beautiful Sunday in my neck of the woods today & I hope it is where you are also! For the past several weeks we have been dealing with A LOT of snow & I am so very glad to see it warming up...we are even supposed to get into the mid 70's later this week - yay! However, it's still technically winter so I wanted to share a winter themed wreath I whipped up for the Your Memories Here DT this week. I'm also gonna share with you a lil' tutorial on how to make these gorgeous shabby flowers as well. So get ready for some fun...& a kind of lengthy post!


I have been noticing a lot of these yarn wreaths in the blogosphere lately & wanted to try my hand at one. I had this gray yarn sitting around for a scarf I was gonna make for our fur baby (yes, doggies need scarves too!) & decided to use it. BTW, I love gray...everything gray! Dark gray, light gray, heather gray, gray sweatshirts, gray sweatpants, gray t-shirts...bring on the gray! Silly I know, but that's just me! I picked up the 12" foam wreath form for a buck at my local $ Tree & that is pretty much all that this wreath cost me since I had all the other items on hand...cool, huh?! Also, all of the paper I used was leftover from other YMH projects...a perfect project for scraps! A gal can never go wrong with cheap, fabulous home decor!! To make the wreath, I simply wrapped yarn around the wreath frame, making sure to keep it taut, & secured it at the end. Very simple. I did use my Tattered Angels glimmer mist to dye the Prima lace that lovely shade of orange & that tulle, which was recycled from a past gift, used to be a crisp white until I made it that fab grungy color, again using my much loved & adored glimmer mists!


The inspiration for the handmade shabby flowers came when I stumbled upon this blog HERE. It was totally by accident that I discovered Irene's blog, Crafty Girls Workshop, & that the first post I seen was for these gorgeous flowers! I knew right off the bat that I would be making these & they would be going on this wreath. I came up with my own little tutorial to share with you crafty peeps, but do take the time to visit Irene's blog HERE...you will definitely be glad you did because she has some awesome ideas!


Step 1 - Cut 8, 3" circles out of double sided patterned paper ( i went ahead & distressed mine in the pic & for some of the flowers I also used 2" circles.)

Step 2 - Layer them, poke a hole in the center, & add a brad (you won't see it so any will do!)

Step 3 - In the sink, starting w/the 1st layer, wet the paper & begin to crumple it. Work from the top to the bottom until you get it all ruffly & tight..just like a flower bud.

Step 4 - Now that it is all crumpled, let it dry for a bit, at least a 1/2 hour or so.

Step 5 - Now that it has dried a bit, start to shape the flower very carefully by unfolding some of the layers until you achieve the effect you want. Now, you get to let it dry some more!

Step 6 - Once it is dry, which will take a full 24 hours, you can add some glimmer mist to accent those gorgeous layers you've got going on. It should be noted I went ahead & sprayed on my glimmer mist while the flowers were still wet. I figured since they were already wet, why add more drying time! It worked like a charm, but I definitely recommend making these flowers at least 1 day in  advance of a project. Definitely not a last minute embellishment due to the length of drying time & patience required! Also, trying to speed up the drying time using a hairdryer doesn't really work too well. I tried it & failed so you don't have too...LOL!! All the flowers were attached with a hot glue gun as well...those babies aren't goin' anywhere! ;)


Supplies
Patterned Paper/Crystals/Lace - Prima
Glimmer Mist & Glimmer Glam - Tattered Angels (orange, fall breeze, & sand)
Additional Patterned Paper - SEI & Pebbles, Inc.
Crackle Accents/Distress Ink - Ranger
Chipboard - Melody Ross
Decorative Pins - Jillibean Soup
Yarn/Tulle/Adhesives - Stash


I have to admit, I just LOVE how these flowers turned out! Even my hubby & son thought they were pretty cool, which says a lot! The kiddo of course loved the whole crackle technique I used on the butterfly...kinda like magic the way it works! I can't wait to make some more of these because they really were simple & would look beautiful on some cards or layouts. And speaking of cards and layouts, don't forget to visit the YMH DT blog for some fab inspiration! The DT gals have really been making some great projects, including home decor items, using lots of new Prima goodies! And if you want to get some of the items I used in my wreath, simply visit the YMH Store! There are some gorgeous Prima, Tattered Angels, SEI & Pebbles, Inc. products there for you to check out. Plus, there is always a sale going & more new goodies coming in every day... especially since so much fun stuff was just released at CHA!


Make sure to check back soon for another PIO post & later this week for something I'm "cookin'" up for AiFactory! Until then, Happy Craftin'!!!!

Linking up to this rockin' challenge!

Moxie Fab World - Shimmer Sprays Challenge

I'm also linking my wreath up to the following link parties!

Show and Tell Green


Join  us Saturdays at tatertotsandjello.com for the weekend wrap 
 up           party!


giveaways

HouseofHepworths
Transformation Thursday

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I like the addition of the hat pins very cute.

Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Editor said...

Hey Crystal! Thanks for entering the Stamping with Shimmer Sprays Challenge in the Moxie Fab World! I'm so glad you joined in on all the fun! :)

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