Paper Flower Tutorial – PART 4

The repeating pattern on these lovely blooms make me want to fold little squares of paper all night!

MODIFIED JAPANESE KUSUDAMA FLOWERS

Years ago, I used to teach dance – ballet, tap and jazz.  At the end of each year, I would fold paper flowers for my students as a little congratulations for all they had accomplished that year.  I can still remember spending may nights with bright paper trying to figure out origami folds (and getting a few paper cuts too). I was always facinated to see how such geometric folding patterns could be used to create some really organic looking shapes!  So naturally, I decided to see what I could find in the world of paper folding for our floral tutorial series.

Today, I wanted to start by sharing a link with you to a great flower tutorial, and then share with you a way I modified it to use on a flat surface. This beauty,  the Japanese Kusudama flower over at Folding Trees, is a great way to create beautiful flowers for a home decor or altered item project.  But if you need something that will lay a little flatter, try this modification that I came up with:

Made with 5 -2" squares, this makes a great addition to a card or scrapbook layout.

Oh, and don’t forget to come by tomorrow for the last day of our tutorial series.  Let’s just say – it will be worth the wait!

A PDF version of this tutorial will be available soon!  Please check back for updates.

A little caffeine fix

So, here’s the thing – we recently attended the wedding of a couple of friends, and we were struggling a bit with what to buy for them.  I decided that maybe it would be fun to make them something, but I wasn’t sure what might be appropriate for a homemade wedding gift.  I had a look at their gift registry (which no one seemed to purchase from…so weird), and realized they had selected a number of frames.  ”Ah-ha,” I thought! “A frame I can do”.

But then there came the “style” struggle.  How could I embellish it in a way that was meaningful for them as a couple, and yet still appropriate (the groom has a bit of a questionable sense of humour…I’ll leave it at that).  One of the things that stuck out in my mind was that Starbucks held meaning for the two of them – they had their first date there, and the groom had actually proposed to the bride by having the Starbucks employees write the question up on the menu board.  So, I put my crafty thinking cap on, and realized that I just might be able to use this caffeine addiction for the frame in a neat way.  So, after a trip to my local Starbucks and a bit of crafting time, here’s what I came up with:

All parts of the flowers are made from the hot beverage containers, and the leaves were made from the clear beverage containers (making sure to include the logo for colour).  I used the “hole plugging thing-a-majigs” to add a bit of dimension, and a clear lid to prop up the flowers a bit on the bottom of the frame.  

So, what do you think?  The bride and groom seemed to really like the frame, and I guess in the end, that’s what really matters, right?

Have you ever made a home-made gift for a wedding?  How was it received?

One last Glossy Accents tip – for now anyway! ;)

I told you it was an addiction!  And since I can’t get enough of the stuff, I figured I would try one last time to pull some of you down with me.  So if spicing up letters and adding some punch to paper wasn’t enough for you, why not try making some cute faux buttons???

Recently, I’ve been working on an album for my inlaws and decided to use some bird-themed paper I picked up from Ms (Recollection’s “Birdwatching” collection).  I had one sheet of paper that I wasn’t totally sold on, so I thought I would see if I could punch it up a bit. So out came the Glossy Accents, using it in a few places to play up one of the designs on the paper.

Then I started thinking – what I really need are some matching embellishments, so I used a simple circle punch, some ink and my Glossy Accents to create some faux buttons.  Here’s how:

Step 1

Step 1 - punch paper and chipboard

Using a punch or other crafty tool, punch out circles from paper and chipboard.  For these buttons, I actually cheated and used a cereal box for my chipboard because I wasn’t worried about them coming in contact with the pictures on the page. I also inked up the edges a bit to add more dimension to the paper, but this step is totally optional – your buttons will still be great!

Step 2

Step 2 - place on sticky surface and cover with GA

I glued my paper circles on to the chipboard, and then placed them on a sticky mat (in this case, an older Cricut mat).  This will help you keep them in place while you apply your Glossy Accents without you having to worry about handling the “buttins to be” and getting medium all over the place (like I did the other day and had to spend 10 minutes with a spatula scraping it off of the kitchen table – I love the stuff, but not that much!).  Then simply apply the Glossy Accents in a thick layer.  Let dry.  Reapply if desired for a “thicker” button.

Step 3

Step 3 - punch out button holes

Using an eyelet punch (I use my smallest setting head), punch two holes evenly spaced apart in the center of your circle for the two button holes.  Depending on how thick your GA was applied, you may have to give it a few good “whacks” to punch the holes.  It’s a great way to get our some frustration, so you’ll end up with less stress AND a super cute button for all your efforts!

TADA!!!!

Tada - the finished buttons!

Okay seriously, aren’t these cute?  You can use up a bunch of scrap paper and make a whole bunch at once!

So that’s it for my TCT (thrifty crafty tip) for today!  Let me know if you think you might try it!

Happy Canada Day!

Welcome to our first ever CropChocolate unofficial blog hop!  What better way to celebrate Canada Day (well, besides a great BBQ)!

Jasmine's Blog Candy - don't forget to leave a comment!

If you have arrived here after visiting all of the posts – congratulations!  You’ve made it to the end.  If you just happened to stop by this post, make sure you go back and start at the beginning of this fun hop with Jasmine’s amazing post.  Why?  Well, because I said so <she says in her mother’s voice.  ugh…scary!>.  If that isn’t enough of a reason, Jasmine has donated some great blog candy that we will give away randomly to one lucky person who takes the train for a full ride and leaves a comment at each stop!  So if you need to, visit Jasmine’s blog here!

So, now that the official business on this unofficial blog hop is taken care of, I wanted to share a little tip for you all.  Earlier this week, I posted a message about my new addiction – Glossy Accents.  I think I promised you a video with a tip on how you can use the product to make letters for titles on layouts or cards pop.  Well, due to some technical difficulties (and by technical, I mean a dead battery on the video camera ), the video is out for today!  But I still did want to share the tip so I pulled out my trusty camera (which also has a dying battery I might add), to take you through the steps.

Step 1  - Cut out letter

Step 1 - Opposites Attract letter cut out at 3/4" on Bazzill Basics "Rain" paper

Step 1 is really that easy!  Just get yourself a letter that has been cut out of paper in whatever way you can.

Step 2 – Ink Edges (optional)

Step 2 - Ink edges of letter

This is an optional step, but adds a nice dimension to the letter.  Just take some water based ink (I used the Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Broken China), and ink up the edges by either using an applicator or simply running the ink pad along the edges of the letter.  I like to use a water-based ink for this step so the ink bleeds a bit when I add the Glossy Accents.  Speaking of adding the Glossy Accents…

Step 3 – Add Glossy Accents

Step 3 - Add Glossy Accents to top surface of letter

For this step, I actually start by placing the letter down on a Cricut mat.  These mats are sticky and allow me to place the letter down in one spot and apply the Glossy Accents without having to handle it with my fingers.  Having said that, it never saves me from getting the stuff on my fingers, but it does prevent me from leaving fingerprints on the letters!  Using the great applicator tip, just squeeze out the Glossy Accents and rub onto the surface of your letter (your applicator tip might get clogged, but just use a pin to get the medium flowing).  Feel free to add a thick coat – it dries pretty quickly and it will give you letter a really great domed effect.  Oh, and once it is dry, you can actually add another layer on top for even more dimension!  The GA will go on cloudy, but will dry completely clear and shiny!

Step 4 – Wait patiently for your letter to dry

The before and after shot

This isn’t the greatest picture (I was trying to capture the shine and dimension for you), but you can see the difference in the two letters.  The great thing about this technique is you can use it on titles you might already have down on a page if they seem to be fading off into the background paper (minus the inking of the edges) and the letters will pop right off the page!

So that’s it for my tip today, and for our first unofficial CC blog hop today – I hope you were inspired along the way! Remember to leave a comment below – we will announce our winner on July 4th (just to add to the excitement for our Southern friends). Oh, and don’t be sad; there is more fun to be had tomorrow!  Make sure to visit again for more great projects from our CC friends, and even some more blog candy!