Precocious Paper Fall Flower Tree Tutorial

Yea!  Finally!!!  The Precocious Paper Fall Flower Tree tutorial!!!

This is a tutorial that was originally included in the Scrapbook News and Review Magazine Halloween newsletters a few weeks back.  Be sure to sign up to receive the SNR newsletters...they're chock full of tips, eye candy, and sometimes tutorials!

Supplies Flowers: Precocious Paper; Paint: Plaid; Styrofoam: FloralCraft; Other: pins, ribbon

This is a fun, easy and versatile idea for a holiday decoration. I say versatile because you can switch out the flower colors and patterns by season if you only temporarily attach the flowers.

Begin by gathering a few supplies:

• Styrofoam cone (9” shown)
• A variety of fabric flowers in various sizes (18 used, from 1” – 3”)
• Paint in a complementary color
• Ribbon in a complementary color/pattern
• Pins

Paint your cone with a color complementary to your flowers. I do this so that if any of the cone ends up showing through after the flowers and ribbon are attached it won’t be so noticeable.

Starting at the bottom of the cone, attach the largest flowers with pins to create the first row, lining up the petals with the bottom of the cone. Overlap the flowers slightly. So that the pins won’t be visible, hide them by inserting into folds of fabric or by lifting topmost petals and inserting through lower petals. For this particular 9” cone, I used five 3” flowers for the bottom row.

 After the bottom row of flowers is attached, wrap coordinating ribbon around the bottom, underneath the flowers, to hide any large gaps. Attach the ribbon with pins also, hiding the pins underneath the flower petals. Repeat by wrapping ribbon just above the flower row, tucking it under the petals and securing with pins.

 Continue alternating rows of flowers and ribbon from the bottom up, overlapping flowers slightly. To finish the tree, attach a small flower to the very top and sprinkle additional smaller flowers throughout, covering up any large gaps.

 I like to use pins to attach the flowers because I can easily readjust the flowers as I go along. And, after the holiday decorations are taken down, I can easily remove the flowers and reuse them on layouts commemorating that holiday. Plus the cone is now ready to be decorated with the next holiday’s flowers.

 If you would rather make a more permanent decoration, simply attach the flowers with glue using a hot glue gun.

 This is such a simple and quick holiday project that it’s a cinch to make several at a time. You can easily create an attractive display with trees of different sizes, colors and patterns.

I am so grateful I get to share what I love doing with all you awesome people out there in bloggy land!!!  Thank you so much for stopping by!!

Ain't Fall Grand?

I want to express gratitude to all the wonderful people who have accepted me and my often quirky crafting style onto their design teams. 

Today I'd like to express particular thanks to Tessa of Precocious Paper.  I am so lucky to be a part of her amazing team, getting to work with her gorgeous flowers, and I am especially lucky to have found such a wonderful friend!  My jaw drops at every one of her creations.  The girl just oozes talent and creativity and she just inspires me to no end.  And then to get to actually hold little works of Tessa art in my hands and create with them??!!!  I am soooo lucky!!!!

This particular layout features her Sewing Pattern Petals. 

Supplies Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye; Flowers: Precocious Paper; Stickers: Jenni Bowlin, Colorbok; Chipboard: Bo Bunny; Brads: My Mind's Eye; Twine: EK Success; Stamp: Autumn Leaves; Ink: Tsukineko; Pen: Zig

I wish you could see this layout IRL.  I used the My Mind's Eye flocked paper and it's just gorgeous.  So touchable!!!

This is a picture taken last month during our trip to California.  My husband's grandmother, 95-year-old Grandma Lu Lu, lives just minutes away from Disneyland so we made sure to visit her.  The last time she saw The Girl she was about a month old!!!  I am so happy that the kids have been able to meet some of their great grandparents during their lives. 

Another project I recently made with EIGHTEEN Precocious Paper flowers was a Fall Flower Tree for the Scrapbook News and Review Halloween newsletter.

Supplies Flowers: Precocious Paper; Paint: Plaid; Styrofoam: FloralCraft; Other: pins, ribbon

This bad boy features Black Lace and Felt Flowers,  Orange Bridal Satin Blossoms, Halloween Shimmer Rolled Fabric Flowers, and the Halloween Bouquet of Fabric and Felt Flowers.

If you missed the tutorial on how to make this little cutie in the Scrapbook News and Review newsletter, stay tuned to this blog this weekend for a rerun.  Click HERE to sign up for the SNR newsletters.  They're full of great eye candy and information.  Of course, IMHO you really should subscribe to the magazine, too.  Especially this month!  It's a special double issue with over 500 pieces of artwork, projects, tutorials, and articles!!!!

Be sure to check out the Precocious Paper blog for some additional and very gorgeous inspiration from other members of the DT!!

Hope you have fun plans for the weekend.  Tomorrow is The Girl's birthday party at one of those bouncy places.  I'm liking this having their birthday parties outside the home!!!!

Live the Life You've Imagined...Happy

Happy Hump Day!

I've recently discovered a great new website called Memories Always-Forever. It's full of fun challenges (you know I can't pass that up!), a place to upload your projects and peruse those of other majorly talented contributors, and connect with other crafty people.

They just had a card sketch challenge using this sketch:

Aaaaaaand, here's where I took it:

I had so much fun making this. It's seriously much more impressive IRL. I hate how the camera flattens an image. You know, I've been holding on to that Basic Grey Obscure 6x6 pad forever but just recently discovered how so "me" it is. I L-O-V-E it!

For the two framed areas on the sketch I scribbled/scratched frame outlines. Then I went over them with an embossing pen and then covered them with UTEE a couple of times so there are clear, bubbley, melty, raised frames. The sentiment is stamped on a transparency and then I plopped it on top of the UTEE while it was still hot to "glue" the transparency down. (Here's a little tip...molten UTEE is H-O-T! Use tweezers if you're going to set something down into it. Don't learn the hard way like I did. Trust me, you won't do it twice.) I also "glued" down in the UTEE a couple of transistors. I've been holding on to those babies for ages, too. It's fun discovering the treasures you have organized away over the years. I have some really cool stuff.

~title detail~

For the scalloped area I created a frame with some old Heidi Swapp printed tape - this one is some sort of measuring device. Unfortunately, I have no idea where I got the camera eyelet but I'm glad I discovered those in my stash, too.

The tickets, sentiment, and the umbrella man (notice he's shadow stamped, too?) are all Tim Holtz stamps. That man is wicked talented, eh?

~stamps detail~

Details: Basic Grey paper; Tim Holtz stamps; JudiKins transparency; StazOn & VersaMark ink; Zig Millenium pen & Emboss Writer; Ranger UTEE; Heidi Swapp tape; unknown transistors & eyelet.

This month's Guest Design Team challenge for Unity Stamp Co. was to use a stamp from either the May or June Kit of the Month and this sketch:

I felt like stepping out of the box, so to speak, so I went round instead with a paper mache round hanger:

I thought I'd like to do something really playful so I grabbed my current go-to fun papers from the American Craft Teen collection. It's hard to see in the pic but some of the hearts are glazed and a little bit sparkly. I used a checkerboard pattern for the wide horizontal band on the sketch and cut out a squiggle for the smaller band bisecting it.

The Unity stamp I used was the June KOTM "happy" banner.

I told you you'd be seeing the fan fold flowers again soon! These are also made with the AC Teen papers and are topped off with some Around the Block brads. I backed them with some turquoise floss to make them seem just that much more festive.

And now, of course, I must address the pink elephant in the room - the fuschia feather trim. Oh. My. Gawd. It was like some exotic bird exploded when I cut that trim! There were fuschia feathers floating in the air for hours! I attached it to the hanger with Sticky Strips.

Details - American Craft paper; Unity Stamp Co. stamp; Ink - StazOn, Stampin' Up!; Brads - Around the Block, Stampin' Up!; Stickles; DMC floss; MSI paper mache hanger; Target boa trim; Offray ribbon; Sticky Strips tape.

Hope you enjoyed my creations for the day.

Stay tuned tomorrow for some possibly exciting news.

Have a good evening!

Heidi

You Light Up My Life wall hanging

The weekly challenge over on Vintage Plum is to make a wall or door hanging.

This little cutie is full of gorgeous Sassafras Lass and Unity Stamp Company goodness.

OK, I'm sure this is no big feat for some of you but I am so impressed with the turquoise fringe that I made for this. (Yea, I'm a dork. LOL.)

The frame is a Cricut Storybook diecut. It's first cut in chipboard (frozen pizza box) with my deep blade housing.

Details: Paper - Sassafras Lass, K & Company, The Paper Company; Stamps - Unity Stamp Co. June KOTM & Shine On!, Technique Tuesday; SU! ink; Cricut diecut; SEI brads & buttons; beads; floss; ribbon; thread.

TFL!

Heidi