Bubblewrap flowers!

Oh yeah, I said it! I know that so many scrappers out there use bubblewrap to stamp cool patterns on their work. I'm here asking, WHY not actually include the bubblewrap on your pages? Huh? Well, it is super easy to whip up bubblewrap flowers. The technique is something seen in many tutorials, the only difference is that you're using bubblewrap instead of paper, ribbon, or fabric. Beause of this, I will go ahead and make a step by step tutorial for them. Are you READY!!!!! OK!

You will need:

* Bubblewrap
* Paint
* Fabri Tac from Beacon Adhesives
* Gemstones, or alternate desired flower center


Step 1.)
Begin by painting the bubble wrap. You want to paint the flat side, not the side with the air pockets. The reason for this is simple. The flat side will dry faster. Imagine the bubble side, with it's bumpy, rough texture, which takes far longer for paint to dry on! When it is dry, cut the bubblewrap into strips. My strips are approximately 9" in length and about a half inch in width.






Step 2.)
You painted on the flat side, but want to roll on the bubble side, if that makes any sense at all. Hold the strip bubble side up, and roll a bit of one end up into a ball. Apply a little glue to this, and then continue to wrap the strip around itself. You can twist this, from bubble side up to flat side, if you want to. The goal here is to get a nice flower shape. Apply glue as you go, to keep the flower in place as you roll..






Step 3.)
When you finish, add a teeny drop of glue to the center, and apply your rhinestone or other flower center. Allow these to set for at least an hour before you use them on a project!






So, what are these fun flowers good for? Well, the texture and cool look lend themselves to fun, bright pages. I can see blue and orange ones on summer pages, and dark blue, white, and clear(unpainted) on winter pages. It's really up to you. Have fun with them! Do you think you'll try these out? Please let me know!

Ruffled Romance flower tutorial!

I've got a new flower tutorial for you! They are fabric, and pretty easy to do. I also have to tell you that my great friend Wendy (WendyG-SA on sb.com) also came up with these flowers the same weekend I did. LOL, great minds think alike! We both saw a Prima flower and decided to make our own. She does hers differently, and can get more petals per flower. So, I have told her to do a tutorial as well showing her method. If she does, I'll link it up here.( UPDATE! HERE is Wendy's tutorial!)
Here are my flowers:





To make these flowers you will need:

* Fabric circles, a little bigger than a golf ball in size.
(You can try other sizes too!)
* Chipboard sheets
* Fabri Tac OR 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue, both from Beacon Adhesives
* Assorted beads, buttons, flower centers

Step 1.)
Cut your circles out of the desired fabric. The great part about this flower, is that the circle DOES NOT need to be perfect. Just pick up the fabric and cut it, it's that simple! You will need five circles per flower to make my five-petal blooms.




Step 2.)
Pick up a circle, apply a bit of glue in the center, and fold it in half. Press and hold it together a few seconds.



Step 3.)
Now apply a drop a glue to the center of this half circle, and fold over again. You will have a pie piece shape. Again, hold this together with your fingers for several seconds. Make five petals just like this.






Step 4.)
Now build your flower. Apply a circle of glue, about the size of a nickel, to the chipboard sheet. Place the pointed tip of a petal on the glue. Add the other petals next to it, pressing into the glue and slightly overlapping the edges of each one.







Step 5.)
Apply a bit of glue to the center, and apply your beads, gemstones, or buttons. Allow these to set for awhile, and then cut the flower from the chipboard sheet.




That's it, pretty easy right! Is this a flower you will try on your own? I think they look great on layouts. Have a look at a few I've done with them:

Can I get a "WOOOOHOOOOOO"!!??

Because I have NEWS! I'm so happy and proud to tell you I am a DT member for Gauche Alchemy!! YAY! Have a lookie here to see the amazing gals on this team. We are for sure going to tear into our kits with gusto and inspire you! So be on the lookout for Gauche Alchemy news, kits, and projects here on my blog and on Facebook. (Not my friend on FB? Go on and add me, my badge is just to your right, and I won't bite you. I may ink you. But I won't bite you... LOL!)

My flower RAK winner is......

DYnKY:

"Congrats on the BIG 100!!
Love this...well, I've grown to love all your cool handmade flowers!! Thanks for the cool tutorials!! "


Congratulations!! Please email your address to me and I'll get some flowers out to you ASAP! byondbzr@yahoo.com

Ruffled lace/ribbon trim

I like the look of those fancy trims that some companies out there are selling. You know the ones that look like bundled roses? That's what I tried to recreate with lace and glue. I like the finished product, and it cost me only one dollar's worth of lace to make. Here's the finished trim, on a layout:



Does it look similar to those trims? Well, I think so! If you like it, and want to whip one up yourself read on!

You will need:
*Lace or ribbon, amount varies on the length you want your trim to be.
*Fabri Tac
*Chipboard

Step 1.) Cut a piece of lace and glue it onto chipboard. The length is entirely up to you. Be sure you make the glue strip thin, and adhere the middle of the lace right onto it. This way, when you cut it out you won't see the chipboard backing. Cut many more pieces of lace, all around five inches in length. These will be the blooms.




Step 2.) Roll the blooms! Start with one end of a five inch strip of lace, and begin wrapping it around itself. Add a bit of glue as you go to help keep it together. When you get to the end, glue it to your bloom.







Step 3.) Apply a bit of glue in the middle of the lace and press your bloom onto it. Press down right through the middle of it, and hold this in place for several seconds. Then, continue making blooms and putting them on the trim until you reach the length you want.





Step 4.) Cut the trim out of the cardboard and use it!

100th post, tutorial, and a RAK!

Are you going to wish me a "Happy 100th blog post Rebecca!"? LOL! I can't believe I finally hit 100, it has taken me quite awhile. Perhaps the next 100 will go by much more quickly. Anyhow, in order to celebrate I'm sending out a RAK! Just comment on this post and let me know how you feel about my tutorials. Wanna see more, or not? Anything you want to see? I'll randomly draw a winner on Monday, July 12. Winner will get an assortment of my handmade flowers!

With that out of the way, I've got a tute to share with you today! I don't know what to call them, perhaps "Wrapped Ribbon Flowers"...Or something, LOL. You will need:

*Ribbon or twine
*Fabri Tac
*Cardboard/chipboard sheets
*Bling, buttons, pearls, etc.
*Scissors

Step 1.) Cut ribbon into approximately two foot lengths.




Step 2.) Lay ribbon across your three middle fingers, allowing a few inches to hang over. Start wrapping the rest of the ribbon around your three middle fingers. You want to count the amount of times you wrap around. Try to go around 7 or 8 times. You should have about a 3-4 inch length left of your ribbon. I'll call this the tail.





Step 3.) Now, carefully slide the wrapped ribbon off of your fingers. Take the remaining tail of ribbon, find the loop it belongs too, and tie it off, around all the other loops. Be sure you have the right loop, and try not to lose any of the loops during this step. You also want the loops to all be around the same size.





Step 4.) Lay your bundle of loops on your table, and begin unfurling the loops. You want to shape them into a flowery shape.





Step 5.) Apply a circle of Fabri Tac onto your cardboard/chipboard sheet. Press the flower onto it, and hold down.




Step 6.) Apply your flower center, and cut the flowers out of the cardboard/chipboard sheeting.






This works great with thick twine as well. You can paint the flowers when finished if desired. This is more for masculine/heritage projects.





I used these, and a hair scrunchie flower, on this layout:



Do you likey? Hope so! Now, don't forget to comment here to be in for a chance at a RAK of my homemade flowers. You'll get a great assortment!