Monday 15 February 2010

Grungepaper Flower Tutorial

Hi everyone. My name is Sarah and this is my first contribution to Inspirational Tips, Techniques and Tutorials.

This is my tutorial for making Grungepaper flowers. Grungepapr is a thinner version of Grungeboard as used by Tim Holtz.




I bought the Grungepaper from Craft Obsessions. It is used by the amazing Tim Holtz who does a lot of altered art. I had the opportunity to watch the man in action at the Trade show at the NEC last year, courtesy of Hotshot crafts. Thank you Sarah. I had a great day there.
This paper is amazing if you haven't come across it yet. Don't mix it up with Grungeboard which is thicker. This paper wont tear or rip but you can cut it with scissors or use it in a Die cutting machine. I use Sizzix Big Shot.
You can also colour it with ink pads, distress inks, stamp on it, emboss it and shape it.


First though I must state that the actual flower tutorial is not my idea. I have merely taken it a step further. The original tutorial is by the amazing Michele Roos.

So now for the tutorial. There are quite a few pictures to help you through, but it is very easy and I am sure you will agree very affective.
1. The items you will need


2. Using Sizzix flowers die cut out 2 large and 4 small flowers. Draw a circle about the size of a 5p in the middle of each one.
3. I have distress inked both sides of the flowers with a lighter shade of green.
4. I then go around the edges with a darker shade, again on both sides.
5. Stamp whatever you wish onto the flowers. I stamp only on one side and I use Versafine ink. I have used a flourish stamp but a sentiment stamp would be nice too.
6. Cut each petal down to the circle you drew on it earlier.
7. Curl the petals. I use Joanna Sheen long tweezers, but you could use a cocktail stick, or pencil. the grungepaper shapes easily.


8.Turn the flowers over and do the same with the other side of the petal
9. Punch a hole in the center of each flower and layer them up as shown
10. Fix with a brad.

11. You could add Stickles glitter for mare sparkle.

12. You could also add a brooch fitting on the back so that you can wear you creation.

13. Why not attach it to a hat, handbag, pair of shoes or necklace.


So there it is. My first contribution to this amazing blog.  What do you think?.
It doesn't take long to make. Putting on this tutorial took longer than making it!!!!
If you have a go or have any questions let me know. I would love to see your creations.
Love Sarah XXX

You can see more of my work at my blog Sarahwrightdesigns.blogspot.com

Sunday 14 February 2010

Ribbon Flowers

Hello everyone. I'm really flattered to be able to contribute to Inspirational Tips and Techniques and so for my first contribution I'd like to show you how to make a folded ribbon flower.


So above, is the finished flower and now I'm sure that you all want to see how I made it.

First you will need to assemble your ingredients:

On my table I had:
4 strips of hot pink satin swiss dot ribbon each measuring 15 cm.
A few buttons. I hadn't yet decided which ones to use. You will need one bigger than the other though.
Cotton
A needle. Use a sharp one.
Start your flower by putting some glue on one end of the ribbon:

Fold it to the centre add glue to the other end and fold that to the centre too. Your ribbon should overlap and form a loop that the glue holds together in the centre.



Once you've done this you can layer up the pieces as seen in the picture below and now you're almost ready to sew them together.

I played around with the buttons that I had on the table and I finally chose a pink and a green button as I liked the way that they looked.


You need to be aware that you are sewing a lot of layers of ribbon together so that's why you will need a sharp needle. I started by sewing just two pieces together to get the position right.


Now layer up the pieces and sew together. Add your buttons and sew together and your flower is ready to go...

This and other tutorials are available on my Craft Fairy blog.

P.S. I take requests for tutorials.