Rolled flower tutorial

I've had a few people ask me how I made the rolled flowers I use on some of my gift bags (most recently the favour box from my previous post), so I thought I'd throw together a quick photo tutorial. There are lots of other tutorials out there, some even using this new fangled video technology, but this is my crack at it :)

Step One:
Cut or punch a circle out of your desired cardstock. I used the 2 1/2" circle punch.

Step 2:
Draw a large, scallop flower type shape (I have used pen here so it is easy to see, you would ideally do this lightly in pencil), spiraling in towards the centre of the circle.  Leave a small circle in the centre - you will use this to attach the flower once rolled.

Step 3: Cut around your lines to create a spiral shape - remember to leave a small circle in the middle. Once you have your spiral you can sponge the edges to colour your flower and give it some depth (I haven't done this step in these photos)

Step 4:
Start to roll your spiral, from the outer edge of the circle to the middle. It may be helpful to use a toothpick or similar to get started. You want to roll it fairly tightly to start with. Once you reach the centre you can relax the flower and unroll until you get the look you desire.

Step 5:
Once you have rolled your spiral as tight (or loose) as you want it, you will need to secure it to the small circle you left in the middle. I find a hot glue gun works best, but you could use sticky strip, glue dots or even crystal effects - if you have the time to hold it in place until it dries :)
Once you've secured your flower you can embellish it with extra inking, a pearl or rhinestone in the centre, some glimmer mist, a brad.. anything you like!

So there you go... I hope it was easy enough to understand, and I hope you have fun making heaps of pretty, rolled flowers! Make sure you send me links to you photos if you do make some :)

The Paper Players #81 - Flowers!

As happens after every visit from Mr Postman - I've been on a creative bender! This project uses four of my new toys, and my latest obsession, Rolled Flowers!!

I used the Fancy Favour die to make a little gift bag for a friend (did the "my friend" stamp give it away?) and added the very subtle En Francais in the background, some gorgeous seam binding ribbon, and 3 cute little rolled roses. I thought using the flowers in a group really stands out and makes a point of the theme at The Paper Players this week - FLOWERS!! Why don't you head over and check out the other awesome creations :)

Random Creations

I have found it almost impossible to get any crafting done while John has been away! I usually get some things done once all the kids are in bed, but I've been soooo tired I haven't even bothered opening my stamp cupboard. Except to make these:

I managed to meet one of the Stampin' Up! goals for new demos, so I got to choose 3 free stamp sets!! I wanted to get the Jolly Bingo Bits set anyway, so that was the first on my list! The postie came earlier this week, so I just had to have a little play :)



I found the tutorial for the tea bag caddy a while ago on Andrea Walford's site, but hadn't gotten around to making it. My bestie is having her baby in a couple of weeks, and she just about lives on tea when in hospital, so I though I'd include this in her gift basket :)

I've got a workshop and Christmas workshop coming up in the next couple of weeks, so I'm going to be pretty busy getting everything ready! Thank goodness John is coming home on Saturday!