Paper Roses Tutorial

Being the creative / thrifty person that I am and loving to be crafty, I wanted to help my sister out and make some cute centerpieces for the wedding shower she is throwing. I ran across a cute blumebox on Pinterest, the link for this wasn't a diy, but rather a website where you could purchase these boxes to fold and put together yourself (flowers not included). I wanted to do this myself with as little cost as possible. So I designed a template and made the boxes myself out of flattened cardboard boxes from my work (free). And after seeing the prices for silk flowers, I decided to make the flowers myself as well.  I wanted these to match with the wedding shower invitations that I designed according to my sisters wishes. These are the results.

What you will need:

Elmers Glue (fast drying)
Scissors
Construction Paper (any color you want)
Metallic craft paint
Cuticle stick (or anything that is about the same size around)
Hot glue gun
Wooden shish kabob skewers / sticks
Green floral tape
Six petal flower patten (I included a pattern below)

Link to my flower pattern click here


This is my first attempt at adding a template so please let me know if this works. 

You start with a six petal flower pattern: (ignore the lines on this picture you don't need them)
This pattern should measures 4" x 4"  

 

For every 1 rose you want to make you will need to cut out three of these. I was able to fit five on a sheet of paper. Cut just inside the lines so you have no black showing on your rose.

Paint the outside edge of your flowers with a metallic craft paint. This give a beautiful shimmer effect, it makes a big difference. Just slightly dip your brush in the paint you don't want a thick even coat around the edges just a rough brushed effect.

 













Fold each flower as in the picture to find the center and create the cut lines.

Flower 1: Cut one slit just to the center point of the flower.

Flower 2: Cut out one petal (keep petal)
Flower 3: Cut out two petals keeping the two in one section (keep section)

On each of the three flowers place glue on one section then overlap the flower make sure the painted side is showing inside the now cupped flower parts. You should now have the five flower parts as shown below.

Cut the tip off of the three flower cups and the small single petal.
If you are not putting the flowers on a stick don't cut the tip of off the largest 5 petal cup.

Now take your stick and curl the petals on the three petal cups
TIP: (If you get the curl too tight loosen it a bit it makes for a more natural looking rose)

Curl the petals on the two section piece the straighten one petal back out.

 Fold it around like a funnel with the painted edges inside. Glue in place, then clip the tip off of this piece as well.

 Paint the rounded edge of the single petal on the back (optional: I did this so it had shimmer on the inside and out since you can see parts of both on this piece)
Then curl both sides in

Now that you have all your pieces glued and curled it is time to assemble the flower

On the five petal cup place glue on the inside, put glue around the outside hole of the four petal flower and place this inside the larger one turning so the petals are not lined up but rather askew. Do this for the rest of the sections also, until you have a finished rose. Let dry before moving on to the next step.
 

Once the glue is dry and the flower is held together, heat up that glue gun. 
Cut your skewer sticks in half, unless you want really long stems.
Turn the flower over, put some glue in the hold and insert the skewer. Hold this in until is drys enough to stay in place. Make sure you don't push the skewer to far in you don't want it showing through on the front side of the rose.

Wrap the stick with green floral tape, and your done.

These are the invitations I created using my Print Master program and created the centerpieces to match.

I will be adding a tutorial and template for the plumeboxes soon.

Wedding Garter

After seeing the prices of wedding garters in the store, and finding none to my liking I decided to make my own! So I thought I would share a little tutorial with you.

Just a little history first

When it comes to weddings many people just follow the traditions they have learned through the years and don’t ask why. The wedding garter is said to be one of the oldest wedding traditions, dating back to the Dark Ages. After the wedding festivities, guests would accompany the bride and groom up to their bedroom (gasp) to ensure that they arrived safely and to wish them well.  It was considered good luck for a guest to take home a little piece of the brides clothing.
Over time, this ritual evolved into a wild wedding night romp where guests would tackle the bride, ripping her clothes off hoping for a piece of her attire. (It is also said that wedding guests did this to “help” the new couple along.) In the melee, the garter, which at that time was used to hold up a woman’s stockings, would get tossed and it was considered good luck for whoever caught it and made them the next to be married.

Eventually the bride began surrendering her garter as the wedding garter toss was incorporated into the reception to help keep guests at bay and pass on the good fortune (also saving the brides dress from being ripped)

Since the invention of elastic and pantyhose, ladies don’t need to use garters or garter belts to help them hold up their socks anymore.  But still, wearing a wedding garter and the garter toss ritual at receptions has remained a part of many modern weddings.

So, remember that wearing a garter on your wedding day is like wearing a little piece of history!

These days many brides are opting for two garters, one for them to have as a wedding keepsake and one to throw. This is what I chose to do.

When I was making this I wasn't considering a DIY tutorial so I appologize for the lack of photos.

All garter style's and sizes vary so you can choose to use the same size items as I did or you can change it up and make it your own, the principals of garter making will remain the same.

I used:
Pink Satin Ribbon 1" wide - from Hobby Lobby (had on hand from other wedding projects)
Shear Pink Ribbon 1/4" wide - from Hobby Lobby (had on hand from other wedding projects)
White Elastic 1/2" wide - from Walmart (I already had this in my sewing box)
Pink Thread - Also from my sewing box
Lace 1 yard- I found mine on Ebay (3.99 for a yard)
You can find this type of lace at Hobby Lobby, Micheal's, JoAnn's and usually even at Wal-mart. 
I also incorporated a small crown shaped charm, with blue stones as my "Something Blue", this also was found on ebay.


1) First measure around your thigh (the area where you will wear your garter) 
     add that measurement plus half.
     So for example if your thigh measured 17" around, half of that would be 8.5 so 
     your total length would be 17 + 8 1/2 = 25 1/2

This it the length you will cut your lace, and your 1" ribbon (you will need to cut 2 pieces of ribbon)

2) Lay the two pieces of ribbon on top of each other, matching the edges and sew as close to the 
    edge as possible. 
3) Place the raw edge of the lace (the unhemmed ugly edge) in between the two pieces of ribbon, then sew it in place by sewing along the other edge of the ribbon as close to the edge as possible, make sure your lace doesn't slip out of place. It should now look something like this.

4) Take your elastic and wrap it around your thigh pulling it snug so it fits the way you would want the garter to, add about 1/2" to that for the seam and cut it. (Your elastic will be shorter than the ribbon/lace, this is a good thing)


5) Take a safety pin and pin the edge of your elastic, then thread it through one of the open ends of the ribbon. 
Before you thread it all the way through you will pull the end of the elastic to the edge of the ribbon, once you do this sew it into place close to the edge. 

6) Then continue threading the elastic through until it comes out the other end. Your garter will now be all scrunched up. Sew elastic in place here like you did on the other end.

7) Fold the garder in half on top of itself then sew the two ends together, using the same color of thread as your lace not your ribbon. Stitch down it twice, if you have a serger use this if not you can add a zigzag stitch for extra support if you think you need it. Trim close to the edge so there is not a lot of extra ribbon/lace on the outside of the stitch. I used a lighter to sear the ends after trimming very carefully so nothing would ravel. If you do this be very very careful you could end up ruining it if you haven't done this before, it's not necessary. 


Now turn it inside out, so the closing seam is on the inside of the garter. Now you can decorate it anyway you want.

My lace had holes in the design so I used small shear pink lace to thread through the holes and then tied them in a bow adding a charm. The charm I used has blue stones as my "something blue".

The smaller throw away garter that I made with the bow, was made the same way minus the lace.
So, just sew two pieces of ribbon together thread with elastic sew closed the decorate. 

I also hand made the rose I used with the same pink ribbon using the following method.

Take your ribbon (I left mine attached to the roll because I wasn't sure how long a piece of ribbon I needed) and start rolling the end. Roll about 3 times or so to get a good start on it. I used a needle and pink thread to sew through the rose at the bottom as I went along to hold it together. Twist the ribbon around one half turn this will create the petal look. Then continue to roll it up. Twist over again creating a fold each time. Roll. Twist. Roll. Twist. Continue until you get the size rose you want.
This was my first attempt at a rose, my advice is be patient you will get it. Remember to stitch through the rose every few wraps to keep it in place, then stitch the end to the bottom of the rose and sew it onto your garter.

I got the idea for my ribbon rose from this link:  http://danielleflanders.blogspot.com/2010/01/crepe-paper-roses.html

She has some really great ideas!

Good Luck! :)

Colorado Wildfires

My heart goes out to all those in Colorado that have lost their homes and belongings to the fires raging there. Hundreds of miles away here in Kansas I have been watching and reading all the updates on the fire. The stories of loss and pictures of destruction are heart wrenching. My first thought's upon hearing of the fires is oh no I'm supposed to be getting married there in a few months, what am I supposed to do now? I know horribly selfish to think of myself considering I'm sitting here on my couch, in my home with all my belongings around me. I'm just at a loss as to what to do about my wedding. Should I just wait and see if my Colorado wedding and honeymoon are still a viable option, or should I start trying to get deposits back and re-plan everything somewhere else? My wedding is set for September. I read that as of June 30th, Firefighters had the fire in a holding pattern at the edge of Colorado Springs, and while the fire was only 100 yards from Garden of the Gods it had not yet been touched.

  
 I do however understand loss, destruction and the devastation that comes with it. Approx 30 miles from me is Joplin Missouri. Two of my sisters live there, and many friends. I live in a small town on the outskirts, the residents in my town all go to Joplin for their shopping and entertainment. In May of 2011, just over a year ago it was ravaged by an F5 tornado. Many homes, businesses, and schools were destroyed as well as one of our hospitals. Most devastating was the loss of life, 158 people died, including someone I grew up with and thought of as a brother. My sister lost her home and has just recently signed a contract on a new home, her closing is set for this Monday. She has been living in one of the Fema trailers provided for those who lost there homes. This has been an incredibly hard time for all involved, but the community pulled together and the mass number of volunteers who came into Joplin and helped it begin to heal was unbelievable and so very appreciated.

F5 Tornado Joplin Missouri

Imagine this level of destruction covering 25% of Joplin

St. Johns Hospital Joplin Missouri

September Wedding!

So the countdown has begun! Actually the countdown to my wedding began about two years ago. My Finance Paul and I live in SE Kansas, Paul is currently enrolled in Pittsburg State University (PSU)  he will have a summer graduation this July. For financial reasons we chose to get married after he finished school, thus the two-year engagement.
I’m the type of person who would prefer to blend into a group and not be the center of attention, and Paul… well Paul has a bit of social anxiety. :) I know, I know match made in heaven. For these reasons we have chosen to forego tradition and go with a destination wedding YAY! So I was thinking about the choices for our wedding shortly after the engagement and I presented Paul with the idea. We choose a place we would both like to visit/vacation someday and we go there for our honeymoon, and while were there we get married. :) Brilliant right, because lets face it who wants to drive hours and hours to go to someone’s wedding? Thus no big guest list and no hard feelings for not inviting everyone, and most important for our sanity no being the center of attention for a large group.
We chose Colorado, beautiful place and lots of beautiful things to see. It’s somewhere in the range of a 12-14 hour drive for us. My big sister / best friend and her fiance will be driving up with us, they vacationed in Colorado a few years ago. With a bit of online searching and a small budget I discovered that there are about six beautiful sites in Garden Of The Gods that you can get married for free (bring your own minister of course). Thinking twice about this however as I stumbled across a teeny tiny chapel tucked at the edge of Garden of the Gods, actually located on the property of a place called Rock Ledge Ranch. It’s called American Mothers Chapel and rents for 200.00 a day. Two hundred is not what I wanted to spend because when I said budget I meant itty bitty budget. But considering its Colorado in September I decided it was worth it, because it could be cold or raining or snowing or a mix match of those things. Plus, It looks like something out of a story book wedding to me, a little chapel tucked in the mountain side.

American Mothers Church @ Rock Ledge Ranch - Colorado

   

Okay, so when I said it was a teeny tiny chapel I meant it. According to the chapels rules and regulations contract I had to sign it seats twelve and stands three (bride/minister/groom) but that’s plenty big for my small wedding party of four, or so I thought. It seems that some people are actually willing to drive a ridiculous way for a wedding. Turns out Paul’s mom, dad, and sister and her adorable baby boy will be making the drive from Wisconsin to Colorado for the event. But, that’s just fine with us. We drove to Wisconsin this Christmas to spend it with Paul’s family where I got to meet them all for the first time. They are the type of people you meet and feel like you already knew them. :) Love them!
So,  the point of all this back story is really just to say that I will be posting some Wedding DIY’S in the near future, along with other this and that's.
Original Post: June 16th, 2012