Take 3 Flowers.....

I bought a bagful of flowers at a great price, but they are rather plain. I've seen other paper crafters layer them so I gave it a shot. I began with 3 flowers~

Next, I smeared Distress Ink on my craft mat and spritzed it with water. I had fun sliding the flowers around in the inky water...yes, my fingers were orange afterwards! lol

Wheee!!

Ta Da!!

I don't mind if the coverage isn't perfect. If you want the flowers solid (like the bottom blossom) give it another swirl through the ink/water or rub the ink pad directly on it but be careful not to tear off the damp petals. Now, fold one of the flowers in half placing a tiny dot of glue in the middle.

Place another dot of glue (I used Glossy Accents) near the fold and fold the flower into forths.

I sort of scrunched the little point down and glued this bud to a second flower. Smoosh the second flower, with glue on its center, under the folded bud and squeeze. 

It has a bowl-like bottom now. I pressed it flat on the center bottom so I could then glue it to the third flower.

See how 'peaked' it was on the bottom before I made a flat spot? I just smashed it flat a bit on the table.

Here are the finished flowers...I made two of them. I spritzed the right flower with Tsukineko Walnut Ink.

What a difference from just 3 flat flowers, eh?

Tres Chic~ Unique!

Bienvenue! Welcome to the September Tres Chic and Unique Challenges at Bella Creations. This is National Sewing Month...did you know that? If you have never sewed, or want to get back to it, there are lots of resources to help you. Check out the National Sewing Month website for inspiration!
I am a self-taught sewer and have been making home decor projects, quilts, costumes and clothing for my daughter, as well as gifts for years. I have a fabulous Pfaff that embroiders...just need to get off this laptop and plug it in! I seem to get sidetracked by paper crafting but eventually go back to my machine~ With sewing in mind, the Challenges this month at Bella Creations are;

Tres Chic, which is a style challenge. The style this month is 'sew-riffic' and the guidelines require that you use real or faux sewing, pearls, fabric and a flower. Here is my creation~

I made an APC, or Altered Playing Card, for my Tres Chic. It is an actual "Joker" card from a standard deck of cards. I sanded the center, painted it with white Adirondack Dabber paint, then stitched around the perimeter and attached a ruffle. I dyed the flower pink with Spun Sugar Distress Ink, then used Glossy Accents to adhere glitter to the petals. The dress form is a die cut covered in Ranger Rock Candy Crackle Paint. The little spool is chipboard. 

The reverse side is decorated too!

I used a Tim Holtz Seamless Experience stamp for the faux sewing on this side, did some other stamping, included safety pinned fabric swatches and a chipboard button~ The ruffle is sandwiched between the Joker card and the cardstock I backed it with.

The winner for the Tres Chic gets these COPIC pens!

Unique is a technique challenge. This month you are to try making a flower from tissue paper. I used sewing pattern tissue!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjn084rYRLg

I decorated a box and placed the tissue paper flower I made on it. This little box, as well as many of the items I used for my Tres Chic and Unique projects, are from the September Embellishment Kit.
The prize for this challenge will be provided by Flying Unicorn!

I love how it turned out! I had a fun time stamping on cardstock to decorate the sides. I also painted the chipboard butterfly, added pretty trim & pearls, put glitter on the dress form, included fabric swatches, and wrapped embroidery thread around the inked spool. I had a zipper pull left over from another project (see below) and I found the perfect place for it...on the front!

This little gift box encloses a fresh baked scone for the birthday girl!

And I still had more goodies from the Sewing Embellishment Kit to play with. Look at what I made next...a card!

I painted the dress form and wrapped it in batting. (included in the kit!) I stamped some pattern tissue and made it into a skirt. The background of this card is covered in two different pinked-edged fabrics! Cute, eh? I used three different Marvy square punches for the sentiment, and made the flower from a pink zipper.....this is where the zipper pull came from! I did not need it when making the flower. Waste not, want not! Check out Bella Creations for the wonderful Embellishment Kit. Come play in our Challenges (there is another called Muse, as well as various Group Challenges) and look at the kits. I think this month's kits are some of the best we've offered!

Sunshine in the garden~

I happened to look out in the backyard today when a bit of yellow caught my eye...look what I discovered blooming already! The gusty Santa Ana Winds were blowing the blossoms about, but they just bobbed in the breeze. Can't help but smile when I see these cheery little daffodils~