paper flowers

these days i seem to make crafting a pretty low priority.  i always seem to be busy doing something else, mostly just the everyday ho-hum tasks of life with fun and relaxation splattered in wherever possible.

but one recent afternoon, i found myself playing around with the silhouette studio (software) with no particular agenda.  after a few minutes of fiddling with basic shapes and the welding feature, i created simple flower petal and stamen shapes, and went on to mass produce a bunch of paper flowers in vibrant colors.  

the text weight paper i used from paper source was quite perfect for this purpose.

my machine wigged out a couple times, and didn't always make very clean cuts on my petals and even destroyed some sheets of paper entirely-- possibly because of the dulling blade or the no-longer tacky mat... or both.

that was  a tad frustrating.  luckily i could hide most of the poorly cut edges within the layers.

once all the petals and stamens (did you know that the plural for 'stamen' can also be 'stamina'? strange, no? i thought so.) were cut, i curled the edges up before gluing them together layer by layer with a glue stick.

so simple! all i needed was paper, a glue stick... and a personal cutting machine.  *wink*

i chose to take these to work to decorate my cubicle, and stuck a couple on my monitor, and the rest all over my back wall.

it's no wonder that my colleagues think i'm like, five years old.  it probably doesn't help that i wear clothes with safari animals on them and they overheard me singing the 'yummy yummy' song while i was eating lunch the other day.        

i think these flowers would also be fun in garland form, hanging straight down from the ceiling.  perhaps with some leaves (my original plan with these was to make leaves, but i got lazy).  oh, and as gift toppers.

silhouette cameo made felt coasters (ways to rid yourself of 30 yards of felt #8??)

the most attractive feature of the silhouette cameo is its' ability to cut multiple media types.   if you happen to be a regular reader, it is probably unsurprising to you that i've been most curious to try cutting felt with the machine.  while the company does not claim the ability to do so, they encourage users to experiment.   

and while blogs all over will tell you that the silhouette doesn't do a perfect job, it does do a decent one.  i was able to produce these coasters with only a few annoying complications.  

my coaster design is based on a little sketch i once made years ago, and it was relatively easy to conjure up using the silhouette software.  my love affair with felt coasters began when i discovered verso design years ago.  my last attempt with hand-cut and sewn ones left me wanting, so i was pleased when these came out as i imagined.   

lessons learned:  

1. using the double cut feature is essential. the blade needs to be set at 10, material thickness set at 33 and the speed at 1.  

2. steam-a-seam 2 works, particularly useful in this case when i was planning on fusing multiple layers of felt together anyway (i have 3 layers here-- two solid round ones under the flower pattern).  however, make sure you fuse the felt well to the steam-a-seam 2 before placing it on your cutting mat. i noticed that otherwise it can be really difficult to peel the piece off without destroying it and leaving the sticky residue stuck to the mat.  if you're planning on cutting a lot of felt, you will need a lot of time. and patience.  

i thought i had taken more pictures of the process but apparently i didn't... so pretend this picture is more relevant than it actually is. 

if you aren't familiar, steam-a-seam 2 is a fusible web. it comes in sheets with paper backing on each side.  you remove one side of the paper backing, iron it onto the felt/fabric, and then remove the other side -- and that's the side that goes face down on the cutting mat.   if you're fusing felt, be wary of the low melting point, and always have a piece of cotton fabric between the felt and iron so the felt doesn't wind up stuck all over the metal.  

i didn't properly test cutting with regular interfacing fused onto the felt since it wasn't useful for this project-- but i'll probably test it out in the future.  

3. perfect cuts will be rare if impossible.  i had to do a lot snipping with scissors on my own.  see how the top corner of the flower isn't cut that cleanly?

if you can believe it, i'm actually running low on some of my favorite felt colors (remember this post?). i'm rather tempted to go buy more...

happiness in a jar for 12.99

i had a craving for something sweet, and as usual i wasn't about to ignore it.   
i found myself in whole foods where i stood for at least twenty minutes trying to pick the perfect dessert.  i went with a tiny, overpriced coconut cake.    

but before i managed to leave whole foods, i was distracted by a small, beautiful bouquet in a mason jar in the floral section.  there was no price tag.  i was very curious what it went for.  the florist was not in sight, and i waited patiently for several minutes for someone to come help me. i was greeted by a scruffy farmer looking guy wearing flannel and a cap...   like really scruffy. 

"hi, did you need help?"

"yes, i was wondering if this mason jar bouquet was for sale, and for how much?"

scruffy farmer man examined the jar. 

"it's not priced, and i don't know when this was made. but the water looks fresh, so maybe today?  the florist is gone for the day, so i can't ask.   if you want to buy it, i could price it for 12.99 for you. i don't think i can go any lower than that."

"i'd be willing to take it for 12.99."

scruffy farmer man fiddled around through a bunch of papers to get the price code. handed me a card with the information on it. 

"uh, do you want a ribbon with it?"

"sure, why not?"

scruffy farmer man fumbled with some box under the counter. i heard crashing noises followed by a lot of swearing about bad quality construction.  he emerged with a box of ribbon for me to select, and spent many minutes awkwardly trying to replicate a bow that the florist has out as a sample.   

"this is the best i can do. i'm sorry it looks like a ...bow tie."

"oh it's fine, really, i think it looks great. thank you."

for some reason i found this entire encounter amusing. it probably had something to do with watching the scruffy farmer man try to tie a delicate bow with his big hands.  you're probably scratching your head right now and wondering what the point of this story was.

none, really, aside from sharing the beauty of my mason jar flowers.   ranunculus is one of my favorite flowers ever.  

aren't they beautiful?  i just couldn't pass them up for $13, although i probably shouldn't have spent the money.   there was a time when i thought fresh flowers were a waste.  but ever since i lived in finland, with the long winters where most things are sleeping or dead, i have loved having fresh flowers around.

how often do you have fresh flowers at home? 

a laundry disaster

a few weeks ago, i posted about this dress. promptly after i posted the entry, i thoughtlessly threw the dress into the laundry for its' first wash. when i retrieved it from the washer, i was dismayed to find that the floral detail had completely unraveled into a mess of furry thread.

apparently the dress was hand wash only. normally i read labels on new clothing (actually, typically before i buy it), but since the dress was knit, it didn't even occur to me to check.

excuses

holidays are a great excuse to buy flowers. 

they never fail to brighten your home + your day. 

hope you had a fabulous weekend.