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Tag Archives: color

Paper Flowers

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I finally got a chance to get back to some Pinterest-inspired projects.  Today I decided to tackle making decorative paper flowers.  The link on Pinterest made it look very simple.  Items needed – magazine pages in various colors, shredding scissors, bamboo skewers, tape, floral tape.  First challenge – no shredding scissors and couldn’t find them anywhere in Nuremberg (not exactly a crafty place I’ve learned).  So I improvised and used a short pair of scissors and made the many cuts by hand.  I also did not have bamboo skewers and could not find them in the market, so I used paper straws instead.  The process of rolling the cut paper around the straws proved to be challenging.  I had many failures and I’ve posted a few below.  Once I finally got the hang of it, I think they turned out pretty nice.  Now I have a decorative piece for the bedroom and one for the living area.  These would make a lovely centerpiece for a bridal or baby shower – or simply a nice way to add a little color in your life!

original pin

Original Pin

and it begins

Gathering the magazine pages

cut strip

Folding and cutting the paper

Fail1 Fail2

Failed attempts

success

Success

bedroom flowers1

Flowers for the bedroom

living room flowers2

Flowers for the living area

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The Whimsy of Color

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I recently rediscovered the sheer delight and whimsy of coloring.  Did you know there is an entire line of coloring books aimed at adults?  I have found it to be a calming activity that allows me to explore colors and de-stress from the troubles of life.  I highly recommend buying yourself a coloring book and taking a walk down memory lane…..

the start

blank page

select colors

1aqua

2pink

3orange

4peach

5peach

6ltaqua

7brown

8turquoise

9apink

9aturq

9bbrown

9corange

9dpeach

complete

Fancy Frames from Affordable Materials

A friend of mine asked me if I would think about art projects that kids could do, but would look good enough that people would purchase them.  Pinterest has a zillion ideas, so I started there.  However, one night while trying to sleep, I had an idea about a frame that could potentially fit the bill and was cheap to make.  I scribbled my idea in my notebook next to my bed and left it for a rainy day.  Yesterday was that rainy day.  I had a frame on hand from Michaels that has a heart cutout for the photo.  It cost a whopping $1.

frame and idea

It started with a frame and an idea….

I searched through the decorator fabric samples I had on hand and decided on a pattern.  Then I accented it with felt and another solid, textured fabric and some variegated yarn.

materials

The materials

I created 3 different sizes of hearts to use as a template and began cutting them out of the materials.

hearts drawn on fabriccutting out hearts

Tracing and cutting out the hearts

In order to avoid any wood show-through on the finished product, I painted the frame a dark blue.

painting the frame

Painting the frame

After it was dry, I used Tacky Glue and began placing the hearts on the frame – placing them in all different directions and overlapping.

starting to place hearts

Starting to place the hearts

To accent the patterned hearts, I “traced” them in yarn.  This makes them pop against the other colors.

layered and accented with yarn

“Tracing” the hearts in yarn

I used the yarn to finish off the interior of the heart and outline the outer edge of the frame.  I think it looks a lot more expensive than its humble beginnings.

finished frame

The finished frame