Stamp N Scrap 4 Fun:

Now that my new (smaller) craft room is organized and functional, I thought I would share some of the hand made flowers I've been creating over the last several months. All of a sudden it is an obsession with me...lol Mostly because I just love the look of flowers on my layouts and 3d items. There are so many beautiful ones on the market, but you can also use so many items from around the house to create your own.

Theses 2 are done using the packing paper that comes with your Stampin' Up! order. Do Not throw that paper away! Lay it flat on your table, find the perforations and then accordian fold it, stores easily, and then you have it handy when you want to make flowers or any other embellishments. For these flowers, I used several layers punched with a scallop circle punch. The large one was stamped in versamark, then covered with black embossing powder and heated. The smaller one is also several layers of packing paper, but this time punched with a smaller punch, and just sprayed with "smooch".

These ones were all made using Stampin' Up! cardstock, scallop circle punches and various brads for the centers. The pink one is quite high, so would not work in a scrapbook layout but would look lovely on the lid of a box or front of a handmade book. For this one, I misted with water after each layer was added which caused it to become quite stiff by the end of it. I also sponged the edges of the flower with ink. For all the others I broke the cardstock down and separated it into 2 pieces, which makes the flowers amazingly soft. This is a very easy technique done with your crimper. Just run the punched circles through your crimper several times, until you feel the cardstock softening, then gently ply apart. The inside is like a soft suede.

I love these rosette flowers. For mine I used a die that has perforations for making the folding easier, but you can make them by using long pieces of cardstock or patterned paper and scoring the lines. All the paper I've used is Stampin' Up! and some of it may be retired now. Still haven't gone through and sorted it all out yet. Next job on my list.

These are also made from various Stampin' Up! patterned paper. I used circle and scallop circle punches and dies, different mists and some glitter glue on one. On the mustard one I also used some tulle..not too sure what I think about that one, but you never know when it will look great on that perfect layout.

These are already on a layout that I will share within the next couple of days. The yellow and pink flowers were made from coffee filters...lol and hand colored either with ink refill mixed with water, or different colored mists on the market. These ones are cut out with 4 different sizes of heart shapes and then layered from smallest to largest. I really think these are my favorite so far, but of course they also take the longest time to make.

Now, this one is AMAZING to me! LOL..mostly since I had to use a needle and thread, which shocks everyone who knows me. TG...a very dear friend of mine was telling me on the phone recently about these Kanzashi flowers she had bought templates for. I went to the website and checked them out, then when I googled Kanzashi I came up with tons of videos on how to make them from scratch. Most of my friends would think that was the end of it for me...ROFL..but when I saw that there wasn't really any sewing involved...just connecting, I knew I could do it. The Big Shot also makes it so easy for cutting out the circles. Now I have a use for all that fabric I've been looking at, and all the Stampin' Up! fabric I've bought and put away.