When you grow, collect and look at flowers a whoooole lot...
You start to get the funniest ideas.
You start to see things.
Like seeing zinnias in pine cones.
Then all of a sudden flower ideas burst out of your head.
And, it's almost like eating potato chips.
After you have one, you want more and more.
Until you've eaten the entire bag.
After you make one flower, you want all sorts more.
Especially when some of the flowers look so much like paper.
Then you realize it's almost mother's day and ideas start to swirl out of your head.
I happen to like simple crafts.
Instant gratification.
I also happen to looooove crepe paper streamers for crafting with.
It's an extra bonus that they carry rolls and rolls at grocery and drug stores.
So the more I looked at the hollyhocks, especially barely unfurling blossoms or closing blossoms, I thought crepe paper streamers!
I took a piece of streamer, folded it sort of into an accordion, then unfolded it and regathered it in a circular motion, until it looked like a little hollyhock bud below.
The image on the left is paper, on the right is an actual bud.
I think we have an imposter in our midst!
Then I just took some green pipe cleaners and twisted them around the base of the paper bud to hold it together.
Simple.
Nothing fancy.
But pretty.
I showed Mister Lovee and he couldn't tell the difference.
The only thing giving them away was the fuzzy pipe cleaner.
You could get really detailed and build the bud bottom with green crepe paper if you wanted.
But I'm okay with pipe cleaners for now.
I think I want to make a sort of vintage looking granny chic brooch for mother's day.
Stay tuned to see what I decide to do.
But I thought I'd share them as they are for now.
So simple, but really pretty I think?
I decided to hide mine in a real hollyhock.
They do disappear in there don't they?
Hiding away.
Acting like they belong there.
So, now I'll go play with some old pearls and bits and bobs of this and that.
Like I said, I have a granny chic brooch in mind, we'll see how that goes.
I love vintage crafts and this feels like it could go in either direction.
So, I'll be over here with butterfly brains.
Hot gluing my fingers together and such.
Haha!
I need to get more pipe cleaners in green so I can make a big bouquet too.
They could also double as carnations really.
Don't you think?
You see, these are the things I get myself into.
I'm walking over to do one thing, and before you know it I've forgotten that and I'm twisting crepe paper.
:-)
How are you?
What have you been up to?
We've had some insane rain storms here.
Greatly cherished with thunder and lightning and hail.
They said on the news that such rain in May hadn't occurred in our area for over 100 years if ever.
Pretty snazzy eh?
Good thing I had just planted a bunch more kinds of pumpkins and gourds.
Yay rain!
Okay, time to make more flowers.
Fill me in on your goings on, won'tcha?
Love, Vanessa
Ps:
Windows open.
Cold breeze, sound of rain on corrugated metal porch roof.
Hail, thunder, delicious.
We enjoyed it so.
Case in point.
Dreaming Away.
I lost my spot, but that's okay.
♥
