Painting the Roses Red!

My favorite animated movie is Alice in Wonderland.
My kids know this, my friends know this, my fellow crafters know this.
I have A in W ornaments,  A in W playing cards and I am quoting this movie all the time.

So when my girls had their 30th birthday, I, of course, had red roses for decorations.
These are paper roses, and easy to make. So NO need to fear the Queen of Hearts...
today's project is:

Paper Roses

You need:
~red tissue paper (or any other color you want)
~scissors
~tape (I used colored Duct Tape)
~skewers

First take your piece of tissue paper and cut it into 6 squares.

Layer 3 pieces on top of one another, and start folding these together at the same time.



You will fold these 4 times into a cone shape.

Then cut a curve in the top, through all layers.

Then do the same with the other 3 layers.

Open all and stack on top of each other.



Take a skewer and place a little piece of tape at the dull end. Stick this through the middle of all 6 layers.

Then you will gather and crimp the pieces up around the skewer and tape the bottom onto the stick. Make sure you get the tissue paper as you wind the tape around the skewer.

Then you will start separating the layers.
Do this gently starting at the bottom layer. Pull it downward.
Go to the next layer pulling it down, but not as far as the bottom layer.
Continue until you have separated all the layers.
Leave the top layer gathered around the skewer resembling a bud.

That's it! I made several of these, added them to toothpicks instead of long skewers and hung them from my dining room chandelier. I added paper sayings for my girls' birthday party. Plus I made a large flower to hang from the center of the lamp. You can make any size flower, just remember to cut the tissue paper into squares (not rectangles). For the large center flower I used 6 full sheets of tissue paper. Then I used the cut off ends to make into the smaller flowers.

I also used pink for the inside 3 layers, and red for the outside 3 layers. I added green construction paper leaves and strung them on fishing wire. A very feminine look.

You can make several and put in vases for centerpieces. Or string them together for a garland. Fast, easy and pretty.

Why not plan a Valentines Day party and make a bunch to decorate your place with. Or better yet, show your guests how to make them and send them home with a heart felt bouquet!

tip of the day:
I bought several boxes of blueberries today from the store, at a buy one, get one free sale. So I had to freeze some of them. And the lesson I learned from picking fresh blackberries and putting them in the freezer in a zip loc bag was: separate them before freezing! Otherwise you end up with a big, squashed clump of berries. So take a cookie sheet, put your berries (or banana slices) on this, making sure they are in a single layer. Put in freezer til set, and THEN take them off and put into another container (ziploc or tupperware) and store in freezer.

That's all for this week!
:D

You "CAN" do this!

I love making new things from old stuff!
 I gave a party a couple of weeks ago, and wanted to use a harvest theme.
So I decorated my hanging light with canning jars with lights in them.
And I made an awesome: Can-da-lier !

Today's project is:

CANNING JAR DECORATIONS

You need:

~canning jars (used is fine)

~leaves (go out and gather)

~spray paint (autumn colors)

~rims for the jars (not lids)
~small battery powered "fake" votive candles
~wire, 20 or 24 gauge (black preferred, but any color will do)

If you don't have a hanging light, or ceiling fan to use for hanging these candle holders, don't bother cutting the wire into the long lengths.

I gathered some leaves and spray painted them (outside on newspapers). Let these dry.

Then cut different lengths of wire. Some were about 20" others were about 30" and sizes in between.
These measurements are not critical. Bend the wires in half, and place each end on the outside of the jars. Then screw on the rims, catching the wires inside. I left some wire extending below the rim, so I could bend it upwards, for added strength.

I added a small wire to the leave stem, and stuck through the leaf, and bent it around the wire near the jar tops. (this works best with a finer gauge wire, i.e. 24 or above)
You can make a leaf garland by using twine or raffia and attaching these leaves along its length. I didn't have time to make one, so I used a garland from the Dollar store.

Then I hung up the wires from my light, and added the fake votive candles. I first used real candles, but since the jars are at an angle, the wax melted off to one side, the flame went out, and left a big mess inside the jar. But if you are using these on a table top, you could certainly use real votives. I like the small ones with the metal bottoms, to catch the melting wax. No mess in the jars. You can scatter some of your painted leaves on the table, around the jars also, for a real autumn look.
(I used the garland idea here, because I wanted to drape it around and hanging down from the light. But next time, I think I'll make some for the table top also, and scatter the leaves around. I LOVE LEAVES ! )

I received very many compliments on this and really love the look of
Country- Canning Jar- Decor!

Another great idea came from my friend Bonnie McAskin (Sierra Candles). She took these jars (with the rims on), added a base that was a candleholder, and sells them as "Hillybilly Wineglasses". They are a riot. And would go perfectly with the 'canning jar decor'. Here's her contact info. if you'd like to purchase some: bmcaskin@comcast.net

tip of the day:
For those of us contact wearers, it seems we always have a couple extra cases lying around. If you don't wear contacts, perhaps you know someone who does, and you can use one of their extra cases.
These little babies make perfect spice containers.
Fill one side with pepper, one side with salt.  OR one side with salt and one with sugar. Hey...any spices you like will do!
But be sure you use the screw-on tops, as the flipper tops may pop open (what a mess that would be).
So if you are picnicing or packing a lunch or taking a road trip with yummy traveling food, you may need a little seasoning to go!

That's all for today!
Dee