First bouquet on etsy

Check out this item in my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/listing/269402851/petite-paper-wedding-bouquet-custom

A bit of Spring

Just  popping  in for a sec.  I   don't  have  paper  flowers  today  but here's  some  daffodils  I  spotted  in the  countryside.

Spring flowers for Grand-dad

I've been wondering how to go about listing my flowers on Etsy.  I believe they should be made to order so I really can't just keep making them but I want to have examples.  Also  I have been playing with my photos--Photos are the hardest part for me.  I decided to make some flowers for Lou's living room and photograph the process.  He really likes my flowers and I think its good to have bright cheerful things in his home.  So this is my first attempt to document the process I go through.  All together, this took about six hours.  I wasn't rushing myself though, I  had a couple of M&Ms  along the w stopped and chatted with Lou, and had a good time. 
 First off, here is the finished project:  I have to dangle some sort of reward before you or you will never keep reading.

So that's  what  I  ended  up  with.  Here's  how  it got  there.

I bought  this  silver  plated  dish and  several  of its buddies at an estate  sale.

I  painted  them blue . 

Then I  made them a newspaper  base to sit  on.  I   could  have  used half of a Styrofoam  ball but I  don't  don't  think  it  would  have  been  any better . 

I   mixed-up  my pictures  here but this is  the  play by  play.  I  got  a sheet  of  cardstock  damp, rolled it up ,  unrolled it and  glued it to  my dish.  I  used elmers  glue  all.  When  it dries it's a pretty  solid  form.  You  could  use two  layers  for  strength  but  how  tough does a vase of flowers  need   to   be?

I  cut  out  my flowers  on  a Cricut  machine.  I haven't  paid  for  an image  yet.  The  flowers  are elongated  hearts attached  to  a circle.  The  lacy leaves are a free  image.  Here  they  are  in their  flat state.

Then  I  sculpted the  flowers.  I  used  an orange  stick  from  the  beauty  supply  store.  I'm  supposed  to  be  manicuring  my nails  with  it.  Instead,  I  used  it to  curl the  edges  of my  flowers  and leaves . 

Next, I  glued several  layers of flowers  together  with  more  elmers for  a 3D flower.  I  had different  colors  of blue   and  bright  yellow  to work  with.  It's  cardstock  from  hobby  lobby.

Now, you  won't  believe  this  but  I  didn't  take  photos   of   the  assembly  process.  I  simply  made flowers  that  tickled me and  glued  them to my dish.  I  made  sure  some  greenery  was peeking  out  from  the  bottom  of the  dish.

So  here's  the  final  product  again.  It's quite  a  project  photographing  everything.  I   have  renewed respect  for  tutorials.  I  had a great  time  though.  I'd  love  to  see your  flowery  projects  so  please  share.

Valentine's day party

We had a great  time  at church  and  the  lunch  afterwards.  The  youth  made cheesy chicken  spaghetti  which  was fantastic.  I  have  to  get  the  recipe.  I  enjoyed  talking with  friends  I took  some  photos  before  the  service  started.  I  think  they  give  an idea of what  they  look  like  set-up.  After  the  party  was over they disappeared.  Ladies  took  them  home  for  their  little  girls  rooms.  Everyone  seems  to  like  them  and  I'm  glad  to  be able  to  do  this  small  thing.

Here  is my  latest  project.  The  youth at my  church  are having  a  fund raiser.  Every  summer  they have  mission  week  and I  think  they do  a great  job.  They don't  bug people, they  volunteer  at soup kitchens  and stuff like  that.  Of course, they  take  time  to  have  fun  also.   Anyway, all that  takes  money  hence  a fund raser.  Naturally  they don't  want  to buy  things  like  flowers  so I  took this  opportunity  to  make  paper  flowers  as a sort  of  dry run.  I  had two  weeks  to get  these  ready  and  almost  no limits  on what  I  could  do.  I  made ten center  pieces.  The  jars are painted  Starbucks  Coffee  bottles.  I used  scrapbook  paper, cardstock, and pages  from  old children's  books.    If you're  interested  in making  your  own  I  spent  less than   $30   and  that  includes  pricy coffee.  I  have  a  Cricut  machine  that  really  helps  with  the  roses but  you   could  make   them  without it.  I'm going  to  offer  them  to the  new moms  at church when the  party  is over.