Wire Flowers - An Experiment

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my discovery of the coolness of fabric yo-yo’s. After looking around for some new ideas, I found out the company who makes the plastic template I use also makes a myriad of other products for cool looking fabric things such as butterflies, flowers and hearts. They even have a four-leafed clover (apropos, considering that is the name of the company who manufactures the products: Clover).

Anyway, this got me thinking. I had so much fun making my Kusudama Flowers…how can I incorporate the paper flowers with the fabric flowers? I decided to try and make some fabric flower petals and insert some floral wire into the ends giving them a molded look.

I wanted to start by cutting two tear drop shaped pieces of fabric for the petal. Then, I would sew them right sides together with a 1/8” seam allowance leaving the bottom unsewn for turning. After that, I’d take some floral wire and fit it around the inside edges of the petal so it would keep its shape and structure. Once I had 5 of these petals, I would attach them by winding the excess wire in the center, like a “stem”. To complete the look, I’d wrap the wire in floral tape and glue a button or pearl in the center of the flower.

I haven’t actually tried this yet, but I think it will work.

By the way, we’ve had more snow in the last week than we received in the entire month of February. How ridiculous is that? We started spring cleaning last weekend during the middle of one of the snowstorms. It just didn’t feel right.

Heart String Craft

Heart String

Transform cardboard tubes into love tokens, then display them as a mantel garland or door decoration.

Materials

Cardboard tube
Paintbrush and red paint
Pushpin
Needle
Embroidery thred
Beads (with holes large enough for the needle to pass through

Instructions

1. Cut the tube in half and brush the halves inside and out with red paint. Let them dry.

2. Flatten the halves, then cut them into one-inch segments. Shape each segment into a heart by pushing one creased side toward the center. Pierce holes in the top and bottom of each heart with a pushpin.

3. Thread the needle and knot the end. Slide on a bead until it stops at the knotted end, then loop back and push the needle through the bead again, going from bottom to top.

4. Thread on a heart, then add a bead just above it, using the same looping technique to secure it in place. Repeat to create a string of hearts and beads.