Paper Flower + Handmade Cards {tutorial}

Everyone in my family knows that I send handmade cards rather than store-bought ones for all sorts of occasions - birthdays, Mother's and Father's Day, etc. My cards vary in their quality and attractiveness, usually depending on the amount of time I have, how tired I am, the materials I have on hand, blah blah blah. But guess what, fellow DIYers?! I believe I have created my signature card.

Without further ado, I present to you..... 

The Scrapbook Flower Card

Dear family, you will be receiving lots of these sorts of cards in the future.  :)

The clear focal point of this card design is the flower. Would you like to know how I made the paper flower? It is unbelievably easy and fast to make! 

     Materials:

• Scrapbook paper { < $0.25} (multicolored paper works best in my opinion)
• Water (I can hear you saying, "hmm?" We will revisit this in a sec.)
• Cute design scissors {$1} (Not sure of the technical name - it's the kind that you use for crafting to get a curvy cut.)
• Needle and thread {probably you will have this on hand}
• Button {optional}

      Time:  4 minutes/ flower (c'mon, you have time to make this)

3 Steps to Make a Scrapbook Paper Flower

Step 1 - Cut out 5 loose circles with your fancy pants scissors. No guide is necessary. Just eyeball it and try to make each circle a little bit smaller or bigger than the last. Circles that are not perfectly round work best because it gives that natural, organic feel to your flower.

Step 2 - Water your 5 cutouts. That's right - sprinkle a few drops on the paper until it's damp. Now the paper is more malleable and ready to bloom!! {hehe} Take each circle of paper and squish them in from the center, as shown below.

Step 3 - Lay the 5 circle cutouts on top of one another, and then sew together in the center. 

{Optional} Step 4 - Why not add a button to top it off? Cute :)

What do you think? Me likey :)

To create the handmade cards, I used  mod podge and scrapbook paper to cover some card forms (or you can make your own out of construction paper). Then I added a band of a different scrapbook paper going horizontally across the card. This combo seemed to please my eyes the most. Alternatively, you could make smaller flowers, which would save room to write Happy Birthday or anything you want on the card using sticker letters.

Here are some more pics: 

(This is the one shown in the steps. This card was before I discovered using buttons and bands of scrapbook paper.)

I think the brighter ones are pretty too.

All together now.

Do you have any tips for making other sorts of paper flowers? I'm kind of obsessed with this one right now, but in a few weeks I don't doubt that I will be looking for a different flower to make.  :) 

Linking to Beyond the Picket Fence Under $100 Linky Party; The Shabby Chic Cottage; Remodelaholics Anonymous; Creation Corner Friday Link Party; Just A Girl Show & Share; Funky Junk Interiors; Luxe Boulevard Throwback Thursday Link Party

Tutorial: How to make my version of the petal pillow

Yesterday, I was searching for some inspiration when I stumbled upon this lovely pillow by Cluck Cluck Sew.

Immediately upon seeing it, I knew I HAD to make one for our couch. I was so eager, in fact, that I headed directly over to Joann's fabric...after I finished up my work in the lab, of course. ;) (Okay, so maybe I didn't complete everything on my list.)

So, here is my version:

Mine doesn't make quite the same impact, but I think my pillow fits in well with the rest of the decor. It has a quiet elegance about it, I think, and the flower is the fun twist that catches your eye but does not hold it there. 

I am super impressed that Cluck Cluck Sew was able to make her pillow in 30 minutes, because my pillow took much, much longer. Although I'm a basically a novice when it comes to sewing (I got my first real sewing machine a few weeks ago), it's still pretty embarrassing how long it took me. Four hours. Yeah, I know.

Maybe it would have helped if my doggers hadn't viewed my sitting on the ground (cutting and sewing, mind you) as an invitation to play.

But who can say no to these two cuties?!

Someone - and I'm not pointing fingers -  thought the felt fabric I had laid out was for her.

Of course, they weren't always a nuisance - sometimes they tried to help momma out. Heidz even took it upon herself to hold the petals in place while I sewed rather than make me go to the trouble of sticking pins in them.

Okay, getting back to the pillow, here are the materials you will need:

• 1/4 yard of felt ($3)
• around 1/2 a yard of home decorating fabric ($5 @ $9.99/yard)
• cups of various sizes (already own)
• pillow (preferably an old one that you already own)
• fabric pen ($2.99)
• sewing machine or needle and thread (cost varies)
• scissors (already own)

And here are the steps to make a pillow similar to my toned-down version, if you will, of Cluck Cluck Sew's design…although her pillow is fabulous and her tutorial can be found here. 

FYI - The main differences between our designs is that, for better or worse, mine involved substantially fewer petal, three petal sizes as opposed to two, and I hand stitched my petals.