Roll one up! Making paper roses.

This past weekend at my store we had our open house event with all the instructors showing off thier crafty creations.  One of the classes I showcased was called FlowerWOW! It features this super easy flower making technique.  The variations and applications are basically endless.  Cut with decorative scissors to give a wavy edge.  Ink the edges of your petals for a dipped or faded look.  Distress the paper to look worn.  Add glue and glitter.  Cut out green paper leaves to accent.  Don’t be afraid to use pattered decorative papers, or use double sided paper for an even cooler look.

Here are the basic steps.   You probably have all the supplies needed to roll one right now!

•  Scissors
• A pencil
• Adhesive – I actually use two different ones for this project, a glue stick and craft glue (I use Aleene’s Tacky Glue).  These both look white when applied but dry clear.    
• A paper circle.  Obviously, the larger the circle the larger the flower.  I tried circles as large as 6 inches and as small as 2 ½ inches.  Pick any color or pattern you like!  I tried with both a lighter weight decorative paper and a medium weight cardstock, and got similar results with both. 

First, draw a spiral in your circle, like this:

Try to keep the width even throughout the spiral.  Then cut along the line you just drew.  If you are inking your edges go ahead and do so and let them dry for a couple minutes.

Start rolling the paper from the OUTSIDE end of the spiral.  Give it a couple practice rolls. 

Start the roll tight.  When you get to the end, if you want it tight keep your fingers held if you want you flower to be more open, release your fingers a bit and let the paper unroll some.  The inside of the spiral will look like a small flap.

Cover that with adhesive and press it to the base to seal the bottom of the flower.  I use the glue stick for this part.  Then I go back and reinforce the flower by slipping the tip of the tacky glue in between the petals and squeezing a little into the bottom center.  Then I press down the middle of the spiraled petals to adhere them.   

That’s it!  Now that you have a flower, make a couple more!

Now that you have a few flowers made, here are some ideas on what to do with them:  use one on a card or gift tag, mount them on a canvas painted in a contrasting color, make a dozen and attach them to stems and put them in a vase for a fun faux flower arrangement, make lots more and attach them with hot glue to a wreath.

Want to learn more fun, new techniques like this?  Come to my next Crop event.  It will be March 17, 2012 from 1-7 p.m.  As always the fee is only $5.00!!

Give me a little SMOOCH

I apologize about the brief posting hiatus.  When I sat down a few days ago at my computer I had almost finished the entry I was working on.  Of course, that’s when my usually reliable ISP went on the fritz.  I logged back on my PC the next day to find that my almost completed entry was *gasp* gone!  I had a major college flashback to losing hours of work on a paper or project by forgetting to click that little save icon like a maniac every time you pause in your work.  I stopped, took a breath, and remembered that it was all just arts and crafts.  

But, alas, I have kind of lost my train of thought on that original post now, so my intended entry on Journaling Tips is just going to have to wait.  Plus I discovered some new pretty shinies to share with you all.  For the month of February my crop event was sponsored by SMOOCH ink.  These inks are acid free and come in darling little bottles that could easily be mistaken for nail polish.  Smooch is a great name for a product line of inks because that’s really just what ink can be to a scrapper, a little kiss of color on a page.    

Instead of a brush tip on the lid like a nail polish, there is a stiff foam applicator that comes to a fine point perfect for swirl embellishments, edge inking, and dot bordering.  In addition to paper, they can be applied directly to rubber stamps, or even to spice up plain brads and metal embellishments. 

Here is an example embellishment I made using an acrylic stamp carefully colored in purple and green smooch ink.  After stamping the golden yellow ink was applied in empty spaces within the stamped image.  I then inked the edges of the cardstock with the purple ink by simply running the applicator along the very side of the paper.  This simple addition of an inked edge to a white or other light colored image can really make it pop.  It can act as a visual border when you do not have room for a double matted page component.

The next SMOOCH products I were able to play with were the SMOOCH spritz inks.  The kit I had included four colors, Silver Foil, Cherry Ice, Electric Blue, and Vanilla Shimmer.  

These are acid free liquid inks with shimmery particles suspended in them.  Their application is super easy, but super messy.  Basically you just lay your item to be inked down and spray away.  They are fast drying and fume free.  However, you must do this on a covered surface, or even better in the official “Color Catcher,” or you will be an inky mess.  Thought you could be careful and you tried it on your kitchen table anyway and need a quick clean up?  Try a Lysol wipe instead of just a wet paper towel.  It really cleans the ink up instead of just smearing it around your work surface.    

Not to hype it up, really, but the color catcher is just a card board box that’s missing a side. 

It can’t even accommodate a full 12”x12” piece of card stock.  It did work well with the 8”x8” cardstock I tested the spritzes out on.  My first few sprays were pretty splattery, so I recommend playing around with some scrap paper before you spray away at your project. 

This is a background I created by spraying each of the four colors I had in each corner of a sheet of white cardstock and working outward from there, overlapping in the middle to create a marbled effect on the paper.

This background was created by covering a sheet of black cardstock in Cherry Ice colored SMOOCH spritz and then brushing in even, one directional strokes across the page with a small dry foam brush.  Many unique background patterns can be created on cardstock for scrapbook pages, or on a blank greeting card, or even on blank chip board pieces. 

This bird was created by spritzing three layers of Electric Blue spritz on a pre-cut chipboard piece with about five minutes of dry time in between.  I really went to town with the amount of ink I applied here.  This was more than a little smooch, it was a full on make out session.  The color was darker, but still iridescent in the light due to the shimmer in the ink.  Because I like my canaries spotted, I added the regular SMOOCH ink in a lighter contrasting color, yellow, by simply dotting the applicator on the edge to create a cute border.  How trendy looking is he?  What's a good way to spice up any craft project? 

C.R.O.P. Can't Resist Original Papercrafts?

I just finished up a new poster for the classroom at the store and I wanted to share it with you all!  It features hole punched polka dot letters, a glitter spotted chipboard yellow canary, as well as glittering and punch around the page techniques.   

I am super excited about the spring classes that we have coming up and can’t wait to share the excitement with our crafting students!  March Spotted Canary School scrapbook classes will be Fridays from 6-8 and Sundays from 2-4.  They last all four weeks and the cost is $25.00 for the month.   This is a great course for beginners, but is certainly appropriate for any level of scrappers.  My next one day event coming up is another fun monthly crop event.  I have some great giveaways and new products to show off at this one!  Here are the flyer details:

Can’t

Resist

Original

Papercrafts?

Me neither!  Come crop with me!

Michael’s of Johnson City will be hosting our next Crop Event

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 26^th 1-6 p.m.

Enjoy an afternoon of scrapping with Certified Craft Instructor Brandi.  Any level of crafter is welcome.  You might even win a door prize!   The fee is only $5.  Reserve your spot with us early as space is limited! 

The Spotted Canary.  Isn't he cute?

Paper not your thing?  I’m not offended!  Try beading or knitting or cake decorating.  Want to take a class with me or another one of our wonderful craft instructors?  Leave me a comment or send me a message and I can help you sign up!

Crop It Out!

I have finally wrapped up my online classes with spotted canary school, and I am now an officially certified instructor with Scrapbook Design U.  In addition to the four week scrap booking basics class that I will be teaching at my store beginning in February, I also host demos, specialty one time technique classes, and crops.  Here is the flyer info for my next event:

Attention Tri-Cities Crafters!

We know you took a ton of photos this past year.

Come put them to good use at Michael’s 1st CROP NIGHT event of 2012!

1 p.m. – 7 p.m. on SATURDAY JANUARY 28^th

At Michael’s of Johnson City - ONLY $5 to attend!

Come swap ideas, tools, and stories with Certified Instructor Brandi

Have fun and meet other local scrappers while learning new techniques.

Also ask about Scrapbook Design classes starting this February!

So, what is a crop?  Although not limited to women, I like to think of it as a special type of crafting hen party.  A funny thing about scrap booking is that although your main goal is to your share your photos and experiences with others, the actual act of putting your project together is mostly done solo.  I know as a busy mom, I am usually doing my crafting during that precious nap time, or even in the middle of the night when I just can't sleep (hey, it beats those dumb infomercials).  It's certainly not a very social activity at 3 a.m.  A crop event changes that game entirely. 

A crop is basically a social scrap booking session, a place where many crafters gather, under the guidance of a facilitator, and work on individual projects and layouts, together.  A crop is a great motivator to begin and finish layouts you may have been hesitant to complete on your own.  How many times have you thought "Does this embellishment look better blue or green?" or "Does that title look OK?"  At a crop you can get instant feedback from your peers.   

My favorite part about a crop event is the flow of ideas between scrappers.  You can come and inspire others while also being inspired by their work.  You can also share tools, papers, and techniques.  Most crop locations have cabinets of supplies that are accessible to the croppers.  Stepping outside of your personal collection of supplies will also increase the diverse look of your pages and projects.  

Above all, a crop event is FUN.  There is more than a little talking, giggling and story telling to go along with the crafting.   Who doesn't want to meet new, like minded crafters in their area?  This is the perfect place!  A crop is more than an event, it can be a valuable resource to a scrapper, a chance to share their experiences while being enriched with the knowledge and stories of others.

Are you convinced yet?  If so, come CROP IT OUT with me!   

NOW CROP IT OUT
NOW CROP IT OUT

WEST SIDE CROP IT OUT
SOUTH SIDE CROP IT OUT
EAST SIDE CROP IT OUT
NORTH SIDE CROP IT OUT