I truly am a night-owl, and am addicted to the late hours of the day into the early hours of tomorrow. That's about the only time my mind decides to shut itself up and be quiet so I can get some dang work done! But then my sweet friend Sleep gets the boot and I keep crafting away into the night.
So probably more than a year ago, my Mom asked me if I would make her some hydrangeas. She and my Dad had just re-done my old bedroom into a guest bedroom with blues, browns, and creams, and she wanted a little something extra. I had the plans for attempting this flower in the back of my mind, but of course it didn't go anywhere immediately. But when the chance finally came up (I needed a Christmas present for Mom...) I sat down and figured out the details of making those big, round, and full-petaled beautiful flowers that I've always loved looking at. For the petals I used a Martha Stewart hand paper-punch of a small four-petal flower. By cutting out a bunch of these, and doubling them up for each stem, it helped to make the entire flower fuller. Lots of wire and hot glue later, you get these:
They are so much fun to make, and adding them in with other types of flowers in a bouquet is really great. These pictured here are the ones Mom received for Christmas last year, and they make a really interesting piece of home decor, as well as a conversation starter.
You can also find these Hydrangeas in other colors at 922 Indie in Wichita Falls, TX
You can see more examples here.
Also at 922 Indie, I finally got my mini-market shelf to the shop, and now it's easier to make selections for a large array of colors to make your own bouquet. Just pick and grab the flowers you want, find a vase or container, and arrange! These make a great quick gift for a friend or family member who has a birthday, anniversary, graduation, retirement, or who is feeling under the weather. And BOYS, these make a perfect gift for your lady friends, *ahem*.
I had a friend a few months back who was in a stage production of 'Steel Magnolias', the Sally Field and Julia Roberts tear-jerker of a movie (gosh it gets me every time...I'm a crier). But she asked if I had made Magnolias before, wanting to give some to each of her cast-mates, and of course then I had not. But I said I'd give it a try. Now one of my personal goals with new flowers is to be completely original with them, all the way down to the files I use to cut the dies. So I studied the flower, drew my own petals, scanned them in and made my own SVG's. So these magnolias are completely, 100% my design. I really do love the way they came out, they are so elegant and soft looking. They would be stunning in wedding bouquets, backdrops, and even table decorations. These will soon be posted online in my Etsy shop.
There will be more posts soon to cover all the projects I've been working on lately. Thank God for all the time and capacity He gives, and for the inspiration for my work I see in nature.
