Ruffly Flowers

I realized after I'd posted last night that although I made references to and showed photos of the ruffly flowers, I never really explained how to make them!

They're so easy!

Cut a 1" x 12" strip of either Whisper White, Very Vanilla, or one of the Designer Papers. Our colored card stock is too thick - it doesn't bend the way you want it to.

Punch along one side using the Scallop border punch. Sponge along the edges if you want. It does make the flower "pop" more if you do.



Run it through the corrugator 5-6 times. You're doing this to break down the fibers in the paper so that it will curl more easily.









Next, punch out a circle of CS using the 1-3/8 circle punch, and cover it with sticky strip.






Now take the beaten up, scallop punched strip and start scrunching it up and laying it down on the sticky strip covered CS circle. Start about 1/8 to 1/4" from the outside, and go around the circle, pushing it into the sticky strip.

You'll be able to make a little over 2 revolutions of the circle before you run out of paper.




Cover the middle with a corduroy button or some other sort of bling.







Add a couple of leaves. Place them where you started the strip around the circle, so that it covers that part.

I used the wings from the new XL 2-step bird punch to make mine, and adhered them with SNAIL.







Now take a couple of dimensionals and adhere the flower where ever you'd like it!

Besides the calendars my club ladies made, I also made a couple of cards with the flower to show its versatility.

Here's one in red...






And here's one I made using Rich Razzleberry.

I brayered the Bride DSP with Razzleberry ink, then made the flower.

I also used the Print Designs in Razzleberry, as well as some of the Razzleberry CS.

Again, I made the leaves for the flower from the XL 2-step bird punch.




A card with this flower on it will need to either be hand delivered, or mailed in a padded envelope. You definitely want the post office to hand cancel it!

So - are you excited about making these for yourself? Are you, even as you read this, running out to your stamp/craft room to begin the process? Let me know how they turn out for you - leave me a comment and a photo!

2010 Calendars

Stamp Club members gathered here on Saturday, and I taught them how to make the ruffly flowers using the Scalloped Border punch I showed here the other day.

I think they really liked them - as do I.

After they made the flowers, I gave them a 2010 calendar and a couple of coasters and turned them loose to make their calendars for this year.

They all used the flowers they'd made to decorate their calendars!



This is Margaret's.










And here is Bernadette's














Anne's














Lindsay's














Kathleen's - she added a bookmark to hers














Linda's














Del's














And finally, the one I made as a sample for them.


Mine is now sitting on the top of the computer desk. I seem to always need a calendar for something, and this is the closest I can get it - and still be able to see the numbers! LOL







We in SOCAL are experiencing a VERY rainy week this week. The media is hyping it as the storm of the century, but aren't they all, until they've come and gone and nothing has happened!!!?

Our average rainfall here is 9 inches a year. They're telling us we'll get anywhere from 5 - 8 inches at the beaches THIS WEEK! And potentially, 20 inches in the mountains!

We're hoping it's a more slow and steady rain than constant downpours, since there were some pretty bad fires up north of Los Angeles earlier this year, which makes for messy, muddy run off, not to mention the potential for homes just washing away.

It did rain pretty hard this afternoon. And then about 5 PM, when the sun was setting, this is what we saw.

Out the back door, facing west















Out the front door, facing east














It was like night and day! I didn't see any rainbows, though...

Hope the weather where you are is OK with you - not that we can do anything about it, but it's nice if it to pleases you... Personally, I can live with an average rainfall of 9 inches rather than feet and feet of snow!

I'm planning to stamp while it rains! Hope you are planning to stamp soon as well.

New Year...

Yeh, I know we're already 13 days into that new year, but I've been a busy little bee for the past week, attending the Stampin' Up! Leadership conference in Phoenix.

It was a blast! Got to see old friends, see new products, learn new ideas and techniques and hear some new business ideas to try out.

Look!
Stamping with some of my buddies at the Regional event on Saturday:









That's Patti and Sharon, and Sharon and Veronica - busily putting together the projects we were given for the day.

And here is one of the ideas I picked up at that event:

These are made with the scalloped edge punch, a stamped and cut out leaf image, some Sticky Strip, and a piece of bling.

Aren't they gorgeous?






And these were our gifts at the Manager's Reception. We went to a rodeo!

Our gift as we boarded the buses was the rebozo, or shawl - I chose Summer Sun for my color (imagine that!), but others had the choice of turquoise, purple, or magenta. Very colorful!

Then, after some hors d'ouvers, we were handed a morroca as we walked into the rodeo arena. We used this to cheer for the riders.

After the rodeo, we were directed to a large dining venue, decorated in a Mexican scene.

When we got to our tables for dinner, there was a stamp set wrapped in a tea towel. Again, very colorful!

Melie helped me pack before I left...












And Mudge helped me air out the suitcase when I got back...










And the camellias burst into bloom while I was gone.









More tomorrow! Gotta hit the sack - practically falling asleep while writing this.

Check out the Occasions mini-catalog! I'm sure there's SOMETHING in there you NEED!