Coffee Filter and Candy Wrapper Flowers

While attending a vintage fair I spotted this single old bed spring and decided I just had to have it.

It can be used in so many ways.  This time I decided to marry it with an Eiffel Tower style flower vase and fill it with handmade paper flowers.

I created the large flowers out of tea dyed coffee filters and the small brown ones

I created out of brown candy wrappers I have been saving from candy we ate during the Holidays.

I try to reuse as much as I can and make something decorative out of stuff that would otherwise be in the landfill.

The edges have been distressed with ink.

For the dark brown flowers I stacked the mini candy liners, inserted a wire with a loop on one end to keep the wire from pulling all the way through.  Then I used brown floral tape to cover the wire and snipped the paper to look like carnations.

I did the same thing with one of the coffee filter flowers.

The other 2 coffee filter flowers I stacked the filters and cut the edges in a scallop pattern before inserting the hooked wire.  I gathered the filters around the wire and covered them with brown floral tape, also.

At the top of the spring I tied some tea dyed seam binding in a bow and added some string pearls.

This was an easy very inexpensive bouquet.  Under $5.00.  And a nice change for winter.

Happy Crafting!

Altered Mini Composition Book

This was such a cute idea.

 I saw it on "scrapdaworld" on YouTube and just had to try to make it for notes on my desk.

I went to the Dollar Store and bought a pack of 3 little books.

First thing you do is fold all the pages in half.

After that I cut about 3/4" off sides of the the book cover.

Next I placed the book with the folded pages fanned out on it's side and traced around the cover and pages.  Making the edge along cover into a gentle curve.

Cut 2 from double sided paper

  I covered both the inside and outside cover with paper from K&Company paper book I had in my stash.  

It took 1 piece of 8" x 8" paper for the whole project.

Paper collection I used

I used Tim Holtz Victorian Velvet Distress Ink on the edges of all the paper cuts and on the edge of the folded pages.

This is a picture of the bottom and side with a handmade flowers hot glued onto each side.

Next, I hot glued string pearls to  all around the edges and glued three Mulberry flowers in the opposite two corners of the base and a couple of flat back pearls to remaining two corners.

Cute on your desk for photos, to-do notes or phone numbers, etc.

It reminds me of an old time rolodex.

This item would be nice for teachers gifts or school fundraisers.  You could make a masculine version for male teachers and using a more masculine print paper and jute or twine along the edges.  Then glue tiny footballs, baseballs. fishing lures or keys, etc. to the base.

Happy Crafting.

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Altered Shabby Chic Violin

 This was an after Christmas find.  It has been in my workroom for some time.

I finally decided to give it a shabby chic make over.

I started by painting the entire piece, except the fingerboard, white with Gesso.

Next I used a vintage piece of music from an old book I have  to cover the scroll and top face of the violin.

Then I added silver glitter to the strings and around the F holes.  Where the fingerboard ends I glued a  silver dragonfly from a broken broach.

Added a cluster of white mulberry flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts.

And cream pearls around the upper edge.

Next I added bits of lace from Tresor Deluxe  and a couple of heart shaped rhinestones for a little bling.

Altered Potato Chip Can

Wishing for more of a feeling of Fall in the air.   It is still in the 80's here.  Our little bit of cool weather is gone and it is warm again.  I have all the doors and windows open.  Really need that cooler weather and lots of rain.

For today's project I altered a potato chip type canister.   I covered the can with papers from DCWV Paper, Le Tres Chic 12 x 12 paper stack.  I really love all the different textures in this pack.  Some glitter, some glossy, some matte.

I first covered the front of the can with a floral paper from the pack about 4 inches wide and the height of the can, glued it from top to bottom, then chose the black and pink swirls for the outside.  Meeting in the center  and not gluing at the 4 inches at the top to form the "v" shape where I curled the edge back to reveal the floral paper beneath. I added some pink lace and a pink crystal tied on with some tea stained seam binding.

I placed a pink and black striped print cut about 2 inches tall all the way around the bottom edge. Then used one of the cut apart tags and a couple of paper flowers I punched out, added a rhinestone in the center of each to finish decorating the outside of the can.

Next I cut a circle from the floral paper to fit the lid and added three more punched out flowers with pearl centers and a few leaves from my stash. 

I am using this can to store all the punched out flowers that I have made for some future project.

I am also working on a scrapbook and a book for notes from the same paper paper pack.

And here is another one I made using DCWV Primrose stack.  Love these papers so shabby chic.  I use this one to store my dyed seam binding.

Love it when I get organized.