Tuesday, March 2, 2021

DIY Soda Can Dogwood Stem

1:00 AM Gail @Purple Hues and Me DIY Challenge, Soda Can Crafts, upcycle 14 comments

When you think of spring, the flowering dogwood tree pops into mind. Who doesn't love seeing the dogwood tree's profusion of beautiful spring floral displays almost every where you go after what seemed to be a long, dreary winter!

To welcome spring, have I got a fun upcycle project with a dogwood theme you have to try! Can you imagine creating a beautiful dogwood stem using soda can aluminum and a craft flower punch? Yes, that's right! I'm going to show you how to cut, punch, paint faux dogwood blooms out of soda cans using a flower punch! How cool does that sound! Here's how!

Supplies you will need:

Clean Aluminum Soda Cans
Utility knife/craft knife
Craft Scissors
Flower Petal 3" punch
Needle nose pliers
All purpose quick dry adhesive
White Chalk, pink acrylic craft paint/brush
Skewer stick
Green faux stamen
Floral wire
Coat hanger
Floral tape

Instructions:

Carefully cut off the top end of a clean soda can using a utility knife. Be careful! You may want to wear gloves for this as a precaution, but I've cut lots of soda cans and thank goodness, I have never had an accident with the sharp, jagged edges.

Once the top end is removed, cut off the bottom end the same way. Be sure to start the cut pass the curve of the can. Leaving the curve portion on makes it difficult to lay the aluminum flat.

Then make a vertical cut with scissors across the can to open the aluminum. . . .

Smooth out the curve of the can by rolling the aluminum in the opposite direction or rolling on the edge of a table or countertop.

Insert the aluminum piece into the flower punch so you can see that the aluminum is completely under the shape and then punch the flower out. Once the flower is punched, adjust the aluminum to punch another one. You may need small needle nose pliers to pull the left over aluminum out.

Then paint each flower with white chalk paint . . .

using the end of a skewer stick to hold the flower while painting and let dry. Turn over and paint the opposite sides and let dry, too.

Since the dogwood bloom is composed of four bracts (petals) each petal on the punched out flower must be cut into separate pieces . . .

to form the dogwood flowering shape.

Then cut out the leaves using a free-hand design.

Use the tip of a small metal screw drive or ice pick to add veins and . . .

then paint them green.

Gather faux green stamen, doubling it around stem wire and wrap in floral tape for the dogwood flower center. Cut off the excess stamen thread . . .

and continue wrapping the stem wire with floral tape.

Once the stamen is wrapped add Quick Hold glue around the base . . .

and begin adding on the bracts. one at a time . . .

in a cross design . . .

until all four bracts are glued on.

Make four more this way.

Add floral stem wire to center back of the leaves using glue. Then connect the leaves to the stem wire using floral tape . . .

Cut thicker pieces of wire from a coat hanger for the main stem. Wrap with floral tape adding the smaller leaf stems and dogwood blooms . . .

for a decorative look!

Welcome to our monthly DIY Challenge hosted by Terrie @Decorate and More with Tip! On the first Wednesday of the month, Terrie hosts a DIY Challenge with a group of talented bloggers who love to create budget friendly décor for their homes. For the month of March, we were tasked with creating a Spring Upcycle DIY.

If you're coming over from Liberty @B4 & Afters, welcome! To see more upcycle ideas click on the blog titles below to check out their awesome upcycle creations!

DECORATE AND MORE WITH TIP Blessings By Me JUNK TO GEMS

Cloches And Lavender PATINA AND PAINT PALLET AND PANTRY

B4 And Afters Purple Hues and Me SWEET SOUTHERN GRACE

Thursday, February 25, 2021

DIY Hellebores Winter Blooms

1:00 AM Gail @Purple Hues and Me creative craft blog hop, Foam Flowers 17 comments

Hey all! I'd like to introduce you to the Hellebores plant! Some may know it as the Christmas rose that's popular around the holidays. When most flowering plants are lying dormant during the winter months, the Hellebores is blooming like no other. The plants are surprisingly frost-resistant and many are evergreen ranging in beautiful hues from white to purpleblack! Sounds amazing, doesn't it!

Here's a little bit about the hellebores. What you see when looking at the hellebores are not petals but sepals - five of them which are sometimes spotted and splashed with beautiful colors, too! The function of the sepals is to protect the flower part which is in the center like a cluster of stamens and small petals. Check them out in the photo!

That being said, I found inspiration in creating a version of the hellebores out of foam sheets - one of my favorite crafting mediums. I love making flowers with foam sheets like here and here. Take a look at this hellebores close-up: Can you imagine creating something similar with foam sheets for this month's Creative Craft Blog Hop?

Sepals (A) normally form outside of petals as a protection and support of the bud and flower. There are usually 5 sepals. The stamens (B) are the male part of the flower and are made up of 2 parts, the long white filament and the anther that sits on top holding the pollen. There can be up to 150 stamens per flower. The stamens surround the female part of the flower, the carpel (C). Fertilization of the carpels can be by insects, bees or wind. Replacing the petal in the case of Hellebores are small nectaries (D) that sit at the base of the sepals and provide food for pollinators.

Diagram of the parts of a Hellebore flower.

To make -

Gather:

Foam Sheets - 8"x12" Thin (1-2 mm)

Floral stem wire

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Faux stamen

Duct tape

Sepal (petal) pattern

Acrylic paint

Chalk pastels

Leaf mold (optional)

Iron, scissors, straight pin, skewer stick, sponge, water

Instructions:

It's best to use the thinnest foam sheets you can find. The ones found in the children's craft section at the craft stores are a bit thick to make flowers. Luckily, I had a pack of thin foam sheets I had gotten from the Dollar Tree a couple of years ago but I don't think they carry this any longer. I haven't been able to find any for quite sometime now. Too bad there wasn't any purple in the bunch, but it did have pink, yellow and green sheets - enough to show you how to make a hellebores.

Let's begin with making the carpel (center) by taking a strip of yellow foam sheet about a half inch wide and six inches long. Fold the strip in half and make thin cuts along the strip leaving a border at the top.

Then apply hot glue along the border . . .

and begin twirling the foam strip onto a floral stem wire - and applying hot glue to the end to seal. This is the female part of the hellebores called the carpel and is surrounded by the stamen which I'm showing you how to make next.

Take a 2" strip of duct tape and place faux stamen on top of the adhesive backing leaving the ends clear. Then cut along the center and . . .

wrap the adhesive piece around the foam (carpel) center.

To make the sepals, fold over a foam sheet four times to create space to outline a pattern 2 1/4"x1 3/4" using the tip of a skewer stick. You will need to cut out at least 10 to make two hellebores.

Next, dip a straight pin in acrylic paint and add "rays" to each sepal . . .

using a damp sponge rubbed over the end of a chalk pastel to tint with additional color.

Seal colors and soften the foam by laying each sepal on an iron plate for a few seconds.

Wrap the base and stem wire in floral tape.

Then begin gluing sepals on, one at a time . . .

until all . . .

five are attached.

Then begin wrapping the base and stem wire with floral tape.

Add leaf shapes by cutting out green rectangle 4"x2 3/4" pieces . . .

and placing on an iron for a few seconds and quickly pressing down on a leaf mold to give the foam texture (optional) Click here to make leaves without a mold.

Then cut out the textured piece in a leaf shape . . .

and add floral stems to center back using hot glue. Then connect the leaves to the main hellebores stem wire using . . .

floral tape.

Welcome to our monthly Creative Craft Blog Hop created by Chloe @ Celebrate & Decorate and Andrea @ Design Morsels! I've teamed up with a talented group of creative bloggers to bring you lots of wonderful ideas and inspirations!