Coffee Filter Rose Tutorial

I made these roses for our Valentines day party and they turned out so darling!  With spring, Easter this weekend and mother’s day next month I thought it was a perfect time to share how I made them!

Here’s what you will need:

• Coffee filters
• Acrylic paint
• A large bowl
• Water
• Masking tape
• Straws (bendy straws are great so you can make an arrangement)
• Scissors

Fill a large bowl with water and two tablespoons of paint in the color you choose.  I did two bowls one with yellow and the other pink.  Mix the paint into the water really well. 

Next submerge the coffee filters up to 20 at a time.  Just push them around to make sure they soak up some color. 

Squeeze the excess water out and allow them to dry completely.  ( I did this step at night and hung them in the kitchen with string and clothes pins and they were dry by morning)

Sorry I didn’t take pictures of those steps! 

Now you’ll have nice beautiful colored circles

Cut a spiral into the circle.

Cut a strip of masking tape and start pleating the filter down the length of the tape like so:

Make sure you leave enough of the sticky part available to roll around the straw.  There’s no right way to pleat it so don’t worry about being “perfect” Every rose is unique! I will suggest you start with the center of the circle and pleat it down the tape.

 

The middle of the circle is a little smaller and creates a beautiful center for the rose. (I hope that makes sense.)

Next take the end of the straw (the end with the bend) and start from the beginning of tape, the end that used to be the center of your filter, and wrap it around the straw.

Keep wrapping.

And you will end up with this beauty!

Now just keep going until you have enough for a bouquet. I currently have one in my fabulous new closet and it makes it feel like an adorable boutique!

Blog post to come soon on my closet project!

It works best to display the roses in a colored vase since the stems are actually straws   But if you are using a clear vase like I did, then use green tissue paper to disguise the straws. 

Feel free to get creative with the colors and have fun!  I dipped some filters in both the yellow and the pink and got a really pretty antique, older look to some roses, and a pretty coral color on others!  You can also use two filters for one rose to get a larger rose!  Please share with me if you make these yourself I would love to see how yours turn out! 

Linking up here:

Uncommonly Yours
Take-a-look Tuesday
Crafty Confessions
Tell me Tuesdays
A bowl full of lemons

Tissue wreath

Recently I found this beautiful tissue wreath on pinterest.  And I just knew I had to do it!  I try to stay away from Pinterest because I feel like if I pinned it, it's now on my never ending to-do list!  But seriously it's such an amazing resource for inspiration. 

While I am so thankful for her wonderful idea and tutorial, when I read it I was kind of put off because she used Hot glue..... I thought that was a bit extreme for tissue paper.  So I thought I would try it without the glue and see if the tissue stayed put without the need for glue. 

At Hobby Lobby I was choosing the wreath and since I'm trying to be a cheap skate lately, I didnt want to spend $8 on a white foam wreath! LOL.  So I went for the cheaper straw wreath that's wrapped in plastic.  It was only $5.  So after buying the color tissue paper I wanted I only spent $8 with tax. 

So here is what you need for the tissue wreath I made:

-Straw wreath.  I used the 18 inch size.
- 2 packs of the color tissue paper you prefer.  The packs I bought included 10 sheets.
- Scissors
-Something very pointy to push the tissue into the wreath.  I used a skewer.
-Ribbon, or anything you wish to add to the wreath. There are so many options! Or just leave it plain.

Unfold your tissue paper keeping all the sheets together.

Cut them in half

And then cut along the folds so you'll have long rectangles. 

Here is what the rectangles look like, and the skewer I used.

Fold your rectangle in half and then twist the bottom.  This is the part that will be pushed into the wreath.

Push your skewer into the wreath to create a hole wherever you wish to put your tissue. (I had finished my wreath before I thought to take pictures for this tutorial which is why you already see the ribbon on it!) Also I just realized it looks like my skewer is going all the way through the wreath but that's a piece of plastic behind the wreath.  I promise you dont need to push the skewer all the way through! Just push it in far enough to create a hole for your tissue.

Then use your skewer to push the tissue into the hole.  As you can see, I just put tissue on the front.  No need to put it on the back since it will be laying against the door and getting smushed!

I think the straw helped the tissue to stay secure in the wreath and therefor not needing the glue!  I imagine using the foam wreath the tissue would probably slide out too easily.  I made this while I watched tv.  It can take some time, but doesnt take a lot of attention so turn on netflix and relax!

*Warning* Learn from my mistake and dont have your hand on the direct opposite side while pushing the skewer into the wreath!  You just might push too hard and have the end of the skewer poke your finger! It hurts. So be careful! :)

To hang it on the door I just tied a piece of yarn around two pins.

And Voila!!  a beautiful wreath for your door. 

Let me know if you make this and come back and share your version!

Linking up to Frugalicious Friday

Memories made simple

I have been so terrible at putting together the scrapbooks I have for our family.  I have a huge tote full of everything I need to make our wedding scrapbook, yes it's been sitting there for 5 years! And a PRE-MADE scrap book from my sister in law Stacey that all I have to do is print and paste the pictures into that isnt complete yet, sitting there for over 2 years! And another tote of stuff i've saved from when caden was born that I want to scrapbook.  Not to mention the MILLION pictures on our computers that I want to print for a hard copy so they can be looked at and enjoyed intead of just hiding in the computer!

SO new goal is to actually do something about this instead of saying "I'll get to it" because as we have already seen how that works.... 5 years later! So I started with something simple to get the ball rolling.  I reminded myself it doesnt have to be perfect, just simple and do what I need, preserving the memories!

Caden's Art!

I made a book of all the art Caden has done the past two years. :)  It's simply a scrapbook with clear page protectors that hold each precious piece :) I couldnt decide on what to do for the cover so I just used the cutest thing around :) two little adorable hands eager to play in some paint!

The first page was his perfect first painting. Made of applesauce!! It was when he was attending day care at Growing Room while I was working full time.  They dipped his little baby hand in applesauce and let him spread it on some construction paper.  So precious.

Some art he made while attending St. Paul for preschool last school year.

Holiday art!!  Oh my favorite!!  I cant wait to do some festive crafts with him this year!

Some fun random finger paints and marker scribbles he did at home.  They were on very large pieces of paper so I just folded them to fit in.

These were little books of different things he did at school. On the back of one are notes from his teachers saying how much they loved him.  I will cherish them always!!

So it's nothing fancy, just a book of perfect, adorable, paintings and crafts from Caden.

linking up to
 

5000 hits! & Summer Outdoor candle Decor

Hey friends!  Today I reached over 5000 hits!   You know how sometimes you just blog and wonder if anyone actually reads it?!  My friends number has stayed at 28 for a while now so I was beginning to wonder if I was getting any new traffic!

A sweet friend of mine that I used to work with posted this on Facebook about wanting to start her own blog: "I am really starting to think about it Lytha Lee....I read Jessi Lynn Marx Blog all of the time and I love the arts & crafts and stories that she shares...it really inspires me to be a better me"   SO NICE!!  Hearing that totally inspired me.  I'm so blessed to be able to inspire others and share the gifts God has given me!  Thank you Ukema for the sweet words.  If you start a blog I look forward to reading it! :)

All that being said, I wanted to share a fun idea to bring a little ambiance to your outdoor world :)  I havent exactly been very crafty lately but when I pulled these candles out for the farewell party I remembered how easy they were to make! 

Its simply a beachy themed glass Candle holder

All you need is a large candle holder or vase, sand, seashells, and a candle.

I think it's pretty easy to see how it's put together so I wont go into detail :) Simply layer your sand and seashells and set the candle on top!

Put it anywhere you need a little extra "pretty".  I have a few of these, One is by my bathtub! The others I move around as needed.

So there you go! A super simple craft for any occassion :)

Linking up to:



 

From nature to nifty wreath!

Once again I've been inspired by another fantastic blogger out there :) B.E Interiors shared a fabulous idea for those annoying little spiky balls in our yard!  Making a wreath with them! You can see how she created it at her blog.  And here is how I did mine!

I purchased a straw wreath from Hobby Lobby and wrapped it with burlap.   She cuts the stems off with pliers but it was just as easily done with scissors.  I glued the balls to the wreath and originally wanted it to be white.

I thought it would look great for all the seasons and just interchange the ribbons each month.  But the white was not lookin that great.  It just looked washed out and boring. So I was really upset! my whole plan was shot! I didnt want a color that wouldnt be able to carry over into each season.  Then my wonderful hubby suggested a navy blue.  The shutters on our house are a navy blue so it was a perfect idea! And good thing I sort of "primed" it with the white first :) 

My version of this wreath includes a moss letter to go on the front.  I just purchased a wooden letter M at hobby lobby and a bag of decorative moss from wal mart. (It was crazy expensive at hobby lobby!)  I used spray adhesive to attach it to the letter.  Seriously love that stuff!

I used hot glue to glue the letter to the wreath.   So far it's not staying on very well with the hot glue so I'm going to have to think of a stronger way to attach the letter.

(UPDATE: I simply removed the gumballs from the wreath that were directly under the corners of the letter so the M was glued to the wreath, not the balls!  So it becomes inset and the other gumballs help keep it secure.)

And ta-da!  I used a strip of burlap to make a bow.  And dont you just love that blue!!! It's not quite as dark as I thought it would be but it's ok because I love love love it!

I think the burlap brings even more of a natural tone to it.  So let me know what you think!

And thanks Miss B.e.e for such a fabulous idea!

Linking up to:

Pretty Personal Presents

This week two of my good friends turned 30!   Twin sisters April and Amy are so sweet, I just love them both to pieces!  So I wanted to make them something personal for thier birthday.  Of course trying to stay in our budget and keep it simple enough to not take tons of time since I'm trying to get a meelion projects done at once! 

While strolling through Michaels I hit up the sale section where I found some great stuff for Caden's easter basket all for a dollar each! I also found these two pretty canvas for only $2 each!

I love the color and the pattern and of course the PRICE! :) And i'm fairly certain the ladies wont mind that I only spent $2 a piece on their presents ;)

I knew I wanted to paint thier last name initials on the canvas so they could hang it wherever they wanted in their homes.  So I found a font I liked in Microsoft Word, printed them off and cut them out! 

I traced them in pencil and then painted the letters a chocolate brown just using some acrylic paint.

Ta-Da!!  I dont know why I forgot to take a picture of them both finished but oh well! You get the idea :) So simple and so pretty! 

Happy Birthday April and Amy!  Love yall!