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starched flower {tutorial}

    I never grow tired of making new flowers – as you can tell by the crazy amount of tutorials I have done on flower-making.  I saw instructions for a starched flower a few years ago in the Life:Beautiful magazine {a really lovely christian publication} which looked a bit like my very favorite flowers by EmersonMade. I’m not crazy about doing a complete copy of someone else’s signature flower, so this is my version, with a few of my own little tweaks.

    starched flower

    Here’s what you’ll need:

    supplies for starched flower

    :: fabric {linen works beautifully, as does a heavier cotton}

    :: starch {if you can find heavy starch, go for it}

    :: petal patterns {download mine below, or create your own}

    :: felt circle

    :: pin back

    :: scissors, hot glue gun, iron

    STEP ONE: starch fabric to desired stiffness

    starch and iron fabric

    STEP TWO: use petal tempate {or create your own} as a pattern to cut out petals.

    pattern for starched flower

    You will need 8 large and 10 small, but of course you can add more if you would like a fuller flower {or adjust the petal sizes to change the finished flower size}.

    flower petals cut

    STEP THREE: cut a slit in the bottom of each petal, about 1/2″.Continue Reading…starched flower {tutorial}

    summer in snapshots {week one} and a simple way to make a photo collage {tutorial}

      Last week I mentioned that I’d be playing along with Amber of Starfish Jewelry and taking a photo each day to document our summer. Did you do it too? Here is our week in snapshots:

      2011-06-21

      I’m linking up at Starfish Jewelry Designs : click the button below to link up too.

      summer-snapshots150

      zig zag

      I’ve been asked a few times how I create my photo collages {you can see more examples here and here}. And now I will give out my secret.

      image

      That’s right. There’s no fancy photoshop steps involved : just Google’s pretty amazing free photo-editing software called Picasa.

      There are lots of different ways to edit your photos and as I get more into photography, I’m learning more about how important editing is. But Picasa has been a great resource for me {especially since it is simple and free} and is what I often use for my photos on the blog.  You can download it HERE.

      Once you have it installed on your computer, import your photos either from your camera or from a file on your computer. You can learn more about the editing features on the picasa site, but feel free just to play around – they make it pretty easy.  Okay, on to the tutorial :

      photo-collage

      When you open picasa and have photos uploaded, it will look something like this:

      image

      Now you can select the photos you would like to put in your collageContinue Reading…summer in snapshots {week one} and a simple way to make a photo collage {tutorial}

      fabric envelope {tutorial}

        My cousin is graduating from law school this weekend and I am so proud of her. I really can’t imagine going through the amount of undivided studying that girl has done these past few years, but hip, hip, hooray : she is done {okay, not completely since there is still the Bar to study for, but at least she has earned her law degree!}

        fabric envelope

        I have been trying to come up with something memorable and special to give her as a congratulation gift but finally came to the conclusion that money is always the most appreciated gift for any student.

        close up

        Rather than just giving a wad of cash, I created this fabric envelope as the wrapping for the money inside.

        money

        If you have a grad to celebrate, this might be a great gift idea for you too.

        fabric envelope

        Continue Reading…fabric envelope {tutorial}