When you are in a time crunch and need to create a gift ASAP this is one of my "GO TO" projects. This is what we are making today... simple and made with homemade hands!
Using the new collection from My Little Shoebox, the "B" sides of the Simple Life line are just so versatile and they just make my projects "POP."
SUPPLIES:
My Little Shoebox Simple Life papers
{Black Sheep, Farm Fresh & Country Road}
Glossy Accents
Thermoweb Adhesive
Fiskars Flower Punch
Mini Circle Punch
Tim Holtz Distress Ink ~ Vintage Photo
Wooden Craft Frame
You are going to need about 40 flowers to complete the frame, give or take depending on the size of your frame but don't worry about making too many. It is better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. Besides, the extras make nice homemade embellies for your cards and other layouts! I have found that the assembly-line process works the best... punch to your hearts content and then move on to the next punch! The brown circles are from the My Little Shoebox Farm Fresh paper.
To make the sunflowers, use the My Little Shoebox Country Road paper and you will need two punched flowers for every one sunflower. Again, punch your heart out... or if you aren't in a time crunch have the pint sized crafters help out! I have found giving the punches to the creative toddlers keeps them very busy as you create your masterpiece and they are contributing to the gift!
Using the Thermoweb dry adhesive, dab a little in the center of the flowers and set them to where they are slightly off to the side instead of having the petals align right on top of each other.
Use a little more of the adhesive and attach the brown circles.
It's inking time - YAHOO!! I am obsessed with Distress Ink... you can find it on 99.9% of my projects! The applicator totally helps give the petals this look but you can use what you are comfortable with. Distress the petals on all the flowers.
After the flowers are all punched, attached, centers attached and distressed... Distress the frame itself. I am a fan of the rustic, weathered look so the messier the better!
The next step is to cut out the green background {My Little Shoebox Black Sheep} to the frame, I find it easiest to trace and then cut with scissors... then use the craft knife if the frame is super duper detailed. The nice thing is the flowers do a great job of covering those creative opportunities {a.k.a. mistakes}. Once the background is cut use your Glossy Accents to attach the paper to the frame. If you see bumps and aren't a "lumpy and bumpy" person, using a brayer will help iron them out.
Again, using Glossy Accents start adhering your flowers to the frame. It tends to work best if you start in one spot and work your way around. Remember that the petals will take up some of the photo space so keep that in mind as you are working your way around the frame. To get the overlapping petals just play with them, slide them together before you add them to the frame. Glossy Accents is a great product for this because it allows you a little time to figure out where exactly you want things to go. Once you get all your flowers on your frame, set aside to dry. *Side note, if you are a Glossy Accent addict like me, adding some to the centers of the flowers just make the whole frame jump out at ya!!! FYI - this will add to the drying time.
Here's a close up of the petals intertwined.
Hope you enjoyed this project, thanks for stopping by!
Creative Cheers!
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