fairy flower surprise gift (giant tissue paper flower)

These make a nifty way to present a tiny gift to someone special, whatever the occasion.  Extra large fairy flowers are an especially nice way to package costume jewelry for kids' birthdays; this one, for example, concealed a comically large metallic ring with a huge purple plastic gemstone for a girl who loves fairies.

I think these flowers make a nice gift in themselves, as well, or pretty awesome party favors. They're also versatile, easy to make, and use materials that are reasonably easy to find.

Start with six squares of tissue paper. To make the largest flower possible, use full-sized sheets of tissue with an end cut off to make a square. For smaller flowers, use smaller squares of paper. I used two sheets each of green, pink, and yellow, but you can alter the colors to match your theme.

Stack them up, and make one-inch wide accordion folds from one end of the stack to the other.

Use scissors to round the ends of the folded stack, then use a green pipe cleaner (aka chenille stem) to cinch the stack at the middle.

Carefully separate the layers of paper, gently pulling and shaping them up and towards the center to look like petals and leaves.

Use a length of 20 gauge steel wire to make a long stem, and use it to follow the green pipe cleaner around the center of the flower.

At the flower's base, twist the pipe cleaner and stem wire together, then wrap the entire stem with patterned washi tape or masking tape. The stem should be sturdy enough to hold the flower upright.

The center will be where you place the bundled present! Wrap your gift in layers of tissue paper and twist the top. Use two short lengths of pink chenille stems to twist around the top of the bundle, curling the ends.

Apply a rolled piece of the patterned masking tape or a piece of double-sided tape to the bottom of the bundle. (Hint: If you're planning on traveling very far or the jewelry is very expensive, I'd attach the bundle with hot glue instead of tape.)
 

Insert the bundle into the flower's center and press hard to secure it in place. Make sure to include a line in an attached card to let the recipient of the gift know to check the center of the flower for a hidden surprise!

If you plan to make a bunch of these as party favors, you can cut up to a dozen sheets of paper into squares at once to save time, and then build the flowers assembly-line style.

Thanks for reading!

daffodil treasury

And now, for a palette cleanser, here's a bright, cheery little Etsy Treasury list featuring daffodils. Please enjoy!




Link here.


(p.s. you can make these photos bigger by clicking on them . . . but you probably knew that!)

desert photography, part one

Not to be confused with dessert photography . . . 

sunshine! oh how i have missed you!

I spent the day Sunday in the garden, bright sun and 80 degree temp so welcome after months of rain and cold. I moved a lot of earth, built some new beds, planted seeds, and generally got ready for the spring, finally, now that we're only a month away from summer. 

I'm soaking some moonflower seeds to go with my sunflower seeds. Moonflowers open at night, along with Night-Blooming Jasmine, which I'm also going to hunt down. I have a flower bed and a trellis right outside the new art studio, which will be perfect for the night garden.

Also saw my dear friend Emily graduate law school on Saturday. I'm terribly proud of her. 

spring-y goodness!

First, a picture of Multnomah Falls, courtesy of my talented sister-in-law:

In real-life, it's a colossal, roaring beast. In photographs, it's still lovely, but not as overwhelming. 

And some flowers are finally blooming here in Oregon:

We've actually had a ton of daffodils for awhile now, too; the yellow is gorgeous, but I've been longing for blue.

Now all I need is more sunshine!

spring collection up march 21st!

Wands, anyone?

I plan to have the first few items in the spring collection up on the site and on Etsy by March 21st, the first day of spring. Look for new card designs, jewelry, and handbound books. A couple of weeks later, be on the lookout for hats, robot t-shirts, and other goodies.

The daffodils are up, the cherry blossoms are starting to peek out, and things have that electric spring hum . . . So much to look forward to! I've been digging through many, many bins of fabric and supplies, downsizing and clearing room for new treasures, all in the spirit of my New Year's resolution: making life simpler and less cluttered.