11/19/2012

May Arts/Helmar Blog Hop- Day 1

Welcome to the May Arts/Helmar blog hop! If you came from Carisa's blog today, you're on the right track!  If not, make sure you start at the beginning of the hop with Charlene's blog! You don't want to miss a single stop as we are bringing you tons of inspirational projects today featuring May Arts ribbon and Helmar adhesives! 

For my project today, I was inspired by my lovely friend, Angie Blom. She made a similar project over the summer, I loved them so much that I decided to try my hand at it and put my own twist on it. 

I needed to get a jump start on Christmas Ornaments this year, so this was the perfect excuse! What? These don't look like Christmas Ornaments to you? Well, yes, I am not going traditional... I'm going to do a beach themed tree! I'm so excited about it, but beachy ornaments are almost impossible to find here in Ohio, so I have to make my own this Christmas! 

Of coarse, my all time favorite beachy paper collection is Authentique's "Fresh" collection. I matched up a few ribbons to it to use, one being the large silver leaves (because I knew I was making flowers) from May Arts (XL31) and I also grabbed some twisted burlap (363-09) because it's goes with my coastal theme. I also grabbed some clothes pins. I happened to stumble across a large bag at an estate sale for a couple dollars while I was in Chicago this summer. I knew they would come in handy sometime! Of coarse, I needed glue as well, so I reached for my "hot glue in a bottle" aka Helmar's 450 quick dry adhesive. 

First, start off by finding a nice flower cut file or die. I opted to use my Silhouette Cameo with a 3D flower cut file from the Silhouette store. I lined up 4 different patterned papers on my mat so I would have a variety of flowers. 

One you have your flowers cut, you can ink the edges to give a little shading to your flowers. It just looks pretty to ink/distress them. I always reach for my Memento inks and ink blushers from Imagine Crafts. 

Once the flowers are inked, you will need to fold them so each petal has a crease in the center. 

Next, start gluing and layering your flowers. Make sure you stagger them to give our flower dimension. 

Once you get to the last flower, glue and hold in place for a few minutes so that your glue will start to bond and they don't pop apart. Sit flowers aside and let the glue dry completely. 

Fluff your flowers up a little to make them look full, I sprayed mine with some glitter dust, but this step is optional. If you are clipping them on your Christmas tree, glitter looks really pretty when all of the Christmas lights reflect off of your flower. 

Once glitter is dry, you can add pearls to the centers of your flower to make them look complete. 

Cut strips of coordinating paper, ink and then adhere to the top and bottom of your clothespins. 

Finish by adding leaves, flower, a bow and some pearls. 

There you have it, beautiful flowers that can easily clip onto your Christmas tree this year! You don't have to use them for a tree decoration, these could easily double as a home decor item or clip onto a gift bag to hold the to/from tag on. 


Now hop right along and see what Jen Shears has in store for you today! Don't forget to comment on the stops along the way, we've got lots of yummy May Arts ribbons and some Helmar adhesives to give away! 

Alexcia Patterson-Schroll: http://makeandmingle.wordpress.com/

Products Used: 
May ArtsXL31363-09
Helmar- 450 Quick Dry Adhesive
Authentique"Fresh" collection 6x6 Bundle
Imagine Crafts- Memento: Gray Flannel, Summer Sky; Ink Blushers
Therm-o-Web- Glitter Dust: Silver
Kaisercraft- Pearls: Bliss
Wood Clothesepins
Silhouette Cameo 

40 comments:

C said...

Super double duty gift idea, Emily!

Chrissy said...

Your beachy tree is going to look really pretty! I never thought to use flowers in it. But the papers you chose are perfect and those flowers are going to go real nicely.

Ann said...

Wow! These ornaments are stunning!!

Nikki said...

These are just stunning and fab for gifts :)

Sue McRae said...

Gorgeous flowers, love the subtle shimmer.

Maria said...

very pretty

Jennifer Vanderbeek said...

Oooh, those would be so very pretty on my tree (we always do blue & white/silver rather than red & green) and how fabulous is it that you're using clothespins?! No more searching for tangled hooks. That's pure genius right there!

jen said...

These are really lovely! Great combo of May Arts & Helmar (& Authentique!)
:)

Unknown said...

I absolutely LOVE these and I'm SO making some of them!! Thanks for the inspiration!!

Miriam Prantner said...

These turned out great! Love the flowers, a really easy gift idea!

Laurie said...

what a great idea and I love the choice of colors. Those of us who are Jewish can use them as well for our celebration decorations! Thanks for the inspiration.

Kristie Maynard said...

These are absolutely gorgeous. TFS!

Yadi said...

Wonderful! I can see giving these as a gifts at the office.

Sherry Butcher said...

Wonderful flowers with many year round uses. Think I'll stash some now that I seen your. TFS.

Amy Wing said...

Those look amazing. I love the idea of clipping to the tree!!

Amanda said...

U make the most gorgeous flowers~these ornaments r awesome:) Like that they're not the "norm"! Thanx 4 sharing how 2 make these! ~prhmangel(at)gmail(dot)com

Venus and Luanne @ Sisters Craft Cafe said...

Very pretty flowers and they sure are great for decor.

Luanne

Unknown said...

Such a beautiful decor element. Thanks for sharing!

angie blom said...

These are just gorgeous Emily!! I love it!! You can have them up all year round!!

TracyM #6773 said...

WOW - your flowers are GORGEOUS!!!
Looks like you have going to have a beautiful Christmas celebration this year :)

Ava Gavloski said...

emily, a very clever and creative off the page project. good thing helmar's is here to help with the project.
ava g

Stephanie Earls said...

So very pretty!

paintedlady89 said...

love these flowers, i think you did a wonderful ornament!
hugs,
gigi

SHartl said...

Oh!! What a wonderful idea ! Those flower clips are gorgeous and so versatile!

Anita Braddock said...

Super wow they are Beautiful. love the colors and wow Gorgeous. thanks for sharing

Kim said...

Fantastic project!!! A couple of these would look super cute drilled right to my wall in my craft room for hanging and changing artwork up! Thanks for the idea :)

Lori W said...

oooh these are gorgeous!!

Darlene Gabriel said...

Wow these are gorgeous - especially with all the glitter;)

Anonymous said...

what a lovely project! and i especially love that glitter. ;)

Lauren
www.craftsbyreadysetlove.com

Maureen Hayes said...

Emily,

I have seen a lot of nice projects so far on the hop, but yours are my favorite by far! I love the flowers you created, but also that you can use these for your tree, as a gift, on a bag, etc. . . Plus I am a sucker for a beach theme myself! You really showcased the May Arts Ribbon and the Helmar Adhesive with this project. Thanks so much for sharing.

Sue D said...

Perfect for a beach theme!

Diana Evensen said...

Beautiful ornaments. I LOVE the idea of a 'beachy' themed Christmas tree.

Madame Doudou said...

Your flowers are beautiful. Have a nice day, Sue.

Karenladd said...

Oh boy do I want to make a batch of these! So pretty!

Caryn S said...

These would be great for a garden or woodland themed tree too! Really clever1

Lynne said...

I really like the use of the clothes pins to attach the ornaments to the tree - such a neat idea. Thanks for sharing.

Denise Bryant said...

Lovely ornaments!
DeniseB

SmokieBlueRose said...

This are gorgeous! and they can be used any time of the year.

Janet said...

Those are beautiful!!!!!

huginafold said...

I love this idea. I missed it for this Xmas but I'll be able to get a head start for the next one. I guess you could use these all year round as special gift tags for weddings and the like.

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