Since we are having our blog parade in a week, I thought it was only logical that our trend watch post be on the same topic as the inspiration! So here we go with the trend of flowers, and how posies have become the center stage embellishment for almost every kind of project. It seems flowers have always been around in paper crafting, in our stamps and patterned paper to begin with, then a few years ago the paper flowers started to really take over and now we have flowers made from most every type of craft material imaginable! Is it because flowers are appropriate for almost every occasion or is it because we crafty ladies like our eye candy? Maybe the answer lies in the middle somewhere.
Well what ever the reason, with all the flowers that are abundant now, I am always in a gardener's delight. Let's tiptoe through Ellen's tulips to see what she has to share with us that is on this trend.
Prima Marketing is the company that I first noticed a few years ago that brought the paper flower to everyone. Now they have kicked it up quite a few notches and have every type of flower and in many kinds of materials. These lace and fabric Madrigal Blossom are the blooms that I thought provided and excellent example of how beautiful their products are.
And how about their beautiful Say it in Pearls flourishes with the elegant little flowers worked into the design? Stunning.
With jewelry making a fun trend, Making Memories brought two hot topics together to make some stunning statements. The first is this Vintage Groove pendant, the rose is so beautiful and the abalone detail gives it a wonderful heritage feeling, gotta love that!
The next is from the Vintage Groove line as well (I noticed that most of their groups had some kind of flower in each of them, so it was hard to choose which to share!) and is called woven flowers. Great to use with jewelry, but would also be fantastic as an embellishment for a card the the recipient could then use themselves!
Maya Road always has delicious colors, shapes and textures in their flower designs. These little yellow and pink Medallion Flowers are no exception!
And how about Basic Grey's Bloomers from the Olivia line? The fact that they match the papers and other embellishments perfectly is wonderful, but they aren't limited to working just for that! I think a little baby headband with one of these on there would be about the cutest thing ever!
Which brings us to the Basic Grey Oliver Cozy Posies! Eeeeek, so adorable!
The latest and hottest flowers to hit the crafting scene are these ribbon roses from Webster's Pages. They have an incredible texture and come in fantastic colors, I think they are amazing!
Want whimsical and fun combined with do it yourself? This pair of canvas flowers from Prima has one flower that is decked out and ready to use and the other is blank and waiting for you to add your imagination. Wouldn't they be fantastic on a handbag, t-shirt or even some cute pillows?
If you want to get even more creative with building your blooms, how about using these Spellbinder flower die-cut shapes? They can be used with fabric, paper and wood to create flowers for all of your projects that need a little something special.
Dainty, beautiful and metal! What an exciting and fun way to add dimension and an unexpected element. Tim Holtz puts his own twist on flowers and aren't they spectacular?
Maybe you are needing something a little smaller and more versatile. This flower punch from Martha Stewart also comes with coordinating stamps that store within the punch when they aren't being used. Great for card making and for scrapbooking as well!
And speaking of stamps, of course there are tons of great flower images to choose from, but a few that caught my eye are these.
This cute Hero Arts cling image that is right on trend with the silhouette look.
Or how about this whimsical Hero Arts clear pack of posies, so fun!
Are you a wood mount kind of stamper? Then Hero Arts might have designed this sweet, flower filled heart just for you!
And Lockhart stamps always have delightful arrangements of flowers to fill with the colors of your choice, perfect for our tip-toe through the tulips!
I loved Julias post on Friday, and how she created that gorgeous ribbon rose. It inspired me to create a similar flower, but one that would be from paper and be a perfect match to whatever project we are working on. I started with paper from the Basic Grey Olivia pack and trimmed a couple of 1/2" strips.
Then I punched a circle that is about the size of the flower I wanted to create. I then covered it in Be Creative tape by just tearing the length of each strip and then placing the sticky side down on the circle.
Distress and crumple the paper strips, get them nice, soft and bendy!
Then peel off the protective backing from the Be Creative tape. Start by twisting a small clump of the paper in the middle of the circle and then turn the circle and stick the edge of the paper down onto the adhesive tape.
Keep going around and adding the strips to the end until you have covered your circle. Trim any of the bottom paper that might be peeking out if you don't like how it looks.
Adhere your flower to your card base using 3-D Foam Squares for extra pop.
Don't forget to share your card with someone who needs a flower. After all, that is the fun of creating!
Thanks so much for taking a tip toe through the tulips with me! I hope that this fun stroll in Ellen's flower garden has given you some more inspiration for our blog parade next week! If you need details on how to participate, check this post out for all the information you need to play along.
And don't forget to take some time to smell the roses...
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