faux green thumb...

Happy Monday all! Glad you're here! I've got some Monday Inspiration to share with you...

first, a little background...

I grew up loving gardens. My Grandma had a beautiful garden, and could tell you the names of all sorts of flowers. My Mom also does well in the garden. I love flowers, but somehow, I didn't get the "green thumb" gene... I tend to kill plants rather than grow them. =(

I have found a solution though... paper flowers! (I don't kill near as many of these...)

This beauty is one of my many favorites from my Mom's garden... The Globe Mallow (also known as the Desert, or Apricot Mallow) I just love the colors....

This is where today's inspiration comes from.

Step 1: cut out 2 sizes of flowers out of plain old white card stock (I used a Cricut, but any die cutting machine, punch or hand cut flower will work great!)

Step 2: stick the flowers onto the sticky part of a sticky note. (this holds them in place for you) Paint your flowers with your choice of Creative Inspirations Paint. (I used Mango to match the Mallows)

Step 3: when dry, flip the flowers over and paint the other side.

the smaller flowers will be your buds. We will work with them first.

Step 4: using scissors, snip between the petals towards the center of the flower. *don't snip the petals all the way apart... that would be bad.*

Step 5: Using your fingernail, or a bone folder, gently bend the centers of each petal.

Step 6: wrap your bud around the end of a paintbrush or other small cylinder. If you have followed steps 4-5, it shouldn't be too hard to shape your bud

Step 7: take your bud off the paintbrush and pinch the end of it to help it hold it's shape

Step 8: Dip the bottom of your bud in a green CI paint (I chose Emerald)

Step 9: Set aside to dry.

*you can make tighter buds by adding a drop of hot glue inside the bud and pinching it closed. A variety of buds is alway fun.

we will now move on the the bigger flowers

Step 10: scrunch up the bigger flowers. If it is a little stiff, you can mist them with a little bit of water to help break down the fibers of the paper.

Step 11: add what ever you want for your centers. I used a rhinestone

Step 12: Using your center as a guide, gently pull the petals up to form a bowl shape

Step 13: put a large glob of hot glue onto a non-stick craft sheet.

Step 14: start pressing your cupped flowers into your glue glob. I usually put about 3 big flowers per glob

Step 15: Add in you buds

Step 16: when the glue is completely cooled, the flower bunch should peel easily off the craft sheet and be ready to glue on your card.

Doing a lot of these bunches ahead of time is a good way to save time when you need a fancy embellishment and don't have much time.

I kept my project very simple to show how much these shimmery flowers really jazz up even the simplest of cards.

Paper: Carrie Stephens "Spontaneous Delight", plain white cardstock

Stamps: Fancy Pants "Fresh Mod"

Ink: Memento

CI paint: Mango, Emerald

Other: rhinestones, ribbon

Aren't they fab!!! I love it when I feel like I can work with flowers without killing them...=)

A little reminder for those of you who didn't play along with our blog hop yesterday... There is still time! Here is the link to get you started... You may have to scroll down on the personal blogs to find the right post with the clues. You have until Wed. night to enter for the drawing.

Also, we need featured crafters! Interested? Well, link your projects using CI paints to our blog using the inlinkz button at the top of our sidebar.... Ashely will get in touch with you if you are chosen.

Have a sparkly day!

~Kassi