Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Fabric flowers.

This is my second post for today; scroll down for my latest giveaway.

Fabric flowers are all the rage these days, but man are they ever spendy!
So I thought I would try my hand at making some.
I went to JoAnn's and picked up a bunch of fabric.
I got a 1/4 yard each of 7 different kinds.

FabricFlowers15

I wanted to try muslin first because it's such a rich, versatile fabric and I see it used in lots of different ways - not just flowers.

FabricFlowers14

This pink tulle with sparkles was the best value - it was only 90-cents for my 1/4 yard. It's a little messy because the sparklies end up here and there, but it sure is pretty!

FabricFlowers13

I'm not an expert on fabric but this is some sort of sheer something er other with teeny rhinestones on it. I actually picked this one up in several colors.

FabricFlowers12

I cut a strip of each and the way I figured this is that my most expensive fabric was $2.50 for the 1/4 yard - and that was a regular price, not a sale price so it certainly is good to watch for sales and use coupons especially at JoAnn's. And I could get 14 strips out of each. So even if each 1/4 yard only makes 14 flowers, that's still only 18-cents per flower and compared to things you see at the stores and even on ETSY, making these yourself is definitely the cheapest way to go. Not the easiest - LOL - but definitely the cheapest.

FabricFlowers11

I used my circle Nesties to cut circles out of the muslin.

FabricFlowers10

My plan was to fold it in to 3 squares and run through the Big Shot. It was not easy. Took about 6 cranks to get ONE. So I popped that one out and it was much easier to do the 2 than the 3.

FabricFlowers8

Fun little muslin circles.

FabricFlowers7

And since we're making flowers, gotta use the flower Nesties!

FabricFlowers6

Because this fabric is so thin, this one ran through and made 3 like a breeze.

FabricFlowers5

However, my thinner fabrics stuck together so instead of 3 flowers, I got one, dark heavier one which was fine. The colors are so light that putting them together in to one whole flower probably is best.

FabricFlowers4

Now it's time to get a card made with my new pretties.
I'm using many different ribbons and trims these days. Buying a lot from Practicing Creativity Designs, ThisGoodDay and MemrieMare. Having my Clip it Up! ribbon organizer to house my spools in the well across the top and hang other pretty stuff that I want to make sure gets used definitely gives me more options when I am making a card. Out-of-sight out-of-mind is no longer an issue.

FabricFlowers9

Here's my creative little mess making one of my cards with my newly made muslin flowers. I think next time I'll use the smaller Nestie - this one had a lot of open space on it so I punched a paper circle and then topped that with buttons.

FabricFlowers3

And here are my finished products. Pretty simple cards for me - I think after making the flowers and going right in to making a card, I was a little low on the mojo. So I think what I'll do next is make some flowers and put them in my stash for next time and then have them to reach for when I need 'em.

FabricFlowers2

FabricFlowers1

Thanks for stopping by today!

14 comments:

Miss Molly said...

Okay - WOW! Those turned out great!! You made some beautiful embellishments!!

Dawn Easton said...

Fabulous idea! I may need to run out to a fabric store later this week to get some! Love the look of handmade fabric flowers!
Your cards turned out wonderfully!

Janis said...

Okay, I'm raiding my Mom's fabric stash so I can make flowers! Great job Michelle! I love em!

Marie Bingaman said...

Oh boy, these are CUTE! Makes me wish I had me some fabric right about now... :)

Kerri said...

Yep, I've been wanting to do the same thing! I have quite a bit of fabric, so I just need to go through it and see what would work! These turned out beautifully!!! I especially LOVE the first card!

Lorraine said...

Wow, love that you made your own fabric flowers. You are definitely NOT lazy! I wouldn't have made my own...LOL. Love the fabrics you chose and your cards turned out beautiful!

Julie said...

WOW, Michelle those are adorable!!! I love what you did with the fabric! I could never have the patience to cut all of those out, or even shop for the fabric for that matter! :) I love how they look on the cards!

Karen H. said...

Beautiful flowers. You picked out some awesome fabrics!

Sassy's Ramblin's said...

I so love these! You did great and that muslin....you could dye it any color too...right? You do great work girl! The fabric on cards is getting really big too! I am making a pocket card with some fabric sprinkled in right now. I think it give them a whole new texture!

Heather said...

Your flowers are fabulous! The creativity just keeps flowing - way to go.

Brenda weaver said...

they turned out great, Michelle! I like the muslin one, especially. Isn't it great when we can make our own embellishments instead buying the expensive ones? It always makes me feel so good thrifty when I can do that.
Your cards are perfect.

Becca said...

Love cheaper. Even if it's not always easier! Nice to see what you made with your musliN.

Georgy's Plant Strong Kitchen said...

They turned out great--never new there was such a craft item available--what a great idea!!!

Anonymous said...

Fun flowers and fabulous cards, Michelle!!!