This is my second Monday featuring a project involving felt (I sense a pattern here but I could be wrong...if I do another felt project next Monday I might need to get professional help...I'm just sayin').
Last week I was poking around Nicole's blog (Lumpy Page Designs) and saw a project she had featured earlier in the week (you can go check it out HERE). I contacted her immediately to ask if it was ok for me to do my own version and feature it this week (I was seriously excited about it)..she graciously said yes (thanks Nicole)!!
I have always loved topiaries. There is just something sew completely cool about them... I just cannot put my finger on it. Originally I was going to go out and purchase a bunch of silk flowers and take them all apart and glue them to the Styrofoam ball... but I suddenly got a bad case of "cheaps" and decided that I needed to use the massive stash I have here and make something on my own.
I have been buying all of my felt from my very most favorite felt store in the entire universe (Felt-o-Rama)...and no they did not pay me or give me anything free to say that... I just honestly love that store and I think the owner - April - rocks the planet-o-felty fabulousness!
For this project you will need:
6 sheets of felt (roughly 8.5x11). I used Wool (meadow) and Eco-spun (antique white)). You can use whatever colors you want of course!
300 mini brads (that's not a type-o...that's three hundred (you might want to get an extra hundred just in case). I used Making memories (antique copper).
1 - 5 inch round ball of Styrofoam
A wooden dowel (at least a foot long)
Flower pot (I got this bird/tree stump one at Tuesday Morning a couple of weeks ago)
1 foam chunk that fits into the flower pot
Craft paint (to paint the dowel)
Hot glue and a glue gun (you will not need that much)
Spanish Moss or wood shavings
Let's get started!
You can cut the flower shapes by hand or do what Nicole did and get some prima paper flowers
(they work just as well!).
I used my Sizzix BigKick to cut my flower shapes.
I sliced the felt into strips that were as wide as the flower pieces I was going to be cutting.
I think cut those strips into squares
(you can cut several pieces at once if you have a rotary cutter).
You have to load each felt square on to the Sizzix machine and crank each one through.
By hand.
Approximately 300 times.
hehehe.
Don't cha love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Crank. Crank. Crank.
Crank. Crank. Crank.
This is what the flower piece looks like once it's gone through the machine.
Cool right?
It's nearly the same shape of flower that I used from the paper love heart thing I made a while back.
Crank. Crank. Crank.
You can see that project HERE.
Be strong girls.
This project IS worth it.
Crank. Crank. Crank.
Take little breaks.
Crank. Crank.
Stop when you have about 25 done.
And let the fun begin!
Poke the little mini brad through the middle(ish) of the felt flower.
Don't even look at the Sizzix cause you might be feeling a little bit of anger toward it.
Keep this in mind. I had no idea it would take roughly 300 of those little fellas to do this.
So I was not feeling the felt flower angst until roughly flower 187.
At that point I was wondering what I had gotten myself into AND was also wondering
WHY DID I CHOOSE SUCH A LARGE STYROFOAM BALL!!!!
crank. crank.
Don't hate me ok.
Promise me.
You can't.
ok?
Ok.
Now that we have that out of the way.
Put a small dab of hot glue on the end of each brad.
Did you miss that?
Put a small... yeah yeah. I know. On the end of EACH one.
:D
C'mon girls!!! BE STRONG!
cranky yet?
Now look at how cute this looks!!!!
Only 298 more to go!!!
To make this easier (ahem)...
I balanced the ball in a smaller flower pot.
It helps keep things stable.
You need some stability.
You might be a tad loony towards the end of this FUN project.
crank. crank.
See..!!!! It's coming together!
Make sure you snuggle those fellas up close to each other.
You are going to need to make more flowers at this point.
You still love me anyway right??
Ohhhh.
Ahhh...
Pretty!
Enough admiring.
Get back to making flowers (kidding)!
How can you resist this beauty!
Let's recap.
You are out of brads.
Your arms and back hurt.
You have burned your fingers on hot glue at least 14 times by now
(kidding.. I only burned my fingers 3 times. honest)
BUT....!!!
You have this lovely little felt flower covered pretty all for your very own...
...cause there ain't NO way you are giving this away after all the work you have put into it.
1) Paint your dowel and let it dry. I painted mine brown. Original right?
2) Stick one end of the dowel in the flower pot foam piece and one end in the bottom of the felt flower covered ball (in the spot you forgot to leave for the dowel... remove a flower to make room... see... it's really only 299 flowers). That makes it SOOO much better right?
2.5) Remove the dowel ends and apply hot glue to each end and then cram them back in place. :)
3) Artfully apply Spanish moss on the top of the flower pot opening.. and viola. You are a craft ROCK STAR!
My dream version of this project would have me using a birch branch instead of a dowel. I live in Texas folks. There isn't a birch tree within 1000 miles of here (maybe even 1487 miles... I cannot be sure). I looked in the yard. We have 2 pecan trees and a bunch of gnarly who knows whats. All with wonky limbs. Hence the lovely wooden dowel.
Crazy Pants.
With love (honest),
P.S. This would make an excellent table centerpiece for a bird themed wedding. If you cannot find the bird planters... look for a tree trunk planter and then add a bird nesting in the base (or even in the felt flowers). It would be completely killer.....and seriously...if you got a group of girls together to do this project... it would fly by and you would have centerpieces that people would fight over! No kidding. Plus... I think it would be fun to make a bunch of these with your very most closest friends (but don't invite me over though o'kay)! xoxoxo
