Flower Balls | decoration

What we're making today!

What you need:

• foam balls (they come in packs of 1, 3 or 6 depending on the size you choose to get.  I got the 6 pack from Roberts Crafts but I actually think they're cheaper at Hobby Lobby)
• dowels, for the stem (also purchased from Roberts Crafts, I got a couple skinny ones back by the custom framing department for like .79cents a pop)
• scrapbook paper (for these little 3" balls it takes about 2 squares of scrapbook paper per ball-I actually use two different shades, so it uses about half of each)
• pins (white ball kind, also purchasable from Hobby lobby for pretty cheap)
• 1 flower punch found at Michaels (the flowers I have are more like daisies and I like the hydrangea...so had I to do it over again I'd do that for two reasons.  One, I like the look of it better, two, it's a larger punch and you have to punch fewer flowers!)

To begin:
1.  For the flowers.  Punch out your flowers.  If you're going to do two different shades of flowers you only need about 3/4 of both squares.  So punch out your flowers and put them in piles.  On my flower balls I have two different shades of scrapbook paper.  This was an accident because I ran out of flowers on the first one so for the second flower I decided to do the bottom petals a darker shade than the top petals.  I like it because it adds a little dimension to it.

 2.  Now what I do, is start in the middle and make a ring around the ball.

3.  Then I go up.  I've found it's easiet, or less time consuming after I get my first round done, to stash the bottom ones underneath the other layers....see picture.

4.  Just keep doing this all around the flower and you're done!

5.  Sometimes, I put a dark on in the very top because it gets hard to stuff them in when it gets tight...

 I put mine in a vase with some rafia grass from easter, but you can just leave them as balls and put them in a bowl or do whatever.
Good luck crafting...and comment if you need help!

Photo Cubes-mothers day gift idea

This is what we're making today:

you will need:

• 1 square post
• mod podge (or wood glue)
• 1 sponge brush
• black paint or lacquer or spray paint
• sand paper
• pictures
• scrapbook paper

*note:  for my photos, I made them black and white and cropped them at a 4x4 image.  This was to insure they were the size I wanted.  I took them to Costco and talked to a rep in the photo lab and they told me to upload the pictures to 8x8 size and let them know when I got that far.  They just resized them to be a 4x4.5 size.  I had to trim them a little bit but as you can see, they're perfect :)

1.  Go to Home Depot (or another lumber supply store) and purchase a square post.  This one is 4x4 and about 12' long.  I bought the cheapest wood and it was about 3.99.  Because of trimming and sanding, the wood actually ends up about 3 3/4 instead of exactly 4".  Measure the width and cut however many lengths you need.  I only did 3.  If you don't have a way of cutting this at home, just have them do it in the store for you.

2.  Now spray paint your wood (or just paint it) I've just really found if I'm using a generic color I'd much rather spray paint.  It's so much easier, cheaper and faster.  If you spray paint, do about 2 coats.
After it's dry, rough up the edges a little bit with your sandpaper.

3.  Cut your scrapbook paper just a little bit smaller than your wood (you will only be putting scrapbook paper on the top, unless you would like to put a message on the wood like, love at home, or family is forever or something like that)
I snip the corners of my scrapbook paper just a little bit because it makes it easier to do a rounded corner with the sandpaper.

4.  Use your mod podge and brush a light layer where you will be putting your scrapbook paper.

place your scrapbook paper on the mod podge and just stack a block on top to seal it down. 

It just needs to be there for a couple of minutes.

5.  Rough up the edges of the scrapbook paper and get it all vintage looking.

6.  Continue the process around the sides to apply your pictures.

I almost always apply a coat of mod podge or sealer on any wood project I've done, however these are pictures.  I've heard you can put a texture cream on them, but honestly, i'd rather not mess with ruining a picture and it won't hurt it to not have a sealant on it.

Finished product:

Send me your projects!
candice.mcwhorter@gmail.com