Spring Arrives

Wow what week we have had here weather wise!  It's officially Springtime by the calendar, but several days of 80+ weather brought us a very early arrival of buds bursting with green and other colors.  Call me crazy but I like a more gradual shift from spring to summer.  That shift seems to me happening much quicker these past several years.  I figured flowers outside would have to wait at least a few weeks so I would bring some flowers inside with a new project.  All my crocus' and dutch iris and daffodils are blooming like crazy! (Update: Tonight the temps drop again and expected high for Monday will be in the 40's.  When you live in the Midwest - wait a little while and the weather can shift.)

Anyway ... I completed a "blooming" banner for my mantle and would like to share it with you.  Out came the Sizzix Big Shot, DCWV papers, Eileen Hull dies,   other Sizzix dies and a couple of Sizzix embossing folders.

Once I decided on the words for the banner, I used the Sizzix die, Album, Scallop/Circle by Brenda Pinnick to cut a "circle" background base for each flower. One side of each base piece was painted with a green acrylic paint.

All the flower petals were cut from various shades of DCWV textured paper as well as the leaves. The flower petals were then embossed with a large dot embossing folder and the leaves embossed with a small dot folder.  My flowers used 8 large petals, 7 small petals and 2 large leaves. Another green paper was used to cut 12" x 1/2" strips for the stems.  Each is folded in half.  Circles for each flower are cut from the Original Circle die for the center of each flower from a handmade, textured brown paper.

NOTE:  I shaded the edges of all the petals and leaves with Antique Linen Ranger Distress Ink.  I didn't want the white inner core of the paper to show.  A darker ink could be used in place or a coordinating color.  It's your choice.


When all pieces are cut, embossed and inked the flowers can be assembled.  Glue the folded strip onto the background circle base at the bottom, opposite the little punched tab on this piece.  NOTE: Refer to photo.  Glue the two leaves onto the stem as shown in the photo. Use one of the center circles to mark the background bases center area as a guide for glueing.  Glue the eight large petals in place spacing them to your liking.  Layer on the smaller petals over the larger ones, again spacing them to your liking all around.  Glue the center brown circle in place.

I used leftover acrylic bubble letters from the Valentine banner I made last month, placing them onto the brown paper centers.  Just to add a little bit of glitz, Ranger Silver Ice, Ice Stickles was applied around each center.

Little clothespin clips hold the flowers onto a cord and a row of blooming flowers appear across the mantle for Spring!

Click on the "Sizzix Spring Linky" here to link to Eileen Hull's blog.  You are bound to find several wonder ideas for Spring and Eileen's dies from many talented people.   

http://eileenhull.blogspot.com/