Picture Perfect

Here is a fun and easy craft that will add a princessey touch to any girls room!


Supplies
-Photo frame
-Hot Glue
-Yellow Yarn
-Artificial Flowers ( I used fire flowers)


Instructions


Cut nine long pieces of yarn. The length you need will depend on your frame size. Pieces anywhere from 1-2 yards should work fine. Tie the pieces together at the top with a knot. Braid until you reach the end, and then knot that. 


The next step allows you to be fairly creative. Your finished piece will look something like this,

so it is a good idea to lay the yarn down in a few different desgins before you hot glue for the final time.When you are ready to do that, cut the knot off of one end of your braid. Hot glue that end down in a way that will not allow your braid to come undone. Then do a few dots of hot glue in the places where the braid lays flat on the frame, or the yarn over laps. You don't want to hot glue the whole braid down, because it will ruin the effect. Cut the knot of the other end, and hot glue that end down like you did the first end.


Once the braid is done, hot glue the flowers on. Gluing the flowers down over the end is a good way to hide the rough ends.




Happy decorating!




Lots of Love. 

Rapunzel

Fire Flowers

I have always loved the ribbon flowers where the edge is burned so that it is all frilly and pretty. But, the idea of using a match to burn the edge really freaks me out. Then, when I was talking to someone one day they said that when ever they do that they use a candle. So last week, I decided to give it a try, and I was super pleased with the results!

Sorry for the glare, I guess that the fabric is SOOOO silky, I should have turned off the flash. If you can't tell, there are a three white pearls in the middle.


Supplies 


Silky Ribbon or Fabric, I used fabric because I didn't want to have the width of the ribbon limit my layers.
Beads for the center, I used pearls to keep the elegant feeling.
Hot glue
Scratch paper
Candle
Alligator clip, I glued mine on to a clip, you don't have too, they also are cute glued  on photo frames, or you can even glue them on a pin to dress up a blouse. 


Instructions


1. Cover your surface with scratch paper so that you don't end up with hot glue on your counter.


2. Cut circleish shapes put of the fabric/ribbon. Mine ended up more ovalish, and due to the nature of the project, the circles don't need to be perfect. You want them slightly larger then you want them to be when they finished, but they won't shrink much. Although there are only three layers shown here,  I ended up using 4 in the end.

3. This next step is a WARNING!!!!! I feel it is so important, I will type everything from this point IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS!!!!! CANDLES AND HOT GLUE ARE VERY HOT!!!!!! EVEN WHEN YOU ARE HOLDING YOUR FABRIC ABOVE THE FLAME, IT WILL BE HOT!!!!!! BE CAREFUL, PLEASE DO NOT BURN YOURSELF!!!!!!!!  IF YOUR FINGERS START TO FEEL UNCOMFORTABLY WARM. STOP. WAIT. AND BEGIN AGAIN!!!!!!! PLEASE DO NOT BURN YOURSELF!!!!!! 

4. Now that I have scared you to death, we can continue with the project :) It really isn't that dangerous, just please don't be stupid. At this point, plug in your hot glue gun, and light your candle.

5. Before you burn the layers for your flower, it is good to get a feel for what you are doing. Cut a scrap of fabric, and practice on it. This will show you how long you need to burn it without scorching it.

6. Once you have the feel, burn the layers of your flower. The best way to do this is hold you layer above the candle  and turn it fairly fast. It only takes a second to scorch the flower. Repeat with the other layers.

7. Next hot glue your layers together, a little goes A LONG way!!!

8. Finally, place a small amount of glue in the center of the flower, secure your beads there.

9. If you wish to glue it onto a  clip, put a small amount of glue on the clip, and place the flower on top. Clip the clip to a piece of paper for about 30 seconds, then take off. This keeps it from being glued shut. 

Enjoy your flower!

Lots of Love, 

Rapunzel

Ribbon Flowers

I am a firm believer in flowers. Everything looks better with a flower, no matter how cute it is already! Which is why I have decided to dress this bag up with a ribbon flower.

Before

After

As you can see, it created an amazing affect!  This flower can be used to dress up not only bags, but anything else you can think of. It is fairly simple, and doesn't take too terribly long to make. 

Supplies:

• 1 piece of ribbon with wire in the sides, 1 1/2 in. wide, 9 1/2 in. long
• 1 piece of coordinating ribbon with wire in the sides, 2 1/2 in. wide, 12 inches long.
• 1 coordinating button/ jewel 
• Coordinating thread
• Glue stick
• Hot Glue
• Ruler 
• Scissors 
• Scratch Paper
• Needle 

Instructions:

1.Begin by measuring your ribbon. You will need to buy two different roles of ribbon, one role that is  1 1/2 in. wide, and one that is 2 1/2 in. wide. Cut a 9 1/2 inch piece from the role that is 1 1/2 in. wide, and a 12 1/2 piece from the role that is 2 1/2 in. wide. The ends should be as straight as you can get them, not cut at an angle. Your flower will have two layers, the long piece will be the bottom layer, while the shorter  piece will make up the bottom layer. *NOTE* If your ribbon is frayed, cut the frayed edges BEFORE you measure your ribbon.

2.Once you have your ribbon measured , smooth the pieces out on your scratch paper. Take the glue stick and carefully dab glue on the raw edges of the ribbon. You don't need a lot, just a little will do.  To this to both sides of each edge of both ribbons. This is to prevent fraying.

3.Next take the smaller piece of ribbon and begin to fold it accordion style. These folds should be around 1/2 in., but they don't need to be perfect. This is where the wire in the edge comes in handy, it will hold your folds in place.

4.Set the folded piece of ribbon down, don't worry the pleats will start to spread apart, but that won't be a problem. Thread the needle with a 6 inch long piece of thread. slide the needle to the middle, and knot both ends together, slip knot style. Pick up the ribbon, and pinch the pleats together, like this:

Then slide the needle through all the pleats, like so:

Bring the needle around to the beginning, and go through all the pleats again. Cinch the thread fairly tight, but not too tight, because the knot will pull through the ribbon if you do. Tie a knot under the needle, and cut of the needle, leaving the knot to keep the flowers shape.

5. Fan the flower out, so that it is as circular as can be. To get the raw edges stay together, put a small drop of hot glue at the top edge of the ribbon,and stick the two corners together. 

6. Repeat steps 3-5, with the larger piece of ribbon, with the following changes.

-When you create the folds, make them 1/4  inch wide.

-Your piece of thread needs to be 8 in. 

8. Place the bigger flower on the  table with the front side facing up. Flip the edges up, so you have created a bowl like shape. 

9. Use hot glue to secure the smaller flower in the center of the larger flower.

10. If you would like a button/jewel in the center of your flower, put a dab of hot glue on the back of the button and secure it in the center of the flower.

Now you can hot glue it on to anything you like!

Lots of Love,

Rapunzel