Saturday, May 26, 2012

For the Gardener


There is a special day in mid-May where my mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, cousins and a few friends gather at a local greenhouse to pick out flowers and plant away! Gardening is one hobby that every one can excel at! This past year my very talented aunt found some fun vinyl baskets and I thought to show you today how to dress one up with a custom flower with ribbon made from May Arts.


Did you hear that May Arts is having a design team call? I have loved being on the team this past year and would love it even more to continue on for next year! So let's get started, shall we? For the flower, you'll only need a few items.


Gather up your ribbon: which would include ~ 2 feet of 1.5" grosgrain ric-rac, ~6 inches of 1/2" colored woven burlap and ~5 inches of burlap string. May Arts offers a variety of colors in each of the styles, so have fun choosing a bright and sunny color combination to suite your needs!





Start by cutting the ric-rac into two inch strips. You'll need about 17 or so of these, depending on the fullness of the flower. I used the Imaginisce Ribbon Cutter, it gives such a clean cut to your ribbon by slightly burning the edges to prevent fraying.

Next, onto the easy assembly of the flower! 1. Gather two edges of your ribbon and glue together (hot glue works perfect for this!) 2. Adhere the ribbon petals to a cardstock circle in a round about fashion until the base of the circle is covered. Complete two more layers by gluing petals on top of the base petals, with each layer using less petals. 3. For a bit of whimsy, I decided to forgo the center layer in grosgrain and instead cut five one inch pieces of the burlap and slightly frayed on end. 4. I glued these to the center of the ribbon also in a round about fashion and topped the true center with a large button threaded with burlap string.

To make the flower function as a clip, I simply hot glued an office binder clip to the back of the cardstock. Other alternatives for this flower would be to use a felt circle base instead of cardstock, and adhere an elastic band (large or small) to create a cute hair holder or headband. What a cute gift this makes, don't you think?!


You can find more details about the May Arts Design Team blog here. Please see my other posts showcasing May Arts Ribbon, they can be seen here, here and here!


Also, May Arts has teamed up with Core'dinations cardstock! I made a paper corsage, and you have the opportunity to win product from both fabulous companies by just leaving a comment!




I'd really love to know what you think of my flower clip and tutorial in general, and I so very much appreciate your comments!

47 comments:

  1. Great tutorial!!!

    That flower is so adorable!!!!!!

    And that ribbon cutting device is awesome! Hadn't seen it before!

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  2. OMG!!!... You are just genius Karen!!! I love those blooms... Beautiful!!!... Stunning...and Amazingly done... I'm totally in awe my friend... hugs...xoxo

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  3. I love the way you transformed that ribbon into flowers. They are simply gorgeous. Very informative tutorial!

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  4. Your flower is beautiful! I love the orange fray...wow!

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  5. What a beautiful flower! Thanks for the great tutorial!

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  6. WOW!! That may be the best flower I've EVER seen and as a flower nut I've seen a million of them. It is absolutely gorgeous, Karen! I think you are about to become a Pinterest hall-of-famer.

    Also, how is it that I've never of the Imaginisce Ribbon Cutter? That was my very first question: how has that ribbon stayed so crisp. I need one. :)

    LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!

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  7. Awesome tutorial, Karen!! Love your flower clip :)

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  8. Brilliant! Love how you created it into a clip.

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  9. Karen,
    This is awesome!!! I LOVE the tutorial - I think I even learned something! LOL I never knew there was a tool for cutting ribbon that wasn't called a pair of scissors. I MUST check that out! Your flower is beautiful, beautiful! Thanks so much for teaching - you are so good about sharing!
    Hugs!

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  10. Seriously?? I thought the corsage was cool, but this is also fabulous...you could have a fun little business here.

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  11. That flower center is just so creative. Love, love this gifty idea, Karen!

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  12. Wow! This tutorial is SO AWESOME, Karen! I sure hope you get to continue with the May Arts DT!! They were lucky to have you the last round ;)

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  13. How was your tutorial!?! FABULOUS Karen! What a great idea and the ribbon cutter sales are sure to skyrocket after this post!

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  14. awesome projects Karen...fab tut...I didn't even know there was such a thing as a ribbon cutter...where have I been? Love both of your blooms!

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  15. This flower clip is so adorable Karen! I hope you have a great weekend!

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  16. Karen, your flower is really beautiful! Love how it looks on the basket - and would I ever love wearing those stylish, colorful garden gloves while planting! Thanks for the tutorial too! :)

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  17. What a clever flower! Thank you for sharing your process!

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  18. very cute. Really makes a statement on the basket! Great tutorial. Glad to have the step-by-step photos!

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  19. they should definitely keep you!! both corsages are amazing. thanks you so much for sharing, Karen! hope you have a lovely holiday weekend! =)

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  20. Great tutorial, Karen. I noticed that your pictures were helpful, clear, but also pretty! The instructions were clear as well. I love the end product.

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  21. what a GREAT gift...this is a great tutorial and just love your amazing creativity...

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  22. Genius! And thanks for the fabulous step-by-step tutorial - great for a visual learner like me :)
    Hugs!
    x

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  23. I like! You just introduced me to several new items...wide ric rac and that ribbon cutting machine. I have wanted to make hair bows so this tut is perfect :>)

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  24. Thankyou for mentioning our yearly journey to Brittens Greenhouse! It is always a treat for me to share with the ones I love my passion for gardening and the artistry in gardening! Also thankyou for showing a different way to dress up a simple Dollar store tote! Lotsa love! Aunt Jean

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  25. Love the tutorial and I especially love an appreciate learning new ways of using my supplies. I would have never thought of using the ribbon the way you did. I also now feel the need to own that ribbon cutter. :) BTW, I really like the colors you used. Very summer-y!

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  26. What a fab tutorial! LOVE that flower! What an asset to May Arts you are!!!

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  27. I love your tutorials, Karen! They're so well written and easy to follow. Today's flower is stunning! Love the bright yellow and orange!

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  28. Great tutorial and brilliant flower! WOW!

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  29. omg - that flower is amazing Karen. and perfect tutorial!! i so hope you make the team again!!

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  30. Amazing flower & thank you so much for the tutorial. May Arts would be crazy to let you go!

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  31. This is so cool and so unique Karen!
    Thank You~

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  32. FANTASTIC tutorial and the flower is very PRETTY!!! LOVE the fuzzy orange center!

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  33. Well that's just amazing! You are one creative gal!

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  34. Hi Karen! Wow! Your flower clip is Awesome!! What a fantastic idea!! Love!! {hugs}

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  35. This is amazing! I love your ribbon flower. I never would've come up with something like this. It looks fabulous on that cute little basket. I wish I had a green thumb!

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  36. Such gorgeous flowers, Karen!! Love them both!! Great work!

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  37. WOW! What a wonderful way to make, such a beautiful flower!! Love the package in all! :)

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  38. Wow! The flower is amazing, Karen! It looks better than a store-bought one--especially because you can pick the colors. Fabulous!!

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  39. OMG! Love both flowers and the basket idea - genius!

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  40. Awesome tutorial, Karen! And could that shot of the ribbon cutter cutting the ribbon be any more gorgeous? LOL! You are amazing!

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  41. Wow what a beauty Karen, I love how you added the frayed centre. This wild look great adorning any project...so versatile as a clip on embellishment :0)
    Jenny x

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  42. Beautiful ribbon flower. All the best on the call!

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  43. This is absolutely a great great great idea!!!

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  44. What a great idea, the tutorial is extra and your flower is so beautiful. I'll try to make one asap.

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