Guest Designer – Miwa

The Project:
Crop Chocolate materials used:
1. Echo Park (Be Mine) cardstock - Lipgloss/Stone [one sheet]
2. Echo Park (Be Mine) cardstock - French Rose/Ash [one sheet]
3. Echo Park (Springtime) cardstock - Berry/Cotton Candy [TWO sheets]
4. MM Wedding Deco Pins
5. MM Paper Reverie Noir Butterflies

Non-Crop Chocolate materials
1. 12" wooden dowel (1/4" diameter)
2. 4" flower pot
3. dry foam
4. decorative sand
5. green floral tape
6. tacky tape
7. hot glue
8. 4" styrofoam ball
9. quilling tool (slotted)

Step #1: Cut each 12x12 sheet into 3x3 inch squares (16 per sheet for a total of 64 squares).
Step #2: Using deco scissors, cut a spiral free-hand and trim excess. Roll the spiral from the outside to the inside using a quilling tool. Remove the tool when the spiral is complete.
Step #3: Relax the spiral and allow it to curl loosely until it is the right size for your purposes (the tighter/smaller the flower, the more you will need to cover the styrofoam ball). When you are satisfied with the flower shape, glue it at the bottom center, holding it firmly until the glue dries sufficiently.
Step #4: After you've made all of your flowers, you are ready to adhere them to the ball. Wrap the 12" wooden dowel with green floral tape and use one end to make a hole in the styrofoam ball. Add hot glue to the dowel end and insert back into the hole, holding it firmly until the glue has dried. It is much easier to glue the flowers to the ball while holding onto the dowel!
Step #5: Using hot glue, add flowers to the styrofoam ball, doing your best to uniformly distribute them (minimizing the green that may show through).
Step #6: Once all of the flowers have been added, insert the end of the dowel into a flower pot packed with dry foam. Add decorative sand on top to hide the foam.
Step #7: Add any additional embellishments - I added some Making Memories butterflies and pins to add some polish and to hide any open spaces.

The Video:


The Designer:
Despite spending a number of years to earn a post-graduate degree in entomology, I am now "retired" and enjoy a busy life as a stay-at-home mom. My interests (besides taking care of the family) include scrapbooking, playing soccer, running, and reading all sorts of books. I don't watch much TV, but I will confess to being a fan of Glee and True Blood. What an interesting combination, right? That's me, though - eclectic and eccentric! This may explain why my scrapbook style varies from page to page - but I'm always up to try new techniques and ideas.