Round and Round in Circles

I have been sorting the study.
Not an easy task.
But I have achieved some sort of order after the Christmas chaos.

I've also found a huge amount of 'stuff' which I had forgotten all about. With sighs of " Oh that's where you went " and exclamations of " Ooohh I remember that," I have been on a journey of discovery through bits and pieces. <3

It's very good for the imagination, excellent inspiration but it doesn't get the kitchen cupboards cleaned out does it....which was also my intention this week.

I've also come to a decision.
I think that paper is rather passé. Ideas just seems to go round and round in circles. No...perhaps not the way I work paper on BoxCleva, which is, I have to say rather unique, but boxes and bags I think, as a topic have had their day. So I am going to sell off a lot of my paper working things and concentrate on the flowers I make here and on the work I am developing on Heartfelt, my latest idea and that which I was promising you on my last post. At the moment it's only available on Facebook but we'll see....

When I began my paper journey, there were few boxes or bags about. Now they are everywhere. Thanks to the television and to all those magazines and not least, to these machines which cut everything at the touch of a button. Now, I can't compete with those. I do most of my stuff by hand. I like to do most of it by hand. The only thing I might use to help me is a BigShot machine and some dies and of course, some punches.

SO the Tapestry Stamps stay, so do most of the punches and many of the flower dies. I have already sold off most of my other dies. Other things will go as time allows.

The other thing I have been doing of course is making silk flowers and those will stay on here, on Gather Ye Rosebuds.....along with the projects they decorate.
Experimentation has been going on in this field too, over the Christmas break and shortly after. ( Remember for me, Christmas lasts twelve days!). I've been playing with felt and trying to make different shapes of three dimensional flowers with it. The same techniques which are used for paper can be adapted for felt, I've found. Let's go round and round in circles here too.

The circular rose, which I taught you all to make on BoxCleva can be made in felt. Go here for he tutorial. Wars of the Roses
If you crimp the edge with a pair of deckle scissors or pinking shears, you get a frilly rose.

If you snip into the cut circle every so often, you get a flatter flower with distinct petals.

If you cut scallops, the result is more like a tulip.
This is a scallop cutter which will do it for you should you like to buy it.I have to say it's not an easy shape to achieve by hand but it can be done with pinking shears and small sharp scissors.

Go here to buy.
Oyster Stamps.co.uk

 

If you cut the circle with a pair of pinking shears and then every second point snip into the piece  at an angle, you will get a very pretty little lotus type flower.

I'll pass on more of my experimentation to you later on.


Now for those cupboards....I can hear them calling to me.........