Chalking Silk Flowers

Ever wondered how to get your flowers to perfectly match your layout? Here's a trick from scrapbookideas.wordpress.com.


(please refer to the numbered images above as you follow the steps below).

1. This is what my flower bunches looked like before I began - but there are many different types of silk flowers that could work well with this technique.
2. First, I removed the flower head from the stem by just “popping” it off.
3. Next, I pulled the flower pieces apart and threw away the plastic parts. I cut some slits in the smallest piece, so that it would be able to lay flat on the page.
4. Finally, I added color with chalk. I mixed water with the chalks to help them go on smoothly and to give them a nice watercolor look. I used generic eye make-up applicators to add the colors.

After the flowers were dry, I used eyelets to attach them to my page. Here are some other ideas for attaching flowers: brads, buttons (sewn) or glue the flower on with a bead or jewel glued in the center. Be creative - I’m sure you can think of lots of great possibilities!

Stamping with Toilet Paper

Isn't this fish just beautiful? Who would have known it was made with a stamp and some toilet paper! This would be a beautiful project for some of the Christine Adolph stamps (if you don't already own some Christine Adolph stamps, check out the wood stamp section of Keepsakes - she has some beautiful images!).

Here is an online tutorial with step by step instructions for how to use stamps and toilet paper to create these beautiful images that can then be used for decoration or as embellishments for your scrapbooks. It's a time consuming technique, but with such beautiful results, it's well worth a try. To create the shimmery coloring, try the new colors of Radiant Rain from LuminArt available from Keepsakes in both daubers and sprays.

If you try the technique and come up with something you like, we'd love to see it! Bring it in to the store to show it off, or post it online and provide a link in the comments section of this post. We'd love to see what you make and we may even share it here on the blog for others to see!