I've been asked to teach a craft class!

My husband works at a private social service agency that cares for individuals with developmental, physical, and emotional disabilities. He was arranging off-site classes for the summer quarter, and he wasn't able to find a teacher for a craft class. All of his known vendors were busy or too expensive. Then TA-DA, here I come to save the day! I have a new vendor's license, love to teach, love to craft, and since my vocation was nursing, I have had experience with that population. Plus he will be there to help them and me, and make it fun for all. We'll have him do one too!

Joann's Fabrics has been kind enough to give us a craft room to use gratis provided that we purchase our items from the store. Easy-peasy since that's my second home. The one-hour weekly class will include women with varying dexterity levels and cognitive abilities. I want some activities that would be interesting and not geared toward children, since these are adults, some even as old as I am, deserving of dignity.

The first class is on July 2, so I'd like to do a 4th of July-related craft, but not your typical glue-foam-stars-on-sticks kind of thing. I was planning to do a pomander ball (thank you, Pinterest) later in the quarter, but wouldn't it be fun to do one with patriotic-themed paper? Small stars, small red and white stripes, etc. I don't know; maybe solid red and blue with pearl corsage pins piercing a little star in the centers. I'll have to think about it and make one first. I already have the Martha Stewart punch (of course). Each pomander takes 300 flowers, which I will prepare in advance (starting yesterday). and I think I'll have to prepunch tiny holes in the centers and maybe even use glue somehow so the pins don't pop out and pierce fingers.

This will be a good weekend to play with it. But every weekend is good for that, and until I have grandchildren and some of my time is occupied with spoiling them rotten, I'll be in my craft room.

Happy end of May! Spring has seemed so short since winter was so looooong.

Best,
Anne

The party's over . . .

I want to show you the bouquets and flowers for Mara's wedding on a beautiful late spring day with perfect weather and perfect everything else too.

I had been making centerpieces for my daughter’s wedding, and her and her maid-of-honor’s bouquets as well, for about 3 months. This has been my pleasure and privilege. Thank God I retired on December 1, 2013.

finished flowers

I had to learn new things. How to make a flower, for one. Internet sources were my saviors: Etsy shops for ideas, and Google is my best friend. What kind of paper do I use? Origami or scrapbook (I used both)? Hot glue or white glue (hot). What kind of wire stems to use – fabric-wrapped or plain think green ones (I came to prefer the wrapped, and recommend them if you try it out),

I am not going to present a tutorial of my own, because if you enter “kusudama” in your search box, you will be graced with pages and pages of them. But I would like to share with you the link from Facebook that grabbed me, and how I did some of the outlined origami flower bouquet steps along the way.  But do check out this one: http://www.capitolromance.com.

First, the paper. Origami paper is expensive, and fragile, and susceptible to creasing and crumpling if handled too much. I found that thin scrapbook paper works best,  or even printer paper, which comes in lots of designs. One paper artist even uses 3x3 Post-Its, which I did try, and solved the stickiness problem with baby powder.  It’s cheaper to just use colored printer paper. Vellum makes gorgeous semi-translucent flowers.

bouquet flowers before pearls

white printer paper

For glue I used a standard hot glue gun (my next best friend after Google), and went through glue sticks like water. The advantage to hot glue is that it sticks fast, although Scotch Tacky Glue would be a good second choice, especially if you are working with kids. Another advantage to the Scotch glue: no gossamer strings that you have to get rid of! I may go that way next time.

After assembly I glued an embellishment onto the center of the flowers. For the bouquets. Boutonnieres, and flowers for my daughter’s hair, I used stick-on embellishments carefully gleaned from Michael’s and Joann’s clearance racks over the years. For the centerpiece flowers, I used buttons.

How to assemble? First, I joined two flowers using floral tape. This is a sticky business and it took me a while to get comfortable with it. Then I joined the two-flower stems gradually to others for the bouquets, but for the centerpieces just used two-flower stems stuck into the filler. I finally wrapped the bouquet steps in cotton ribbon, fastening it at the ends with corsage pins. Google, bless you, and long may you reign.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about the invitations. And the favors. Doable by anyone.

Anne

Kusudama Mama

I am just having a great time making origami kusudama flowers for my daughter Mara's wedding on May 24. She sent me a pin on Pinterest and when I saw the photo I thought I would NEVER be able to do that. Well, about 200 flowers later, I am probably done.  But I can't stop! I am addicted and I crave folding the square, gluing it, assembling the five petals, then sitting back in admiration and awe at my own awesomeness! Why didn't anyone tell me it was going to be this satisfying? I would have retired sooner.

Stop me before I am buried.