Saturday, March 26, 2011

Paper Flower Appreciation Day!



Hi to all the folks coming by for KarelJ's Make Up Your Own Holiday Blog Hop!
This is one fun hop to be in! If You are coming from Denine at Pumpkin and Spice  you are hopping along the right path. Isn't her blog fabulous? And...You can shop there, too! I love blogs where I can shop! My Hubby? Not so much! But back to the blog hop...
 If you have stopped by here just to see what I am up to, why not head back to KarelJ's blog to start, so you won't miss anything on this wonderful, creative journey!
Here is the entire line up of crafters participating in this weekend's blog hop. I know there a quite a few of us, but there are two days for you enjoy, so hop at your leisure!

1. Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity at http://www.kareljcreations.com/
2. Janice at Cricut Confessions at http://www.cricutconfessions.com/
3. Summer and Jennifer at The Cricut Diaries at http://www.cricutdiaries.co/
4. Denine at Pumpkin and Spice at http://pumpkinspiceblog.blogspot.com/
5. Colleen at Col’s Creative Corner at http://www.scrappycol.blogspot.com/ You are here!
6. Mistyrose at Sweet Magnolia Rose at http://sweetmagnoliarose.blogspot.com/
7. Ellen at Card Monkey at www.cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com
8. Rachel at Suburban Crafter http://www.rachelstampshappy.blogspot.com/
9. Monica at Scraps 2 Treasure at http://scraps2treasure.blogspot.com/
10. Jen at Young’s Scrapping at www.youngsscrapping.blogspot.com
11. Becka at Creations With Becka at www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com
12. Jamie at Glitter, Paper, Stamps, Oh My! at http://www.jamieisacraftymomma.blogspot.com/
13. Michelle at Peanut Butter and jelly Designs at http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com
14. Celeste at Touched By A Butterfly at http://touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/
15. Leah at Leah’s Card Designs at http://leahscarddesigns.blogspot.com
16. Calie at Calie’s Creative Corner at www.Caliescreativecorner.blogspot.com
17. Audrey at It’s A Beautiful Life at www.audreyscardsbydesign.blogspot.com
18. Bonnie at A Scrap Above at http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com
19. Diane at Crafting This Moment at http://www.craftingthismoment.blogspot.com
20. Nicolette at Beyond Scrapping at www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com
21. Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping at http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com
22. Kathryn at Creations With Kathryn at http://www.creationswithkathryn.com/
23. Yolie at Just Yolie, Just Create at http://justyolie.com
24. Patti at Short ‘N Scrappy at http://www.shortnscrappy.com/
25. Krista Orr at Scrapaleupagus at http://www.scrapaleupagus.blogspot.com/
26. Kay Craig at 100 Things at http://kopperhead100.blogspot.com

Karelj is offering an over-all blog candy for those who are hopping along with us. She thought it would be fun to have some holiday-themed candy for this hop--but, of course, made-up holiday items were hard to come by! She decided to do a whole bunch of *regular* holiday themed stamps for you to enjoy. From Fiskars, there is an assorted holiday set; there's an alphabet from All Night Media, a set of 100 plus clear stamps and a storage case from Family Memories, and 5 sets of clear stamps from various dollar bins in big box stores. How to win them? Follow along the blog trail, leaving a comment on each and every blog. On Monday, Karelj will ask her buddy Randy (random.org) to select a blog number (from the list), a day (Saturday is one, Sunday is two), and a comment number from that blog. Please make sure you have left a reliable way to contact you (email is best, in the safe format of **** at **** dot com ) so you can be notified by her personally. If you don't, she’ll have to select another winner.”
I am also giving away some fun blog candy. See the end of my post for details. Did you notice the flowers in the picture at the top of my blog? They are for my:
                                                      
                                                           Paper Flower Topiary

I love paper flowers! My hubby knows how much I love them, so instead of real roses for Valentine's Day, he gets me Primas! I decided that my love for my paper flowers should have it's own holiday, hence Paper Flower Appreciation Day. Paper flowers are so great that they can have any day you choose for this holiday! I'll go with today, even though in making this topiary, it's been more like paper flower appreciation week and a half! LOL!  So while there may be shorter easier ways to create these lovely decor items, here's
what I did!
Materials:
Cricut Expression
Gypsy
Cricut Cartridges-
Forever Young (Flower)
HomeDecor (Butterfly)
Mother's Day Bouquet (Flower)
Picturesque (Flower)
Walk In My Garden (Ladybug)
Easter 2010 (Easter Bunny)
Topiary Form
Clay Pot
White Gesso
Mint Green Acrylic Paint
Ranger Claudine Hellmuth  Studio Mixed Medium Gloss
Ranger Alcohol Inks
Ranger Distress Inks
Viva Decor Pearl Pens
Martha Stewart Glitter
Doodlebug Flock
Dew Drops Memento Dandelion
Dew Drops Versafine Chalk Turquoise
Ranger Stickles
Diamond Glaze
Ribbon
Moss
Prima Mini Roses
Floral Picks
Corsage Pins and Floral Pins
Hot Glue Gun



When I first decided to make a topiary, I went to AC Moore and spent about 10 minutes looking at the Styrofoam balls and searching for dowels. After giving up on finding the dowels, I went to a salesperson to ask about where I could find dowels when I looked  over her shoulder and spotted a pre-made topiary shape. I checked the price to find it was only $7.49 and naturally I had my 40% off coupon, so I was sold. I found a clay pot and base that it fit nice and snug into and came home to begin my project.


To start my project, I primed the clay pot and base with 2 coats of White Gesso, letting it dry between coats. I also painted the dowel on the form with white gesso. Once the gesso was completely dried, I used an acrylic paint that I had by Dona's in Mint Green to apply 2 coats to the clay pot. Here is how it looked.

Then I let the pot dry overnight. The next day I used Ranger Claudine Hellmuth Studio  Multi Medium Gloss to seal the paint. The finished pot looks like this.
I love this product line from Ranger for altering art and collage. It also comes in Matte. The range of use these products have are amazing. If you ever get the chance, and haven't done so already, check out Claudine Hellmuth. . If you enjoy mixed media, you'll love her work.
Once my pot and form were ready to go, I grabbed my Gypsy and started picking out my favorite flower cuts. My first cut was with Picturesque but I made the flowers too small. Naturally, I didn't realize this until I had put 10 flowers together and tried them out on the form. I would be looking at close to 100 flowers at the size I had originally cut them at which was about 1 inch ( I know! What was I thinking!) for the largest layer on the flower. Once I had that figured out, LOL, I checked my receipt that said the form was 5 inches, so I went with almost two inches (1.92 x 1.82) for the largest flower from Picturesque, and made 5 layers to the flower. I used the flower that was 6th in on the 3rd row on the overlay, for my first flower. It looks like a  Chrysanthemum to me. I made 10 of them. I used K&Company Que Sera Sera Specialty Paper. Then I cut 10 of the flower next to the Picturesque Chrysanthemum, I went with 6 layers of this flower starting at 1.86 x 1.59 for the largest and .89 x .76 for the smallest. I ended up only using 5 of the layers. I used Blue and Purple paper from SEI for these.
My next flower was from Forever Young, another  of my favorite carts for flowers, and I used the 7th flower in on the last row of the overlay, I think it may be a daisy. Anyway, I cut 10 of them in 4 layers  and the shadow, starting at 1.53 x 1.47. This is also the size I cut the shadow for. I used the Que Sera Sera paper for the flowers.
For the last flower, I used my Mother's Day Bouquet Cartridge. I chose the 3rd flower in the 1st row for the Topiary. I cut the largest layer at 1.72 x 1.59 with the shadow the match this layer. Then I cut 3 more layers, plus the shadow for 5 layers. The smallest layer was 1.07 x .98.  I used K&Company WB Gypsy Baby Paper Pad. I chose the pink and blue for the flowers. I also cut 10 more flowers starting at 1.63 x 1.51 for the largest layer and shadow, down to .85 x .78 for the smallest. I used K&Company Que Sera Sera Specialty Paper on these.
 Ok, so here is where I will admit there was no real rhyme or reason for my flower sizes. I just knew I was going to go bigger than the 1 inch!
Here are a few pictures of the flowers in progress:



Here are a bunch of flowers almost done
 
Forever Young Flowers on Mat

Stacks of Flowers before Dew Drops


Inked Flowers with Dew Drops and Distress Inks (Worn Lipstick)





Here are some other pictures of the Mother's Day Bouquet Flowers in progress. I have to say that I think these are my new favorite flower to use. They were inked with Distress Ink, Worn Lipstick as well.

You can see how I manipulated the paper to shape the flowers. I won't bore my fellow crafters with the details. A search of Youtube will bring up a gazillion videos on making paper flowers. I spritz my flowers with Shimmerz Spritz in Baby's Breath, to shape them. These are the flowers from Mother's Day Bouquet.
The next thing I did was poke a hole in the center of my flowers with a Paper Piercer. Here a few flowers lined up and ready to get pierced!

I colored my corsage pins with Ranger Alcohol Inks. My method of coloring skittles with Alcohol Ink is to place them a small baggie, add a couple of drops, and done! I started out using this method, as you can see by the picture below, then quickly changed to sticking the pins in a sponge and touching the tip of the bottles to them. It was much more efficient! I had a picture of all 65 picks dyed, but somehow it was deleted either form my camera or card. It looked so cool!

And began the task of placing them in the form.
I've never done anything like this before, so it at first I was just trying to set them in rows. I also had them placed too close and they bunched up. I decided to just start placing them as random as possible and here is what it looked like. You can also see the corsage pins in all their alcohol inked glory!



I ran ribbon around the pole and used a flower to pin it in on the top. I filled the flower pot with moss, held in by floral pins.
So after I put all the flowers in, it occurred to me that maybe I should have painted the topiary top white. That led me to needing to fill in the blank spots. I decided to use butterflies, so I went straight to Home Decor for my favorite butterfly. I cut two sizes, 3.31 x 2.16 and 3.67 x 2.39 and copied them. Then I flipped the copies. I used a couple of pieces of Basic Grey (Eva, I think) paper and some K& Company to cut the butterflies. I used Viva Decor Gel in Cream to accent the butterflies. I also cut some ladybugs from Walk In My Garden glued them to corsage pins and filled in some spaces. I used Ranger Black Diamond Stickles to glitter the head and spots. I used Diamond Glaze to make the back shine. For the space that was still showing, I used stickles to glitter it up! I can be resourceful when necessary!
As I was working on the flower pot, I decided that it looked a little empty to me. I cut a couple of Easter Bunnies from Easter 2010 and ran them through the Xyron machine. I then ran them through a second time and added Doodlebug White Flock to them. I glittered their bows with MS Glitter and glued them together. I used a pin glued between them to stick them in the moss. I figured I can pull the bunnies out after Easter and still enjoy the topiary. I also placed some Prima Mini Roses in the moss for added color.
Here are a couple of more pictures for you

Back of Topiary
I enjoy trying new crafts, so this was fun for me. Now that I have made one, I have lots of ideas for more. I know this was a very long post, and I thank you for looking at my project. I hope you might be inspired to try one. It was very inexpensive to make, under $10.00, and easy too!
So now that you have seen my project, here is my blog candy
I am giving away a Serenade Cartridge so you can make your own paper flowers!
If you leave a comment for me and a way to reach you, I will use Karel's pal Randy (Random.org) to pick a number for the cartridge. Don't forget to leave me a way to reach you! The winner will be chosen on Monday. The winner does not have to follow my blog, but I would love it if you did!
Thanks for hopping the blog trail with me! From here, your next stop is Mistyrose, I know you will enjoy her Made Up Holiday! She is very talented!
So whatever made up holiday you may celebrate, take some time to stop and, well, you can't smell paper flowers, but you can still enjoy them! Happy Paper Flower Appreciation Day!
Happy Crafting!
Colleen

59 comments:

  1. Love the topiary. It looks like you had fun making it.

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  2. Absolutely GORGEOUS!! I love your project and the flowers are so beautiful!

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  3. Starting day 1 of the blog hop and I love your topiary. My email is:marg0006@verizon.net and my blog is:loving scrapper 101.

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  4. OH Stunnnnnnning..... I love love it.... Your projects is awesome....

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  5. Oh your Topiary is quite lovely! TFS
    http://www.dtsart.com/contact.htm

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  6. Your topiary is gorgeous and your flowers are beyond amazing! I cannot imagine the time you put into those!!!

    Melissa
    www.disneydreamerdesigns.blogspot.com

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  7. This is the coolest project I have seen yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never really played with flower arrangments me but now I will have to make an attempt at it.

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  8. Your topiary is amazing! And it makes it feel so much like Spring! You did a great job with the flowers.
    Pat P
    tpmk222@aol.com

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  9. I LOVE all the flowers, and the topiary is outstanding! I also Love, LOVE, love your blog background!!!! Nice work.

    Fondly,
    Ellen ♥ CardMonkey
    www.cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com
    E-mail: cardmonkey@comcast.net

    P.S. STOP BY MY BLOG this weekend for opportunity to win three different lots of BLOG CANDY. Top three posts detail it.

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  10. Such a pretty spring project. I love your topiary and your flowers. I love making paper flowers. I enjoyed creating a holiday & a project to go along with it. TFS!

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  11. OMG, I am going to ask for the same thing from my hubby. I lost my smell to roses, so he quit buying them for me. This would be a great alternative for him, anything to do with paper, actually. LOL. I am a new follower. I just love this project. You did a great job! I have a new gypsy too and am going to try this out. gavnismimi@gmail.com

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  12. This is an amazing project. And extreamely gorgeous!!

    Jazzy
    www.JazzysCards.Blogspot.com
    MsPoet2Be@gmail.com

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  13. Ohmygosh, Colleen. What a SUPER fun project, and I do so appreciate the tutorial as I'm a visual kinda gal. What a delightful idea. That's a LOT of flower punching, but the result is stunning! Thanks so much for sharing with us.

    And I just found your blog on this hop and am now a follower - so very nice to meet you!

    http://lillianchild.blogspot.com

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  14. ...way to WOW us..this is ** flower-tabulous ** oh my gosh..thanks for all the great details on how we can TRY to make this.. thanks for the opportunity at your blog candy.. mitz_zee@yahoodotcom

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  15. That is beautiful, Way to get me inspired :D Thanks so much for sharing. Everytime I hope I am amazed at what some paper and paint can turn into :D



    perfectlyunperfectcards@gmail.com

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  16. I love your flower tree!!! Very pretty. This is such a pretty spring time/Easter decor!! It is so much fun being in the hop with you.

    www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com
    beyondscrapin@aol.com

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  17. WOW!!!! I love this idea! May have to give it a try very soon!

    rachelsigmak at yahoo dot com

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  18. Awesome stunningly beautiful!! I would love to win.. don't have this cartridge but I would LOVE to make this awesome flower!! As mentioned in your profile... I too have a 6yr old that is Autistic. would love to chat with ya. We are walking in the wichita Autism care walk on 2 April from heartspring. learning so much!! okay.. back to the post... Will love to follow you and check out in depth your blog. BTW... thanks for the detailed instructions (for me) LOL Doris
    parkernana5@cox.net

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  19. Colleen this is absolutely gorgeous!! Of course anything you do always is!

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  20. Thank you Colleen for the detailed instructions and extra little tips you learned from making this gorgeous topiary. This is a stunning project and I appreciate all the time you put into making this, beautiful!
    Cathy S
    seashore@telus.net

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  21. I love your projects!!! So wonderful and absolutely stunning!!!

    Leah
    http://www.leahscarddesigns.com

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  22. I agree paper flowers last so much longer....plus my cats wont eat them lol!
    Im also a new cricut expression expession owner.The mothers day bougquet cartridge is next on my wish list.Your topiary is stunning!!

    mitch1066@gmail.com

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  23. Wow!! I love paper flowers and your talent is amazing!! I Love the cartridge as well...happy crafting!!!

    mkshriver@gmail.com

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  24. What a beautiful project. You did a fantastic job, and what a wonderful gift.
    Dorene
    jayco@pacbell dot net

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  25. Your topiary is beautiful! Love the flowers! I'm with you on a paper flower appreciation day!

    Thanks for the chance to win Serenade! It's been on my wish list for a while!

    karenskapin at yahoo dot com

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  26. what a great project. I am a flower addict and love the way you have used them. I will have to get out my Mothers Day Bouquet cart and follow some of your great flowers. Thanks for your time and talent,

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  27. Happy "Flower" day!! I LOVE your topiary!! The bunnies that you added are just darling.

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  28. It is beautiful. I think it would be perfect for an easter table centerpiece.

    iluvkatie74
    at yahoo
    dot com

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  29. Beautiful topiary. Your flowers are amazing!

    Kristin
    ksully4597 at gmail dot com

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  30. Wow, wow, wow!!!!! Very creative and inspiring, I better get to work, lol.

    cleosan52 at yahoo

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  31. omg! I love your flowers! Thanks for the great instructions on how to make this. It is so beautiful. I am heading to Michaels tomorrow to buy the stuff so I can try it. I am your newest follower and can't wait to see what you make next! TFS

    scrapperbecka at yahoo dot com

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  32. I'm speechless! What an awesome project and the time and effort that went into it I'm sure. Thanks for sharing. joy4umetoo at hotmail dot com

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  33. your work is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!! Love your blog, adding you to my follow list!
    stampinlara at yahoo dot com

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  34. Fabulous!
    You must have worked forever on this.
    Hummer Hugs,
    Misty
    http://deliteful-gifts.blogspot.com/
    hummingbird204 at comcast dot net

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  35. I love your paper flowers and that your husband gives you primas for Valentine's. I make many paper flowers, thanks for the tip for coloring the stick pins. Thanks for sharing.

    dbjb1519 at yahoo dot com

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  36. OMGosh that is so adorable!! I wish I had the patience to do something like that! TFS!
    sweetheartcopper at msn dot com

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  37. I love your holiday and your tree is gorgeous! I love paper flowers, but I haven't tried making my own yet. I don't have any cricut cartridges with a flower on it. Thanks for sharing!

    xxsquigglesxx(at)gmail(dot)com

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  38. Oh, my! Your topiary is beautiful!!! I love the pretty spring colors of all the flowers and the butterflies and ladybugs are the perfect finishing touch. You did a wonderful job on this. I'm a fellow paper flower fanatic and your newest follower. Thanks for the inspiration and for a chance to win your cool blog candy.

    Anne (anniebeescraftroom.blogspot.com)
    lucyblueeyz at yahoo dot com

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  39. Colleen...my mouth is still wide open in total AWE of your Flowers Topiary. I can't think of a word to describe the beauty and absolute elegance of your project. WOW I feel spring and Easter when I look at it. I will be bookmarking your page for reference. Your tutorial is AWESOME . Thank you so much for sharing your project.

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  40. I loved the flowers and how detailed you are with you instructions, thanks for sharing such a wonderful project. I am a new follower.

    Marcy S.
    m.serrano@live.com
    http://marcyscreativecrafts.blogspot.com/

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  41. Wow breathtaking. Just amazing.
    I'm a follower.
    Thanks for the chance to win.
    http: // mamawann. blogspot. com/
    annadowdy at gmail dot com

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  42. Wow this is gorgeous! I love that you shared how to make it and the details are amazing!! TFS
    lfuchs1 at wi. rr. com

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  43. Amazing project just beautiful! Thanks for sharing this with us I will be coming back to follow that tutorial!
    Summer
    cricutdiaries@yahoo.com

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  44. WOW WOW WOW, pretty amazing, all those beautiful flowers, must have taken forever to make. Looks gorgeous.

    Smiles Sher
    ShersL84bed at aol dot com

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  45. Awesome!!!! I definitely smell the flowers while celebrating your wonderful Paper Flower Appreciation Day!

    You are truly a girl after my own heart: I think this is why I love to craft: the paper flowers!! My drawers abound with so many and I love to look at them, plan creatively to use them, and love them to bits. Your tutorial instructions are amazing. Thanks so much!!

    kastenc at sbcglobal dot net

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  46. WOW!! Colleen, this is simply the best I have ever seen! It's so elegant and fun looking, I want one of these in my home, I can just see it now! You are very talented!
    I am already a follower of your blog
    TFS and a chance to win
    Bonnie
    http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com
    ascrapabove at aol dot com

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  47. OMG! I LOVE this! You went above and beyond for this hop, and it came out perfect! You are amazing! Keep up the good work!

    Jamie
    glitterstampsandpaperohmy.com
    glitterstampsandpaperohmy at gmail dot com

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  48. I dont know if it's too late to enter the giveaway, but I love, love, love this project! You did a GREAT job, and I'm already planning my trip to HL for supplies. This is the perfect Easter decoration for which I've been looking!

    Charlotte
    Charlotte [at] PaperCraftingChic.com

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  49. Awesome project. It turned out beautiful. I so have to try this. Thanks for the inspiration!!

    brz352@yahoo.com

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  50. omg!!! AWESOME. I want to try one of these hopefully I can find the same base as yours. totally blown away by your talent.
    terryim4841@yahoo.com
    tmorrowstreasuresblogspot.com

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  51. What a gorgeous topiary! Thanks for sharing your instructions!

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  52. this is just beautiful I found youby the way of Cricut Comm. Congrats to you on that. Love your blog cute. Thanks for sharing really Love this

    Hugs

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  53. Awesome, i am always looking for new ideas for artificial flowers. This is beautiful and unique.Thanks for explaining it step by step.

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  54. Wow! This is fantastic! You've inspired me! I'm going to make one this Summer! I don't have Mother's Day 2010 but I think I have other flowers that should work ... TFS ~ I LOVE IT! *hugs* Kimberly

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