Friday, January 27, 2012

Love Is In The Air Blog Hop


Welcome to the Love is in the Air blog hop hosted by the very creative, Paulette from Around the Block with Scrapalette! You should have arrived here from the amazing Carolyn's blog. Didn't you just fall in love with her project! All the bloggers in today's hop are incredibly talented and I would hate if if you missed any of their crafts, so if you are just stopping by my blog today, you'll want to go back to  Around the Block with Scrapalette and start at the beginning of the hop. Plus, you can enter to win blog candy. Don't we just love candy! LOL!
Today's blog hop is all about love and Valentine's Day. Why not go and grab a beverage, sit back and enjoy some Valentine's Day sweetness without all the calories!

Here's the Blog List:
Paulette from http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth from http://www.217creations.com/
Sukie from http://www.scrappindhilly.blogspot.com/
Sharon from http://designsbysharon.blogspot.com/


My project is inspired by a walk around Michael's a couple of weeks ago. I saw all the Valentine decorations on the shelves and just had to browse them for ideas. There was a small Heart Topiary with some berries on it that I really liked. I thought, I could make something similar to that for my home. Since I am still on my self imposed spending ban and participating in the Using My Stash challenge, I went straight home with only some adhesives and got to work on my own Heart Topiary.

Here are the details:
Circut Anniversary E-2
Cartridges used - Love Struck and
CTMH Art Philosophy
Distress Inks - Tattered Rose,Victorian Velvet, Barn Door,
Worn Lipstick, Ripe Persimmon, Dried Marigold
and Festive Berries
Clay Pot, Dowel and Styrofoam
White Acrylic Paint, Crackle Medium and Gloss Gel Medium
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist - Pink Ice
Martha Stewart Glitter - Garnet
Scotch Quick Dry Glue
Hot Glue Gun
Ribbon and Red Raffia
And finally, lots of patience!

I created my project using the Circut Craft Room. I wanted a heart that was open, yet simple in design. I couldn't find any on my cartridges, so I used a heart from Love Struck, then copied it and sized it to fit into the center. The smaller heart would act as a cut out. This gave me the heart base for my topiary which is 6.18 x 5.8 in size. I didn't want to make it too big as the only clay pot I had here was 4 inches.

Here's how it looked cut out on the mat.

Here they are off the mat with the center removed. Yes that was a cover for a DCWV paper stack. LOL! Told you I was using my stash.

.
I was going to cut paper to cover the hearts, then decided to run them through the Xyron machine and glitter them. I used Martha Stewart Glitter in Garnet. I sealed the hearts with Gloss Gel. This is how they turned out.

I hot glued a dowel I painted white to them, then hot glued them together.

For the flowers I used the Rose from Art Philosophy. If you don't already own this cartridge, you have to get it! It has everything you need to create the most beautiful projects, pages and cards. My wonderful crafting girlfriend Belinda is a Close To My Heart Representative and can order it for you. I started with roses sized at 2 inches. I used two 12 x 12 papers in cream and pink. The roses looked like this in the Cricut Craft Room.


Here they are cut.


I inked all the roses in the various Tim Holtz colors listed above, then started gluing and rolling them up.

After I was done with the first 25 roses, I realized that they were much smaller than I was anticipating and decided to cut more roses at 2.5 inches.


All totaled, I cut, inked and rolled about 100 roses. Here are some of them as I was working on them.


Using a quilling tool, I started out rolling them very tight. Then I decided to try making them a little more loose and just used my fingers to roll them.. Here are some examples of the roses. They are rolled in this order, tightest, medium tightness and loose. I used a pin to work the center of the rose to my preference.



Once I had all my roses cut, I placed them on the base to get a feel for how I wanted to position them. Once I had an idea of what I liked, I began hot gluing them to the hearts. The first side went nicely. About half way through hot gluing roses on the other side of the heart, I realized I hadn't cut enough roses and had to cut another sheet of 2 inch roses! Once they were inked and ready to go, I was able to finish the heart. This is what it looked like.


I took a clay pot that was hanging around here for ages, and painted it white. I used some crackle medium to add some interest to it. I sprayed Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Ice Pink on it to bring out the cracks and give it color. I coated it with the gloss gel to seal the Glimmer Mist. I like the effect of the Glimmer Mist with the crackle medium. Cool, right?


To finish the Topiary, I used some Styrofoam to attach the dowel and then added the Red Raffia. I hot glued a bow to each side, and declared this one FINISHED!

This Topiary took a few days to make, but in the end, it was worth it. I hope you are inspired to try one for yourself.

Now for some blog candy! If you want to make a Topiary like this, you might need some supplies. I am giving away a $10.00 gift card to Michael's or AC Moore, your choice. You don't need to be a follower, but please leave a comment and a way for me to contact you to be entered in the drawing. I will choose a name using Random.Org on Tuesday morning. If you are visiting from the Cricut Boards and don't want to leave your email, let me know you MB name and if your name is chosen, I can PM you for your details.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I hope you enjoy the rest of the blog hop. Your next stop on the hop is the very talented Elizabeth at 217 Creations. I know a fabulous project awaits you there! You are going to love her blog, it's one of my favorites!

Happy Crafting!
Colleen





56 comments:

  1. Wow! Love the rolled flowers! And how genius to cut your own heart shape for the base! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an amazing project! I just love everything about your topiary, it is absolutely stunning!

    scrappindhilly at gmail dot com
    www.scrappindhilly.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is really pretty !! I can imagine the hours that went into this work of art !
    Anna
    ann2236@juno.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amazing! The roses are perfect...in all of the sizes!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, my goodness! What a delightful project! I am impressed with all the little flowers you created! This is beautiful!
    Carolyn
    http://cccscraproom.blogspot.com
    cccscraproom@windstream.net

    ReplyDelete
  6. oh my this is so so pretty! you did an amazing job on your roses and I just love this for a table center piece! Thank you so much for sharing!

    Dana
    Danascraftycorner.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Colleen -

    This is a beautiful and lovely project. You have convinced me that I can no longer live without Art Philosophy in my tool box! And Gloss Gel - need to investigate what that is all about! Super project and great instructions - thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Colleen,
    That is really pretty. I love the AP roses!

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is so pretty! It looks incredibly time consuming, but worth it!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful, and what a great way to use Art Philosophy!

    http://happyscrapper64.blogspot.com/
    HappyScrapper64@bex.net

    ReplyDelete
  11. I've been eyeing those topiaries, too! And another reason to add Art Philosophy to my "must have" list of cartridges.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love this project! Amazing job- thanks for sharing how you are using your stash- I love it! rlovew1976 at yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love these roses. They turned out beautiful! I've gotta try this. It looks so much fun and sooo pretty. thank yu for your great instructions. Love it1 Thanks again!
    kathy21361@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love your topiary! Great job using your stash. I need to use my AP cart more.
    swiagal@iowatelecom.net

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow! Beautiful! What a great idea to use the TH inks to color the paper, I really love the look it gave this project.

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Very nice!! Love the way you used your stash!!

    Brenda Z.

    ReplyDelete
  17. WOW! that is beautiful and all from your stash. Your flowers are so pretty and love the colors.

    ReplyDelete
  18. This is very pretty! Love the fact you are even using the paper pack wrapping! You rock!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Okay, I just went back to see how many flowers you had to make. 100!!! holy cow that's a lot of rolling!

    ReplyDelete
  20. love it! and, it seems your patience paid off handsomely!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love this. It looks like flowered covered lollipops! So cute. Love the tutorial.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Wow, beautiful! I'd never have the patience to put something like this together.

    ReplyDelete
  23. that is so neat!! i might have to make something like this.
    angiecollinsville@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Wow Col! That is absolutely stinkin' gorgeous! I want to make one now. I'm like you, I probably have everything in my stash to do it!! Thanks for the shout out:) Miss you bunches! I'm going to post this on my blog and refer them to your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Beautiful flowers and hearts!!! my two favorites...not surprised that your work on here is wonderful....I still have and cherish several of your creations from past projects which became a passion for you!! That is always evident in the finished product!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thats a lot of flowers, love how you did the clay pot, the project looks wonderful

    ReplyDelete
  27. This is really cute I actually started making some of the flowers to make one of these just it is so time consuming. TFS

    ReplyDelete
  28. Love the topiary. I haven't made one and I would love to try it. Thanks for such a great giveaway.
    papermemories4u@ yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  29. That turned out great! I really like the pot and Art Philosophy is a great cartridge. Very time consuming.

    skydolphin circle mb

    ReplyDelete
  30. Wow that is so pretty. I love Arts Philosphy for making the flowers. Love the heart topeary. Great job.

    Terri

    ReplyDelete
  31. Very pretty - love the finish on the pot.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Those colors are just gorgeous- what a stunning project!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Pretty topiary! Love what you did with the pot!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Love it! Will need to try this!

    Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Wow!!! So many beautiful roses! A really beautiful project and thank you for sharing all the details

    ReplyDelete
  36. Gorgeous Topiary. I'm amazed at the 100 little flowers! Wow.
    :)Khrista
    khristamcbride @ comcast.net

    ReplyDelete
  37. I heart your beautiful project! The different colors and sizes of flowers give such depth and beauty! Thanks for sharing how to make it, too! rgauss at sbcglobal dot net.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I love the project but especially the pot! It looks so cool all crackly pink!

    Michele
    michelegreen120 at gmail dot com
    www.michelegreen.com

    ReplyDelete
  39. adorable project! thank you for sharing! I have yet to try the rosettes....i need to get busy ....stefanichastain@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  40. Wow! This is beautiful!
    qtme2003 at yahoo dot ca

    ReplyDelete
  41. Great way to use up your stash! I was wondering how many roses you had to make - 100 seems like a lot but they're so pretty. Nice job, great decoration, and such a pretty can-do project! Love it! deemeows at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  42. Oh my...this is beautiful...it was worth all your hard work...thanks for sharing...
    .gail
    .g_fessler@msn.com

    ReplyDelete
  43. I love topiarys. You did a great job w/this one. The rosos look real.
    marg0006@verizon.net
    Loving Scrapper101

    ReplyDelete
  44. Fabulous job with all of those flowers!

    Tina
    quebectrip at sbcglobal dot net

    ReplyDelete
  45. Wow!! What a fabulous topiary!! Your roses are so real and beautiful! This fantastic project will look amazing ALL year through! Thank you for the tutorial!!
    Beverly at jordanbev5@yahoo.com
    Am a new follower!!

    ReplyDelete
  46. Beautiful topiary! I love all of those flowers!
    Tracy
    http://scrappininthewoods.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  47. WOW! What a lot of work but what a gorgeous result. Simply beautiful!!! TFS!

    Thanks for a chance to win your blog candy! I'm "Ladybug" from the Cricut MB. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  48. Just beautiful! Your flowers are amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  49. this is beautiful and alot of work for sure. you should enter this at decorate to celebrate valentine challenge

    ReplyDelete
  50. Really great job. What type/how did you glue the flowers?

    ReplyDelete