Creating Flowers at The Kraft Journal

Hello friends!  This week at The Kraft Journal I was asked to share a quick tutorial on how to create quick and easy flowers using Hemp Cord and baker's twine.  And just for the record, you can use MANY different products for this technique including very narrow ribbon, jute, hemp, baker's twine, a narrow lace, or anything thin.  I started with 12 pieces of the natural hemp cord cut into 2 1/4" lengths, and 8 pieces of red baker's twine cut into 2" lengths.  I also hand-cut a 1" circle out of Lunch Bag Kraft Card Stock to use as a base.  Here are the lengths I cut.

I covered the 1" Kraft Card Stock Circle with my favorite adhesive.  I used my favorite red tacky tape from Michaels, but you can use a glue stick, hot glue gun, or whatever adhesive you may prefer, or have available.  I tend to use this red double-sided tape A LOT.

I started making my flower by doubling over the cut lengths of hemp and attaching the ends into the adhesive to secure them.  My method is to do it like clock work; staring at 12:00, then 3:00, 6:00, 9:00 and then adding two more lengths in between each of those.  After you've attached the 12 lengths of doubled-over hemp, it should look something like this:

Then, I take my cut lengths of baker's twine and stagger them in between the other loops to fill in the circle.  They are spaced further apart, and will look something like this after you've added all 8 lengths.  Don't be too concerned about spacing them perfectly, and feel free to experiment with various lengths, different numbers of lengths, etc.  It all depends on what size flower you're trying to make.

Don't worry about the fact that the center looks unattractive.  We have a solution for that!  Simply take a button, brad, or small embellishment of your choice, and use adhesive to secure it to the center of your flower.  I used a simple button, and tied it off with some red and brown baker's twine.  You could use a pretty brad or a small embellishment to match your project.

Wasn't that simple?  And like I said, this method can be used with a narrow grosgrain ribbon, jute, or any narrow trim you have on hand.  Get creative and try different textures and colors with this technique.  You could even use longer lengths to make a bigger flower, and add a third row of color and texture to your flowers.  It's an inexpensive and creative way to make flower embellishments for your cards and projects, and the Kraft Outlet has everything you need to get started.

 

I used my little flower to create a real simple card.  I just took a Lunch Bag Kraft Note Card and attached a piece of Jenni Bowlin patterned paper to the front along with a piece of burlap, and then I secured my flower, added a sentiment that is stamped on a piece of Buff Ivory Card Stock, and then put a little piece of Tim Holtz Ruler Ribbon stapled to the edge.  Very quick and simple.

There's really no end to the possibilities of crafts you can create using these simple little flowers.  Just use your imagination to make different colors, textures, and various sizes of flowers for any project.  I hope this quick and easy flower tutorial was helpful to you.  Have a great week, and don't forget to join this week's challenge at The Kraft Journal.  We LOVE seeing your art shared in our challenges!

I also hope you will stop by and share with us at Word Art Wednesday where today begins another great Anything Goes challenge.  You're welcome at both challenges, and we look forward to having you play along.

Blessings,
Karen