Latest Articles

Ganutell? What's a Ganutell?

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 10:39:52 -0500

Don't worry, most people have never heard of Ganutell... it's the art of making flowers from wire and floss. Actually, I'd never heard of it myself until I came across photos of Ganutell flowers while learning to make French beaded flowers. I immediately fell in love with the small, delicate petals and leaves created using this technique.

It's not clear exactly where or when Ganutell originated, although by most accounts it's been around for centuries. As with most crafts, the art was passed from generation to generation without any written record of how it's done. The technique may have become extinct were it not for the local artists on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea. Here these flowers are a tradition, and are still being made to decorate churches and for headresses and wedding favors. The craft is now generally known as coming from the Isle of Malta.

The process of creating Ganutell flowers is quite simple... in fact, it's very similar to beaded flowers in that it involves petals made by wrapping around a central wire... but it uses a prepared thread made by spinning a very fine wire with silk thread or rayon floss, rather than strung beads as in a beaded flower. Quite often beads and decorative wires are used for embellishment. The basic techniques are simple, although as with most crafts it takes practice to become proficient.

There are few resources available for instruction and supplies, and unfortunately this has led to modification of the process so that we often see items described as Ganutell that are technically not really the same. While the traditional style of Ganutell is somewhat ornate and formal, artisans learning the craft are creating more contemporary and whimsical florals.

Regardless of your preferred style, or shape, or color, Ganutell offers unlimited opportunity for being creative. Give it a try!

Crepe Paper Flowers – Throw a Party for your Friends

Wed, 05 May 2010 09:05:27 -0500

You probably think that it is great that the guys get together for a super bowl party. They also get together and play basketball or baseball or whatever. But what can we women do in order to get together and bond with our friends and have a good time?

May we suggest a crepe paper flowers party? You could invite your friends to your home (you could rent a small room at a local motel or even the local craft shop.) Tell them to bring their crepe paper and supplies. Tell them that they will be coming to a crepe paper flowers party and all the ladies will be making crepe paper flowers. Would your friends be interested in attending such a party? Oh, yes. In order to whet their interest if necessary, you could make a list of the things that they can decorate with their crepe paper flowers when they are finished. Your list could include these things:

1. Picture frames. The frame could be decorated with one color of paper and then have a contrasting color for the crepe paper flowers. Or it could just be decorated with the blossom by itself.

2. Refrigerator magnets. You know all those items posted on the refrigerator? What if each one was decorated with crepe paper flowers? Would that not pull them all together and add a designer touch to the room?

3. Vases of flowers. If you had several small vases of flowers set around the room, it would add a finished, polished look to the room. You can have several vases of crepe paper flowers for a very small cost.

4. Decorating for that special event. Crepe paper flowers can be used to decorate for weddings, graduation parties, baby and bridal showers and so much more. They can be put in vases, they can decorate the bride and bridesmaids, they can be given away as souvenirs, and they can be strung together to make attractive garlands to frame a doorway or hang from the ceiling for a festive touch.

5. Scrapbooking. These blooms and blossoms and their petals and stems can be used to decorate a scrapbook. The flower can be created in a way that it can be relatively flat; it will not fade or wilt or seep its color into the page the way a real flower would.

6. Decorating a wall. Regular pictures can be kind of boring. But what if you had a small bouquet of crepe paper flowers with ribbons, framed with an attractive picture frame? Would not that add a nice touch of color and uniqueness to your decor?

Can you see the usefulness of making these flowers? Can you see how much fun your friends will have when they get together and engage in this fascinating craft? They will enjoy going to a party. They will enjoy doing something feminine. They will be happy making something useful. They will appreciate your friendship even more than they do now.

Making Handmade Cards

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:21:07 -0500

Making handmade cards is now an incredibly popular pastime with millions of pounds being spent each year by enthusiastic crafters on embellishment, beads, ribbons, sequins, glue, adhesive foam pads, cellophane wrappers and of course, card and envelopes. Craft manufactures must be rubbing their hands with glee as they keep coming up with more of the latest “must have” items for eager crafters to buy.

Card making is a lot of fun, learning new techniques, using your imagination and showing off your creative talents. Whether you make cards to give to family and friends, to sell to make money for charity or to sell to make money to buy more craft supplies. It can even become a business, because as much as people love making handmade cards even more people love buying them.

There are so many different card making techniques to be tried, decoupage, stamping, embossing, papercraft, teabag folding, waterfall cards the list is constantly growing as crafters push the limits and design more and more amazingly elaborate cards. Many crafters buy card making kits, others design their own cards using a huge amount of imagination and individually sourced resources, some even use recycled materials. Crafters are a canny bunch!

They are also a chatty bunch as there are now several Internet craft forums where crafters can log on and show their work, share tips and ideas and give opinions and advice to each other. The crafting community is very friendly and most people are happy to talk about their latest project, sometimes the problem is stopping them, they can get carried away in their own enthusiasm.

However, when it comes down to it, whatever techniques, materials, style and design each crafter chooses to use, you can guarantee there is one thing they all have in common.......they all have fun!

Making Clocks - Everyone Needs Clocks!

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:23:49 -0600

Making clocks is fun and can be surprisingly easy. If you set out to make a grandfather clock or a Vienna regulator you could be in for a bit of a challenge but you can get digital clock movements or clock inserts for a few dollars and turn almost anything into a working timepiece.

Everybody needs clocks, whether for decoration or to wake us up in the morning. How many do you have in your house? If you make your own clocks you have a ready supply of gifts which are both attractive and useful. Take it a little further and you have the beginnings of your own home business.

It could be quite a profitable business too. Have a look in your local stores. The finished item is seldom cheap and yet clock components can be purchased very reasonably. It's true that the kind of movement you need for a grandfather clock can run into hundreds of dollars but then the finished item is worth thousands. At a more reasonable level you can get an accurate and reliable digital clock movement with hands for under five dollars and with a bit of imagination quickly turn it into something worth ten times that amount!

Whether making clocks is just something you have a bit of fun with or something you want to get into seriously, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination. There are lots of wooden clock plans that you can find online but wood isn't the only material you can use. In less than five minutes an old CD can become a clock. Why not print a favorite photo onto stiff card or glue it to ply and make a clock? You could make a wire frame and cover it in cloth or paper maché to make a clock. You could use modeling clay. You could just use decorative card and other embellishments like buttons.

If you want to make clocks you can start with very little skill and you can do it with materials and components which cost next to nothing. If you use tools which are safe you could make clocks with your kids. Not only entertaining but educational too!

Making clocks is fun, creative, you can use of environmentally friendly materials and it's not expensive to start. Why not give it a go?

Craft Business Basics - Hooking That Visitor!

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:54:33 -0600

Whether you are running a blog or more traditional website there are craft business basics that you need to use if you want to succeed. Keeping potential customers coming back to your site - making it "sticky" - is obviously pretty important!

You might hope that interesting info, nice pictures, easy and clear navigation would all guarantee that. Unfortunately it won't. Truth is people skip by and skip on... there's a very short attention span online. Your craft business needs to do more than just look good.

Even if your potential customer likes your site, they might never come back. They might think about bookmarking you... and they might not. We've all done it, said you'll go back to a site later - but then not got distracted by something else, never to return...

The fact is your craft business loses out on customers every day. In business, not everyone will buy from you! However, you can do something very positive to try to grab those "hovering" people. Those "nearly" customers.

What you need to boost your craft business potential is a newsletter or e-mailing list, just like I've got here to keep you up to date with site changes or important news. Just think about it for a minute. If your visitor will give you their email address you don't have to worry about them coming back to your craft site, you can get back in touch with them!

And because it's via email you can do so as often as you like, for virtually no cost.

OK, there's a cost for the management of these services (you let other people handle the software and all that for you so you can concentrate on what you do best) but you're talking about a few dollars a month. Don't you think it's worth that? To have the potential to get back to your craft business visitors with news and special offers. To give them multiple chances to come and buy from you... even if they forgot they once visited? Frankly, you'd be mad not to.

I currently recommend YMLP because they offer to manage your first 1,000 subscribers for free! Can you imagine? A thousand potential new customers you can get in touch with with a couple of clicks - and it costs you nothing? Craft marketing doesn't get any better than that!

Even when you exceed that, it's literally just a few dollars a month. In fact you'll likely find their prices in Euros because the operation is based in Europe - but who cares, this is the internet!

A slight word of caution though. Run well, a newsletter can add tremendously to your craft business. Done badly it will put people off. A lot of companies want your visitor's email address so if they pay you the compliment of giving it to you, treat them well. Make them feel special.

As an added bonus you might want to give them a discount off their first order, or offer them something of value (like the dowloadable ebook I give subscribers). It's easy for you to do and you'll recoup any small cost many times over, so why not make a little extra effort?

Do that, right at the start of your relationship, and your new subscriber will feel that they are being dealt with personally. Chances are that will get you loyal, repeat customers who have a tremendous impact on the long-term profitability of your craft business.

Flower Making as a Profession

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:48:15 -0600

Flower making as a profession can be a very relaxing, enjoyable and finically rewarding career. Making flowers is not as hard as it may seem. If you have ever looked at a paper flower, you most likely wonder how much time and effort went into creating such a beautiful flower, bouquet, centerpiece, corsage or any type of floral arrangement. The simple answer is making flowers is easy and fun! In some cases depending on how experienced the flower maker is it can be quick!

In this article we will look at what a person needs to do and a few of the basic supplies needed to start a flower making business. We will also look at how to get the word out about your flower business. In all honesty word of mouth will be your number one source of business so it is important to say right from the start that the flowers you show people will need to be great! If you are new to making flowers you will just need a little patience and practice nothing more.

A few things you will need to start your business making paper flowers:

• Flower making book with instructions, patterns and pictures of the finished flower.
• An assortment of crepe paper
• A few pieces of stiff paper such as card stock - to trace your patterns on
• Clear drying glue
• Shears
• Floral wire and tape
• Wire cutters
• An assortment of markers, chalk and paint
• Pencil, ruler, tape and stapler
• A few other items listed in your book

The first and most important step in making your paper flower business successful is to learn how to make the flowers if that is you are new at it. The best way to do that is to read the book from cover to cover and try to make each flower in the book and continue to make them until they come out the way you want them too. You should not have to make too many of them but practice does make perfect and will increase your speed, after all time is money!

If you have been making the paper flowers for a while then you need to just get started and find a craft store, floral shop, consignment shop, bridal shows and fairs or a trade show to sell or display your paper flowers in. You also have the option of inviting family and friends over and having a paper flower party and selling your flower creations that way.

Also keep in mind the time of year you are starting your business, you will want an assortment of centerpieces for everyday use and a few for any upcoming holiday.

Be sure you have plenty of business cards as well. You can post these in numerous places from the grocery store, laundry mat, community centers, small private owned boutiques, day care centers, schools and even hospital gift shops any public place that allows business cards.

Just remember you have to spend a little money to make money so if you keep it small and simple it will be easy to start your new flower making profession and you should be successful!

Handcrafted Paper Flower Swags or Wreaths

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:13:37 -0600

The rainbow flower swag is one of our favorite handcrafted paper flower swags or wreaths as it can be made into either one of them. It uses a variety of flowers and colors; we try to make each flower a different color so that no two flowers are alike. To put the swag together you will need to purchase or make a swag which is made of thick greenery or wood. You will then need to attach the flowers to the swag either by using a clear drying glue or make the stems longer and wrap the wire around the swag to hold the flowers in place. Be sure to cover the stems in green floral tape so you do not poke your fingers or scratch your hands and arms the wire can be sharp. The color green will also blend in well with the flowers and cover up any brown from the wooden swag.

In this article we will look at a few ideas for making handcrafted paper flower swags or wreaths.

Floral Shape Swags and Wreaths - These are a simple arrangement of flowers made into a shape and usually placed on a flat surface such as a door or doorway. Certainly you have seen flowers arranged to form an object. A few good “starters” are a butterfly, a star and a heart. These are the easiest shapes to make. You can allow them to be free flowing and just in the shape that you have chosen or you can attach the flowers to a piece of greenery or Styrofoam and hang them on your wall, front door or any doorway in your house. The flowers should be small so you can work with them easily. Using a clear drying glue attach the flowers to the base you have chosen. You can use any type or color flower that you would like to create this design. You can create a heart for Valentine’s Day an anniversary or just because you love hearts. Stars are great for Christmas and butterflies are wonderful for the spring and summer months.

Door Wreaths

By far door wreaths are the most popular type of wreath and the other wreaths are often over looked. A door wreath is usually made out of greenery with a few small decorations or it can be made out of flowers. The wreaths can also be made out of greenery and decorated with flowers. Let us look at a few ideas for making a door wreath.

• All Flowers Wreath - You will want to use a round piece of Styrofoam and you can add a single layer or two of basic thin greenery to cover the Styrofoam if you would like or you can just insert the flowers to cover the Styrofoam circle. You can also add small decorations if you would like. There are several you could use for holidays, birthdays or to welcome a new season.

• Christmas Wreath - This may be one of the most popular door wreaths. They are easy to make. Obviously you will want to use a Christmas flower such as the poinsettias as your flower and red as your color. You can either use a circular or a square piece of Styrofoam to insert the flowers into. The use of other common decorations associated with Christmas really will help to bring this already amazing wreath to life. You may want to add small pinecones, an assortment of berry clusters and even small glitter covered Christmas tree balls. A few pieces of greenery will add a nice holiday touch as will a medium to large size green colored bow.

Handcrafted paper flower swags and wreaths are very easy and fun to make all you need is a little imagination!

Crepe Paper Flowers for Your Wedding

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:35:27 -0600

The benefits of using crepe paper flowers for your wedding are many. Aside from the cost, color selection and being able to chose the exact flower(s) you want regardless of the season. The bouquets and centerpieces you can create are endless.

In this article we will look at a few of those endless creations you make with crepe paper flowers from the bridal bouquet to the reception hall. You will need a good paper flower making book to guide you on your flower making journey.

Let us start with the bouquet; there are a good amount of styles a bride can choose from the single arm bouquet to the extra large cascading bouquet. Once you decide which style bouquet you want to carry down the aisle, then you can choose your flowers, colors and any “extras” such as beads, greenery and other decorative items that you want in the bouquet. Once your bouquet is made then you can move on to making the maid of honors, bridesmaids and the flower girls. Next will be the corsages and boutonnieres. Your bridal party, parents, and grandparents flowers should then be complete and you can start with the flowers for the ceremony.

For the ceremony you may want flowers for the pews, the church alter and the outside of the church or the place you tie the knot in. The best reason for making your own flowers is you are not limited to the selection of flowers or the colors and they are a lot easier to take with you to the reception hall. You do not have to worry about the petals falling off if they flowers are bumped into or when they are removed from the pews or alter. So there is no “clean up.”

Many brides decide to use the ceremony flowers for the reception as well, which is a cost effective way to save money even on paper flowers. You will need to assign a few non bridal party members to collect and bring the flowers to the reception area and set them up.

Once the flowers for the ceremony are done you will want to work on the reception ones. You may want centerpieces for the tables, flowers for the cake and gift table as well and you may even want flowers as gifts for all your guests.

Crepe paper flowers for your wedding are an excellent idea for many reasons, several of which you can most likely think of yourself. Flowers add the perfect touch of class and elegance to any wedding large or small. Candle centerpieces with flowing flowers are stunning, just be sure to use a hurricane style candle holder so your paper flowers are safe from the flame of the candles. Another great centerpiece idea is the traditional centerpiece using white as the dominate color and the color scheme you chose for your wedding. These two ideas are just a few commonly used wedding centerpieces when you make your own flowers you have the ability to arrange them to see how they will look in different arrangements. Making paper flowers is easy and fun.

Craft Projects Using Paper Flowers

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:32:12 -0600

If you love to create things and do crafts then you will surely love making paper flowers. There are so many projects that you can make with a simple paper flower made from crepe paper.

In this article we will look at a few projects using paper flowers. Making a paper flower is so easy a small child can do it. Once you make one paper flower you can make another and another and then allow your imagination to lead you to creating a craft project.

Let us look at some paper flower projects to give you an idea of what you can make and then you can expand on these ideas and come up with some of your own as well.

Centerpieces are one of the most popular craft projects using flowers. You will need a paper flower making book and crepe paper as well as the list of supplies and tools recommended in the book. Once you have everything you need simply decide which flower(s) and color(s) you want to make. Then select a vase or container and arrange the flowers. You can add glitter to the flower petals, or add a small plastic craft piece to personalize the centerpiece. For example if the centerpiece is going to be used in your home a small welcome sign will give the centerpiece a nice finishing touch. If you want to make a centerpiece as a birthday gift then a small happy birthday sign or a cluster of tiny balloons will do the trick.

Using a flower without the stem makes a nice bow for a gift or it can be set on the table in front of the dinner setting if you are having a dinner party. Paper flowers also make great decorations when used as a strand of garland. This can be done for birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, weddings or any other type of place where flowers are commonly found or where they will not look out of place.

A pencil/pen cup made out of container covered in crepe paper will look great with a few flowers attached to the sides. A memory box (shoe box) covered in crepe paper and decorated with stem-less flowers is not only a wonderful gift idea but a great way to store pictures or other important items such as journals or your children’s report cards anything that is special to you can be placed in this beautifully flower decorated treasure box.

The holidays are another perfect time for crafting flowers for centerpieces, dinner settings, decorations, gifts especially boxes filled with homemade treats!

You can make anything you want out of paper flowers, flowers are not just something you set on the dining room table anymore. They are work great for fundraisers and are perfect for weddings. Even if the bride and grooms budget is unlimited paper flowers are not only more beautiful than fresh ones, they will not wilt before the wedding and the couple can have any flower or color they want. There are unlimited possibilities when using paper flowers let your imagination lead you on a flowery journey!

Crepe Paper for Decorations

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:58:07 -0600

Using crepe paper for decorations of all kinds is a good choice. Crepe paper is strong, durable, and easy to work with, waterproof (in most cases) and comes in a nice assortment of colors.

You can use crepe paper for any type of decoration whether it is for a birthday party, baby shower, bridal shower, wedding or home decor. Crepe paper also makes wonderful Christmas decorations which we will look at closer later in the article as well as wrapping paper and numerous other items. Including flowers, centerpieces, bouquets and any type of floral arrangement you would like to make.

When we think of decorations made from crepe paper the ideas are endless. Listed below are a few of our favorite decorations.

• Streamers for any type of paper decorating. Just cut the crepe paper in long strips and attach them together either with small staples, clear drying glue or tape and hang them wherever you want. If you want to hang them from one corner of the room to the other it is best to measure first and add a little extra just in case you measured wrong.

• Games can also be made from crepe paper such as the popular kids game Pin the tail on the Donkey, pinatas can be covered with crepe paper and decorated, do not forget to fill them before you close them up. Crepe paper also comes in handy birthday parties for arts and crafts projects to keep those excited little hands busy.

• Baby showers also use streamers for decorations and large paper bows. Do not forget you can create a rattle, a baby book, scrapbook and even a nice pink and blue flower centerpiece can be used to top off the cake.

• Bridal showers and weddings are another place you can use streamers, bows and even bells, doves and hearts all of which are easy enough to create. You will just need a stiff piece of paper such as card stock to use as your pattern and cover it with the crepe paper and then decorate it with lace or beads. You can decorate these items with anything you like.

• Home decor items can include recipes boxes, scrapbooks, photo frames, wind chimes, magnets and several other everyday items you might not even consider decorating but that would certainly add a special touch of class to these forgotten items that you often depend on.

• Gifts made from crepe paper are also popular everything from centerpieces to welcoming or get well gift baskets can be decorate with crepe paper.

The ideas for using crepe paper to decorate are everywhere. You just have to look around and see what items in your home could use a pick me up. For parties you also easily find plenty of things that crepe paper decorations could liven up. When it comes to gift giving everything from the gift to the wrapping paper can be made from crepe paper. Including bookmarkers, magnets, photo frames and flower decorated tissue boxes!