Spring Flowers and Ruffles

Spring Flowers & Ruffles

I love texture and dimension on my paper craft projects.  I love mixing it up, trying new things and I especially love flowers and ruffles.  A few years ago, I discovered an easy way to make NO SEW ruffles just for your paper creations.  I always have fun using this technique and thought it went perfect with crepe paper flowers, a more recent discovery of I’ve made.  You can use both of these fun techniques on scrapbook pages, cards and many other projects. 

First, let me tell you about the NO SEW ruffle.  This is a super simple technique that you are going to love!  Its really just a matter of squishing strips of crepe paper, streamer or tissue paper into a line of wet glue.  Let me show you how easy it is in two simple steps:

1. 1. Simply apply a line of glue to the area where you want your ruffle; I usually like to apply about 2” of glue at a time. 

2. 2. Bunch the paper up into the glue with your fingertips to create the ruffled look you want.

On this BABY GIRL card, the ruffle is the perfect feminine touch to add texture to this project.  It looks adorable and can be put together in ten minutes. 

A few tips:

• Try this with strips of crepe paper, streamers or tissue paper.
• I do recommend a wet, tacky glue such as Mod Podge or Scotch Tacky Glue.
• Do a practice run on some scrap paper before you work directly on your project.
• I like to cover the center (where I’ve done the gluing) of my ruffles with something; usually its ribbon, machine stitching, or a decorative sticker.  It adds to the overall look as well.
• If you’re concerned about archival issues, you may want to refrain from using this technique on your scrapbook pages.

As if the Heidi Grace papers and embellishments aren’t cute enough, I decided that adding the crepe paper flower and ruffle to this layout could soften it a bit more, and well, you can just never have enough pink, right?  Each custom embellishment was simple to create and added a lovely texture to the page.  These flowers are very similar to making fabric yo yo’s.  They may look familiar to you or they may be totally new, either way they’re sure lots of fun to make!

To create the crepe paper flower, follow these steps:

1.   Cut two strips of crepe paper (width depending on how big you want your finished product)and layer them together.  You can use anywhere from 18” to 30” lengths of paper depending on how bunch-y or full you want your flower to be.

2.       Start at one end of the strips and make a running stitch about 1/8” from one edge of the paper strips (about ¼” between stitches).  [Leave about a 3”tail of ribbon in order to tie it off when you reach the other end.] 

3.       Gather the paper strip on thread and tie ends together to create circle/flower.   Adjust folds as necessary to create a uniform look.

The flower shown on the “S” layout is about 2 ¾” in diameter.  Most crepe paper that is found in the party goods department is 1 ¾” wide.  You can trim it down or use it as is; experiment with different sizes of flowers and embellish them with gems, buttons, brooches, whatever!  Its lots of fun!    Use your flowers on layouts, cards, tags and more! 

Create your own fabulous gift package toppers with the same bloomin’ idea!  Here, I’ve created a crepe flower with the standard size streamer (1 ¾”).  The finished flower is about 4” in diameter.  I’ve embellished it with a scalloped paper circle, ribbon flower (made in the same manner as the crepe flower), a Heidi Grace Designs flower and a gem.  This bold blossom is the perfect way to top this cute package off.

I hope you have fun with these ideas.  They’ll be the perfect accent for all your spring scrapbooking pages and cards.  

By Janna Wilson