Friday, March 25, 2011

Still trying to coax out some SPRING!



I'm still at it!

I'm NOT giving up....

I even dragged another Just Us Girls project into the fight! I'm DEMANDING spring to perform, at ONCE!





Luckily for me, there is a PERFECT place to harvest some spring beauty....
Just Us Girls have a MOST wonderful challenge going this week! ZIPPER flowers!





This technique is SO addicting! Start grabbing your OLD jeans, jackets and sewing kits:

You'll be pickin' for parts in no time! This is SUCH an fabulous technique!





That's RIGHT! Get your 3D glasses out! {But ... don't ACTUALLY put them on...!}

The, ever so lovely, DANA, is challenging us with a smokin' hot, 3D template idea!
I'm SO excited! WHO doesn't love a hand crafted flower, AM I RIGHT?
In case you didn't hear me gushing about the incredible sights of Winter CHA 2011 -
PAPER and FABRIC flowers were EVERYWHERE!

So, imagine my delight when not only did Dana decide to host a JUGS challenge,
she created a step by step tutorial for us to follow on our BELOVED place for BLING,
Want2Scrap! I hope you'll check out her work there, as well as on the
Just Us Girls website and indulge yourself by viewing ALL the fine work
of the HUGELY inspirational corral of fabby design chicks....


Dana
Andrea
Kathryn
Maria
Lisa
Kristin

&

please don't forget our lovely and talented guest designer for this month

Alyssa!

Meanwhile, let me tell you just a smidge about my Zipper flower journey!

First of ALL - there is a WONDERFUL craft/thrift shop not far from my home
and I was the lucky companion of, none other than Paper Daydream, herself:
Dana, just a few weeks ago! The lovely store that benefits a local senior center was
having a 50% off sale, on their ALREADY way-reasonable prices, so I GOT me some
zippers! {And a whole sackful of "hoardables!"} Yeahoooooooooo!




The zippers were LONG, and the twill was neutral, and the possibilities ARE endless....

So, I ABSOLUTELY could NOT us those!

{'Cause... I might NEED 'em! Later! In a zipper flower EMERGENCY!}

Soooooooooooo, I went through a vast hoarding.. ur, I mean STASH, of zippers I have
collected ... just BEcause... Some of them are brightly colored {remember the
zipper craze in Scrapbooking down there, round about '04? OH, yeah!}, but had
nylon teeth... {Maybe NOT quite as charming as metal teeth...} AND some of my
previously hoarded zippers are WAY manish! {From the Nash Bridges booty of 2001}

So what's a girl to do?

PAINT!




That's RIGHT, babies! I painted my zippers with acrylic paint, let them dry
before running a stitch along the bottom of twill. I used strong nylon thread
and pulled those suckers HARD! Although, Dana's technique is FLAWLESS
in it's presentation of a beautifully rounded "Ranuculus" type of flower,
I immediately fell in love with the more disheveled look of the puckering and
gathering that occurred, so I decided to go with more of a crazy, mutated
kind of Carnation type of look! Yes, FOLKS! You'll have to believe me, OR
perhaps you'll join us - and then you'll know what kind of zipper flower
YOU are! {Trust me on THIS - you'll BE glad you did! I LOVE this technique!}

Thank you, SO much, for stopping by!
Having you here was like a ...
{wait for IT!!!}
breath of SPRING air!

OH. Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!



Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Basic Grey; Echo Park
Stamps - S/U! - Flower stems; Banner shapes - Waltzing Mouse
Ink - Stampin' Up!
Dies - Banner pieces - Spellbinders; Ric Rac - Sizzix
Tissue Tape - Tim Holtz
BLING - Want2Scrap
Baker's Twine - Timeless Twine
Fuzzy Letters - American Crafts

19 comments:

Beth said...

Elise....you're like the hottest thing going right now! I mean come on! Zipper flowers....and a banner!! You're like sooooooo fashionable!! Amazing! If this doesn't bring on spring, I don't know what will. Hang on....I'll forward this to Mother Nature!

Beautiful, Girl Friend!!

Karen B. said...

This is amazingly beautiful! Each picture just got better and better. Love your colors and the tape, the banner and the blooms!

Rosemary said...

HOLEY COW, mama cow!!! just when i think you have maybe finally topped yourself... you go and really top yourself!! what a fabulous piece of home decor! you are so making me want to run out and buy some zippers!! hope i have time this week to play along in the challenge... YIPEEE!

~amy~ said...

**shut up** I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

farmhouse-story said...

lover the top goodness, elise! so pretty and original--i just love this!

Monique said...

Oh La La this is so Beautiful... That would look fantastic on my wall... Love the colors..Your zipper flowers turned out just perfect.. Great colors and love the spring banner... Love this !!

Rose said...

LOVE this!!!! :)

Hannelie said...

Sooo creative! Love it!

Andrea M said...

Seriously!!! WOW!!! A zipper flower garden!!! You go, with your bad, crafty self!!! This is A-MA-ZING!!! My jaw pretty near hit the floor once my eyes gazed upon your fabulous garden. Spring is sure to respond to this sweet beckoning! If not, we'll have to twist it's arm...
Wonderful work girl!!!

Unknown said...

OH MY - this is one fabulous creation!! Those zippered flowers are amazing!! I'm hoping I didn't donate that big bag of zippers that I've had forever.... running to go see right now!!

Dana Gustafson said...

DE-la la la lightful! Your painted zipper flowers are stunning! I love the little curly blooms you produced and the home decor frame is a stroke of pure creative brilliance!

Kathryn B said...

Coming to your blog is like a breath of spring for me Elise! I want to make a framed piece like this now! OMG!!! You are the creative bomb girl! This is absolutely stunning and you inspire me soooo much! Thank you!!!

Lisa Kind said...

What a beautiful picture you created with those zippers! Love them! And I never would have thought to paint them! Genius! Lovely take on the challenge!

Michele Gross said...

Holy banners batman! Those zipper flowers are Deeee-licious!! Wowzers! That is an amazing creation, please tell me it took days to do. If I hear you whipped it up in 30 minutes, I'm coming over to time ya! (such a nasty threat, right???)

Carol L said...

THUD!!!!!! That's not my jaw hitting the floor BTW, it's my whole body!!! You are a creating genius!!! I can't describe how much I LOVE this framed scene!! Every detail is fabulous around those zipper flowers, but I LOVE LOVE LOOOOOOVE how you adhered those pieces of newsprint on the frame itself!! HOLY GUACAMOLE this is neat!!!!

Heather Rogers said...

This is fabulous! I love the idea of a framed picture using zipper flowers. Too cute! :)
Hugs~

Alyssa S said...

This is gorgeous!! Love all the flowers you did...especially the crumply ones! Fabby work!!

Janine said...

Love the variety of flower shapes you created with your painted zipper - lovely card and great spring flowers.

Karen said...

Oh my word! I thought I had just missed two...but, you have been ON A ROLL!!! Good for you! :> Love what you've done with Dana's zipper flower technique and adding them all up for a framed piece is simply lovely!