Believe it or not, this flower was born from a painting rag. I mentioned the other day about taking Watercolor Bliss... I've become hooked on painting with watercolors. As I paint, the paper towel that I use to blot and clean my brush becomes saturated with blobs of different colors. It looks really pretty sometimes, so I decided to make something out of the pretty ones.
Supplies: paper towels, wax paper, watercolors, embroidery thread, sequins
Lay a paper towel on top of a piece of wax paper and paint blobs of color onto the paper towel, covering the entire surface.
After the whole surface is painted, paint different sized circles all over your paper towel.
Let dry completely, then cut out the circles.
Gather five circles that are approximately the same size and arrange them like the petals of a flower, making sure all of them overlap each other in the very center.
Gather several smaller circles and arrange them on top of the "flower" you just made. Again, make sure all of them overlap each other in the center.
Continue until you are satisfied with the fullness of your flower. Add one small circle to the very center.
This is what it looks like from the side.
Pick up your flower carefully holding all the layers together. Using matching embroidery thread, take a stitch through from the front of your flower and back again. Make sure that your stitch holds all the layers of circles together. If it doesn't, take a few more stitches. The ends of your embroidery thread should end up close together in the front and center of your flower.
Thread several different sized sequins onto each thread and tie threads in a knot. Spread out the sequins.
Now to fluff it. Take each petal individually and crush it gently with your fingers. I know! It goes against nature, but just do it. After all the petals have been crushed, gently spread out each one. This will give your flower some texture and, well, a little fluff.
Side view.
That's it! You've got a paper towel flower.
Variations:
Make different sized flowers by using larger or smaller circles.
Try different methods for the center. On this one, I stacked a medium sized sequin with a smaller one, threaded both threads through the hole, and tied an overhand knot. Do this several times, and you have a stunning flower center.
For white flowers, and to save a lot of extra time, don't paint the paper towels! Just cut a plain paper towel into circles and go from there!
Tomorrow I'll show you how I use these on a gift.
