Hello, Spring!

How adorable is this flower?! I got the idea during a blog-surfing session a few weeks ago. I found an idea for a Springtime Banner on the Cheery Lynn blog and went from there. I started with coffee filters, background stamps, and a variety of oval Nesties. At Cheery Lynn they used patterned paper and a much larger oval than I needed, but the folds had to be scored. I needed my flower to fit on a card, so the score lines were so close they pretty much just ran into each other. But a coffee filter is so nice and thin that it folds very easily without scoring.

Stamp three coffee filters with a background stamp. I wanted to make a couple of flowers, so I stamped three with a paisley background and three with a polka dot background. Then cut your ovals from the filters. It wouldn't be difficult to do freehand, but why do that when we have Nesties? I used the largest oval I have to cut the paisley filters and a large scallop oval for the polka dot filters. The coffee filters are so thin that the Nesties cut through all three layers easily.

Accordion fold each of the ovals lengthwise. Each fold on mine is around 1/4 inch wide, but I wasn't terribly precise about it.

Now fold each oval in half and adhere the little folds in the middle together. (Fold it first, then apply your adhesive. I tore one of my ovals because things didn't line up just right and then I tried to mom-handle that thin filter paper.)

Once the middle is put together, your oval will make a heart. (Or a pair of petals) Add one more oval...

and you have a lovely butterfly! 

Or adhere the third pair of petals to complete the flower.

I like layering the two patterns, but I don't think it would mail very well at all. It's pretty thick.

Now all that's left is to add your sentiment and a stem. I layered two scallop circles for the center of the flower and used polka dot grossgrain ribbon for the stem. I thought the bow made a respectable pair of leaves. The grass is a strip of muslin. I folded it in half and pulled enough strings to give both edges a good fray, then I inked it with Certainly Celery. The only CC I had was craft ink, but it worked very nicely. 

Earlier today I had an idea for recycling something. Or re-using, upcycling...you know what I mean. The problem is, I didn't add the idea to the list I keep in my phone and now I've already forgotten it! I'll just wander aimlessly through my house and hopefully it will come to me!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend and I'll see you Tuesday!