Monday, April 12, 2010

Paper Towel Spring Wreath

This weekend I had the huge thrill of seeing my linen and ric rack napkins featured on one of my favorite blogs, Tatertots and Jello. I know you've heard me talk about Jen's amazing projects before - so in appreciation of her and her awesome tutorials, I decided to make something with burlap; her signature material.



I'm April Stash Busting with Dollar Store Crafts (who also linked to my napkins, thank you so much!!!) and many other cool bloggers.  It's been a neat, maddening, enlightening experience as I am using what I have and making do with what I don't have. One of my personal goals was to try out some of the supplies I've bought but never used. Like these:


As soon as I saw the gorgeous mess they made of my two-ply Costco paper towels, I was inspired. Brayden and I spent a happy afternoon spraying paper towels in fun colors and patterns. Re-inker, water and a little perfect pearls are more fun than Glimmer Mist, but both worked wonderfully. Next time we'll try plain old food coloring also.



I knew I wanted to do something with burlap so I cut mine in wide strips and wrapped it around a Dollar Store wreath frame that's been sitting around for ages. Whenever I came to an end of a piece I hot glued it down, grabbed a new piece and kept wrapping. Sorry for the lack of pictures - if you need one to visualize it, let me know and I'll snap a few of the back of my wreath.

Next came flowers. I wasn't concerned with them matching too much and wanted them to all be different. Here's a few ideas:







Did you see that glitter? Take that, all boy household :-)

I also found a use for an onion bag on the counter. That black mesh was too cool to toss.

It's probably obvious how most of these are made, but just in case it's not, here are a few step outs to get you started:

1. Cut circles by folding paper towels until at least three thick. Circles don't need to be perfect. Staple in center.



2. Put a dab of hot glue in the center and scrunch it a bit.


3. Separate the layers if using two-ply paper towel. This fluffs up the flower. Do one layer at a time. (This pic shows the layers pre-scrunch, I was designing on the fly)



Finished Flower:



Flower 2:

1. Cut circles again, but this time squish them into bow tie shapes. 



2. Staple them together criss-crossed in a flower shape.



3. Fluff and add a center.



4. Add a contrasting flat bottom layer if desired.



Thanks for stopping by, this was a really fun thing to do with the paper towel I was originally using to mop up the mess from a different project. 

Here's a few places I'm linked up with:




 Visit tatertotsandjello.com   
  

72 comments:

All of my Todays said...

Gorgeous flowers Nicole. Might just have to have myself a play tomorrow. x

MacInfinity said...

The wreath is awesome, I didn't know how it would turn out but it's almost as beautiful as it's creator ;-)

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

LOVE it!!! I just blogged about it. So cute Nicole. And thanks for the sweet words - you are so nice!

XOXO
Jen

Unknown said...

THIS IS TO ADORABLE, LOVE IT! i ADORE THE TIE DIE and colors... so stinken cute! JGG

Red Door Home said...

Great job with this. So creative.

Kailey said...

I saw this on tatertots and Jello, what a great idea and such a beautiful wreath!

Stephanie J said...

Lol, way to stick it to The Man... or, uh...man & boys.... Either way, yay for sparklies!

And food colouring - ingenious!

Heather - Dollarstorecrafts.com said...

BRILLIANT! and stunning! And as I read down the paragraphs, there was my name in print. :) Thanks! I will definitely be linking to this beauty very soon! Thank you so much for this great project!

Loose Sparrow Arts N Crafts said...

Wow! These are gorgeous! The varied colors are amazing, and I never would have thought to use paper towels!

Heather Baird said...

This is amazing! I'm looking at paper towels in a completely different way now.

Anonymous said...

This is awesome and I love that it's a green craft!

Infarrantly Creative said...

Oh my heck that is gorgeous, I want one bad. Thanks for the directions and the great tute. Loverly.

KJ@letsgoflyakite said...

This is ingenious. I saw your project featured at Tatertots and dropped via. Great job and excellent instructions!

Judy said...

This wreath is gorgeous and I love the flowers.

A Cupcake Life said...

Wow! That is beautiful! I need some Glimmer Mist!

Cheryl Valadez said...

Nicole, what an awesome tutorial and such lovely results! Who knew paper towels could be transformed into such botanical beauties!

By the way, I have little something on my blog for you. Please stop by and have a looksie ;D Hugz - Cheryl

Anonymous said...

Nicole! these flowers just plain ROCK! The possibilities are endless and limited only by imagination and stash on hand - which in your case seem to be close to infinite in both categories!

And the flowers, whether used as a wreath, or even gift toppers, look like they are just plain fun to make.

Thank you for sharing.

Jennifer Juniper said...

What in the world? Paper towels never looked so beautiful! I really love this :)

Jenn said...

Thanks for sharing! My friend and I already have plans this week to get together and make one! :)
{I have 3 boybarians too!!}
Have a fabulous day!
Jenn

Ashley Newell said...

Holy moly! This it the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life! I can't believe you made that with paper towels!!

The Redhead Riter said...

Totally love the wreath!

Mommy of Two 24/7 said...

Lovely! I have a dollar store wreath hanging out waiting for some decoration and this might be the project for me to do tonight with the kiddos! :)

Kathleen said...

This is totally fabulous! I can't believe it all started with paper towels!

CathyR said...

That is so pretty Nicole. I love all the little details and sparkles.

Sweet Little Smoothie said...

AMAZING! I can't believe those flowers are made with paper towels!! That wreath is absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for sharing :)

Samantha Taylor said...

Beautiful flowers! Such a great project.

Dymphie said...

love this happy wreath!

Godelieve said...

Fantastic Spring decoration Nicole!

Lori P said...

This is simply amazing. I love it and am bookmarking it for a fun project. The colors are beautiful and I love how you used found objects. Can you tell I loved it? lol.

Dot said...

Nichole,

Thanks for stopping by Dabbled and sharing your wreath!

I love how it turned out... will be linking it on the Dabbled Facebook page today : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dabbled/72183884112

dot

TLF said...

This is fabulous!
Visiting from Tatertots & Jello.. I'm your newest follower! :)

joyce rodli said...

SO KEWL THIS IS.
I just found a small stack of dyed paper towels the other day and I know what I will be doing with a few of them!
One of the things I like to do with leftover dying liquid is to 'toss' a full roll of white paper towel into the mix{if there is no coffee in it- add it} and let it sit somewhere and forget about it. I once left a pan of it out on the deck and the sun did amazing things with the liquid and paper towel roll- as you unrolled it , it got softer and softer in color. I hoard the beginning sheets of it because I'll never quite have the same design again.

Meg said...

I never thought of using paper towels and try to dye them. This wreath is awesome and so darn pretty to look at. Great job!!

Unknown said...

I would never have guessed that was made from paper towels! Love how you coloured and dyed them!

Amanda said...

These are gorgeous, I never would have guessed that they were made from paper towels!

memakingdo said...

Way cute can't believe that the flowers are paper towels!

Unknown said...

This is fabulous! I can't believe you made it out of paper towels!
We have a friday fun finds party that's still going- we'd love it if you'd link up!

Jess said...

Wow I can't believe you made those from paper towels! You are so creative and artistic! Thanks so much for posting on Favorite Things Friday!

Stephanie Lynn @Under the Table and Dreaming said...

Love this! Simply beautiful! So creative!! Stop by the Sunday Showcase Party if you get a chance. I am amazed at this project - gorgeous!!

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

Wow, this is gorgeous! I just clicked over from Tatertots and Jello. I love it!

Unknown said...

I am pretty obsessed with your wreath...that is awesome! great job! i'm going to post about it :)

Rachelle said...

That's AMAZING. I need to find some spray bottles to do this!!!

Anne said...

Awesome! I love it!!

The Weathered Bungalow said...

Wow!! This is gorgeous and sooo inventive! I love it. Can't wait to follow along and see what else you can come up with. Thanks for sharing...

xoxo, Meredith

saffiertje said...

awesome, I am sure to try this...

nest full of eggs said...

how clever !

Unknown said...

I love your wreath. Thanks so much for the tutorial.

mel m. m. mccarthy said...

Pure Genius! You ROCKed that paper towel Nichole! (and thanks for the ROFL: "take that [glitter] all boy household" heeheehee] I was wondering what brand of paper towel you used? Thanks so much for the incredible inspiration! :o) mel

Viv said...

I think your paper flowers are just beautiful! I can see using them to decorate all kinds of things....may just blog about it.

Unknown said...

i featured you today :) come check out Making Monday Marvelous (MMM) @ C.R.A.F.T.!

http://craftingreallyawesomefreethings.blogspot.com/

Maddycakes Muse said...

OMG!! I am so glad I found you! Your paper towel wreath is amazing. I featured you tonight please check me out. I own a children's theme party business but my blog is about frugal ideas and tips for entertaining and parties (not just kid parties).

Michelle
www.maddycakesmuse.blogspot.com

~Brandy~ said...

I saw your blog featured on Maddycakes Muse's blog and fell in LOVE with this idea. My daughter and I are making this today - except we're using food coloring instead of paints. I've been looking for neat, budget-friendly ideas for my sister's bridal shower. Love this and cannot wait to see how it all turns out.

I also featured you on my blog!!

Brandy
www.partiesandcupcakes.blogspot.com

Minnie said...

Ossim, love it. Will be making somethign similar for my new place!

red ted art said...

wow! lovely... ill have to gve it go... a nic change rom paper issue flowers. texture loks great!!! am saving all my cleaning pump spray bottls to make on colour sprays..... x

electricbluebird said...

Just found your blog thru whip up. Love it.

Alissa said...

Love this! How fun would it be to make a non-traditional bridal bouquet using fun flowers like these? So many textures and colors - great work!

Mandy @ mintnclandycreate said...

Wow! These are just beautiful!

MB Shaw said...

Too sweet! I am going to be a Guest Curator on Crescendoh the week of June 7th. Hope its ok if I link you up? Thanks!

Jenn Erickson said...

Gorgeous! Simply gorgeous and sooooo original! The onion bag embellishment was a final stroke of brilliance! Jenn

Cindy said...

Love it Nicole! Your wreath really is Springy and should make anyone happy just to look at it. Good tutorial.

Hugs XX
Barbara

Cyndi L said...

Those flowers are fabulous, Nicole! And they make such a gorgeous wreathe...love it :-)

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

It's gorgeous! And so economical to make. I just love your blog, Nicole. You are soooo creative.

Cherie said...

Adorable! Who knew paper towels could be so purdy?

ACreativeDreamer said...

Wow... that turned out beautifully... and I never in a million years would have guessed it was from paper towels... I am going to have to give this a try!

Kim said...

what a fun idea- and I love that you used supplies you had bought but had not tried out yet. I have been trying to use from what I have too :) It's beautiful!!

bev said...

Good Morning Nicole! Just tried making these awesome flowers using food coloring and paint brushes on the paper towels...it work's great!
They look really awesome.

Thanks for the great idea and tutorial...you made it easy:) You rock!

Seaweed and Raine said...

So cool! I will have to try it with Mr.3 Gorgeous flowers.

Mould Treatment said...

I can't imagine those simple looking trashy things are transform into colorful and useful craft like that. I so love the artist in you and how you manage to materialize it.

Skulleigh said...

Oh my, that's fantastic! Thank you for sharing the tutorial!

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Barbara Nimmo said...

I stumbled upon your blog post while searching for creative spring decor ideas, and I have to say, your paper towel spring wreath caught my attention.
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Ashlee Rolfson said...

Thank you for sharing your creative idea and encouraging us to embrace our own resourcefulness. Your paper towel spring wreath is a testament to the fact that beauty can be found in the simplest of materials.
frugalishness