Moon Munkie Make #2: Fabric Sweetpea Blossoms

I know. Promises, promises. I tell you I'm going to post, and then I don't. C'est la vie, je suppose. I must say I'm not surprised. I often find that when I make commitments, I tend to follow through only on those that have a deadline that requires in-person performance/presentation of the results. Like, if a whole bunch of folks all agree that something needs to be done by a certain day, I'll likely rush to get it done. When I set my own deadlines, I am far worse at seeing things to their completion.

That being said, I am quite proud to say that all of these pictures and project works were done well before my verbalized deadline of last Saturday. Or last Monday.

So, there's that.

Now, onward to my little mock-up tutorial on the fabric sweet pea blossoms that I made, and on the little seed packets I added in. When I saw the purple fabric squares that Moon Munkie gave me in my package, they immediately fit in with my germinating notions on what to do for my sister-in-law's baby shower in May.

With "Sweetpea" as the decorating theme that was chosen for the party, little purple flowers seemed just the thing to do for some small decoration accents at the party. I used this tutorial  and this one as my bases, though they work with crepe paper, which I think gives a nice flaring option for the outer petals that I cannot get with quilting cotton.

Starting goodies

The first step I took was to fold the squares in half and trace circles that filled out much of the triangle.

snip, snip!

Lovely little lavender circles

Taking two contrasting circles, I placed them one on top of the other and pinched them in the middle. I had originally imagined trying to place some of the sweet pea seeds I bought for the party favors inside, but the circles here were too small. And I think it'd compromise the gathering, though I'll likely try it later with larger circles just in case.

Gather in the middle with a pinch.

Taking floral/craft wire, I simply wrapped around the middle and then flared the petals out. The inner petals, I tend to tug a little down, so that the top petal can peak out over the top.

Et, voila!

And that's pretty much it. A cute purple little sweet pea blossom to attach to things as you see fit. :)

I am contemplating making the leaves/outer green portion of the flower and then using floral tape and wire to make stems and little curlicues. See here:

Source: all things paper

But I may also use these fabric ones to decorate the "grace" wall hanging. I would have even showed you how it looked on the hanging I posted on earlier, if it hadn't blown away off my porch this past week. Ah well. More ivy is waiting for snipping and forming, I suppose.

I know that someone had stated she used some fusible webbing to strengthen the fabric she used on her version of these, and I do wonder if adding some starch or other stiffener may help with long-term aesthetics. I'm not sure though. I do think the crepe paper adds a small advantage in that department.

With the scraps, I was able to make teeeeeeny tiny little seed packets with twisted wire closures. I am imagining up ways to incorporate them into the party favors. They are so teeny, I worry they are anticlimactic on their own.  I haven't found a satisfactory delivery agent, so if any of you have any suggestions (preferably cheap!), let me know! Currently, I have quotes on seeds and grace that I expect to accompany each party favor.

small wrap

finished results, taken too late in the day and mangled by a flash

http://moonmunkie.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/moon-munkie-mystery-make-giveaway-experiment/