TUESDAY TOP TIP - Recycled flowers

You may remember a Blog entry at the end of last year when I shared a birthday card I made with a beautiful flower ? Well, todays Top Tip will share another recycling idea together with a Tutorial on how to make these flowers.

Some of my regular customers will already have seen this technique. You may have seen lots of versions of this type of flower in 'Blogland' but this is a good way to recycle in a beautiful way. Apologies this wasn't posted previously but I found this in my saved 'Draft' entries this morning.

Stampin' Up! deliveries are very well packaged and padded with lots and lots of brown packing paper which used to fill up in my recycle bin !!

Much to the annoyance of my husband, I do like to recycle and when I think something may 'come in useful for crafting', it makes it's way into to craft room. (That's probably why it is filling up again, LOL)

Here is one of the cards from my workshop in January.

You will need to punch approximately 12 scallop circles from waste brown paper. It is easier to punch 2-3 layers together rather than one at a time. If you find difficult, try sandwiching between some scrap paper - no need to waste your printer paper, use junk mail !

Hold all layers roughly together and make a hole in the centre using a Cropodile or Pricking Tool. Insert a brad through and secure underneath.

Screw up each layer one at a time - don't be tempted to cut corners .... it really won't be the same as the layers need to be seperated.

Gently tease layers open. Grab your ink pad and 'scrub' the edges of the flower !

I like to pierce a hold in the project I am making and very gently partially undo the back of the brad to insert through hole to secure to my projects but be careful they don't all jump off !! This way you can hide the legs of the brad neatly underneath your project. Alternatively you can apply some red sticky tape or strong adhesive to the back.

Once you've had a go, I'm sure you will be saving all sorts of papers to recycle....... I found some lovely thick grey flecked tissue packing a pair of shoes.

Have fun playing and pop back soon !!

Sandra