Wednesday, January 8, 2014

The Right Amount of Frazzle

I've been racking my brains to think of a gift I could make for a young friend. She does beadwork herself, so I don't want to give her earrings or a bracelet. Light bulb moment - how about a flower like the one I made myself in November? First I checked that silk does shrivel in a candle flame. It does, so I could use the scraps of turquoise silk I have in my stash. I cut graduated circles from silk and organza, singed the edges of each piece in a candle flame and then put them together.
It didn't look right at all. I had another look at my red flower and realised that these pieces were too flat. Back to the candle flame. The trick is to get each piece to shrink and curl without destroying it entirely! Takes some practice. Finally I was happy enough with the curl to add beads to the centre to hold all the layers together and give a focal point. I think I may need to make a few more flowers to really get the hang of it.

6 comments:

  1. I took a look back at the other one you made. Beautiful, another thing to have a go at. lol
    Briony
    x

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  2. Your flower is beautiful! I think I'll stay away from that technique, though, as I tend to be a bit of a klutz and I'm pretty sure I'd burn myself. ;-)

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    Replies
    1. I've managed to avoid setting the house alight, but my fingers are a little singed at the ends!

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  3. I love your flower, but I will stay away from this technique I might knowing my luck set fire to the house. Beautiful colour.
    Margaret

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  4. This is a great idea and I did some stamping and embossing, years ago and bought a heat gun ( which removes paint) I might give it a try with that, and see what comes of it.

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