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.