Fabric Flowers

I plan on creating my own flowers. My hope is to combine these fabric flowers with crystals and some silver-flocked feathers, which I'm guessing will be easy to find once Christmas stuff is out. Stay tuned for pictures and tips I've learned along the way.

Flower Type 1: Tulle Poofs

Picture
This was actually the second type of flower I created, but it will end up being the most important part of my flowers. These guys were made using tulle from my mom's wedding veil. It was HUGE, so I knew it wouldn't go with my dress. She said she didn't mind what I did with it...she was just glad it was being used.

I pretty much used this template for these guys: http://www.weddingbycolor.com/copewedding2009/milestones/28904. Instead of using a 2" piece of wire, I used floral wire stems, so when folded in half, they were about 10 inches long. This became the "stem". Not sure what I'll do to use these in anything other than bouquets.

Flower Type 2: Burned Edges Roses

Picture
You can find a million templates on the internet to create this type of flower. The one I used was here: http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/my-diy-fabric-flower-bridesmaid-bouquet-and-bouts I did buy a circular cutter in the quilting section of Joann's to make the cutting portion of this project a little easier. It was WELL worth the money. I saved money by using cheapie pipe cleaners as the stems. I added a teal bead in the center to help secure and to give the flower a little pop of color. Two yards of fabric produced 50 flowers with between 6 and 10 layers.


Picture
I did a handful without the stem to be used potentially as boutonnieres.

Flowers #3 - Beads!

Picture
I really like the idea of beaded bouquets, but they always look a little thin. So I'm mixing them in with the "flowers". I have a clear, a teal, and a couple different kinds of silver colored beads. I may add a purple bead to the mix should my mom buy that color dress.

I also bought pre-cut silver flower wire in a 18 gauge to do most of these, but you could buy a role and cut your own for much less money. Simply cut a wire double the length you want and fold in half. (I went with a 10" "stem".) Slip the bead on and twist, twist, twist. I know a number of girls used a hook on a drill to do this part. I just went to town twisting myself. My hands hurt a little the next day, but no pain, no glory, right? :)

Flowers #4 - Silver Glitter Picks

Picture
So I went shopping over Labor Day weekend and purchased a bunch of these picks out of the Christmas aisle. (Gross! Not Christmas already!) They were on sale, so each one was only 43 cents. Woohoo to cheap "attention-grabbers!" I plan on using 4 in my bouquet and 2 in each of the ladies...These could get overpowering quick!