Oh hello!

I'm Meg. I make stuff.
Showing posts with label flowers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flowers. Show all posts

Monday, September 16, 2013

Andy Goldsworthy-inspired group art

This is one of my favorite projects I've ever done with kids.  My group of 6-8 year olds gathered in our little studio and looked at a few works by Andy Goldsworthy.  I brought in one colorful bouquet for us to dismantle and use, and we found a lot of objects to use on our own.  All ideas were kid-generated, and everyone participated in the construction of our pieces.  I took a few high-res photos and printed out a glossy copy for each child to take home, and hung one in my own house for a while.

My kids LOVED this experiential project, and talked enthusiastically about wanting to go home and make more art in their backyards.  (As always, click a picture to see a bigger version of it!)













Thursday, March 22, 2012

Satin Flowers

These things were all over pinterest and I was dying to try them.  Turns out they're super fun and easy and kind of addictive, especially if you're the kind of person who likes to play with candles in ways that would make your mom unhappy.

Using any weight polyester satin, cut a few circles of varying diameters.  You can use sheers too, but be aware that they melt faster than the other fabrics.  Hold the edges of your circles above a flame and they'll crinkle and curl.  That's it!

It took us a few tries to make them not scorchy and I still wound up with some black spots along the edges, but I'm a super impatient crafter and it didn't really bother me.  If you're worried, dark colors help, or you can just be more careful and hover higher above the flame.

When you're done, stack a few petals on top of each other and sew through the middle with a bead or button.  Here I used pearl beads from the fabric store.

I sewed hair clips on the back.  I've seen people do snaps instead so they can change them on hair clips or clothing.

This poppy-looking one has a fancy button in the middle.  To make these petal shapes, just cut slits (don't remove any fabric) around the edges of the circle, about halfway from the outer edge to the middle.  They're a little trickier to melt, but they'll form into cool petal shapes.  I didn't find a need to round the petals at all- they kind of did it on their own. 
 

This last one is my favorite.  I like how flipping the same fabric from right side to wrong side can yield 2 different textures- kind of adds interest. 



I wore one of these in my hair to go to the Barber of Seville with Nutty.  It looked pretty cute:


He took one of the reject ones and pinned it on his coat so we would match:

What
A

Goof!