Handmade Fall Silk Flowers Arrangement perfect for Fall Decor

I made this beautiful fall color theme Silk flowers arrangement specially for my Mom. Usually, I am not a big fan of silk flowers as I prefer to make them myself (paper or clay). For a change I thought when I know I am short of time, and still want to splash some newness and color I decided to use silk flowers this time.
I wanted to make something for my Mom during her visit to US, so that she can take it back home to India and have something to decorate.
So this is what I came up with. I loved the way it turned out. In the process I bought one vase and some flowers for myself too.

It was fun making this. I could not take the pictures of the steps as it was a last minute thing I was putting together.
But just to give you some idea.
Material needed:

-Floral Stems in co-ordinating colors. Big flowers and small flowers and some fillers.
-Green and brown floral tape
-pliers
-Floral Foam
-Craft knife
-Vase

Basic Rules of Flower Arrangements
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Basic steps of flower arrangements are to decide how do you want the final arrangement to look like.
I had similar things in mind. Best is to sketch it, but I didn't.

You need to decide how tall will be the arrangement and then cut the floral stems accordingly.
Start with big flowers. Give a basic structure of the arrangement with that.
The floral foam goes in the vase and secures all the stems that you will insert.

Rest you need to fill with fillers. Just make sure there are no gaps and the foam is not visible.
Use your imagination and remember you might need more flowers than you think.

Give it a try. Its fun.

Paper quilling leaves card

I made this card for our ETSY shop  Navanka Creations some time back. I wanted to design something that could be given to men as well as women and for all occasions. I love the shaded quilling strips and I guess it did add dimension to this design.

Its surprising how the weather here has switched over to Autumn in a day. This entire week it has been cloudy  and rainy :(.  So from amazing summer in Seattle we are back to the Rainy Seattle.Back in India, with the hot summers rains used to be so welcome..Monsoon was my favourite season. How things change when you have too much of anything :).

Fall is beautiful here so thats one thing I am looking forward to.  With fall approaching I am thinking of revisiting this design with fall color shades. What do you guys think? Will love to get your opinion.

Hope to get some sun this weekend.
cheers

Pumpkin Craft for Halloween Decorations

In the spirit of Halloween here comes the most awaited Pumpkin Craft. I have made it this year to celebrate the festivities in my own way.It can be used as a centerpiece of your Thanksgiving table and will also make a great hostess gift for dinner invitations.

This fabulous craft is really easy to make and you can have multiple variations with the same supplies.Following supplies are required for the project:
- Craft Pumpkin - Medium size
- 2" wide Ribbon -3 feet your choice of Halloween themed colors
- Floral Wire
- Floral Tape
- Maple leaves bush -12-15 medium sized leaves in shades of Halloween themed colors like Orange, Green and Brown with glitter.
- Duplex paper - Orange color
- Three varieties of Halloween themed colored bush - Recommended varieties orange and dark brown bush, one bunch each.
- Scissors
- Craft knife
- Glue
For working with craft pumpkin the first step is to place it on a surface in such a way that it is accessible from all the sides easily and you can have a good view from all sides as well. Refer the picture and start marking on the pumpkin as to where you want to put the maple leaves.

In order to insert the maple leaves and bushes you have to prepare them. Cut them so that you have individual pieces (if you bought a creeper). Add wire to each leaf and individual piece of bush and wrap with floral tape.

Make small slits in the craft pumpkin using craft knife. Insert the leaves and bushes in the pumpkin. Secure them with glue. Also insert the flowers made out of duplex paper. You can make any kind of flowers as long as they are shades of Halloween themed colors.

If you do not want to make the flowers yourself, silk flowers of similar colors can be used to complete the arrangement.

Refer to my earlier posts to make double crepe paper flowers.
Finish the arrangement with the bow you made from the ribbon of your choice. Attaching wire to the bow makes it easy to secure in the pumpkin vase.


Tips: This arrangement can also be prepared using natural fall colored leaves. You just have to be little careful not to break them while inserting.
You can add a scarecrow to it too. Adding a crafted spider makes it little spooky too. It makes a great window display for the Halloween season.

Framed Fall Leaves Craft for toddlers

Now, when Fall season is at its peak, it is the best opportunity to take some time and help your toddler create a fall craft which he or she will cherish for many years to come. Kids get excited by collecting these lovely fall leaves during this season. Many of you might be preserving them and some of you might be throwing them after your toddler has played enough. You might think they are too small to create a fall craft but believe me they have much more potential than you think. Help them explore by creating this fall craft for toddlers. The skill level required for this is perfectly suitable for a toddler. I tried making this with my 21 month old baby girl. She got so excited by collecting the leaves and when we started making the craft I could sense the feeling of achievement and satisfaction at the same time.
Doing something independently is so fulfilling for them and their expression priceless for us. Highly recommended to try with your toddler.
Here's how you go about creating it.

Supplies needed
- Fall leaves -Your choice of bright color medium size or rather your toddler's choice
- A thick book-To flatten and dry the Fall leaves.
- Glue stick
- Card stock- Any contrasting color with size that will fit in the leaves and leave some space at border.

Yes, this is pretty much all that you need.
Try to show your toddler how it will look once he or she has glued it on the paper.
You might let them decide the pattern if they show interest.
Once decided take the leaf and apply glue on the back side. Stick it on the card stock at the place you decided. Tell them to press it firmly. It is possible that your toddler changes his mind and sticks it somewhere else. This is absolutely fine.
Refer the picture.

Allow some possibilities of imperfection or leaves getting broken or change of design. The whole idea of this craft is to make your toddlers happy and help them learn some things in the process.

Tips: If the leaves are really fragile then it is a good idea to have the glue applied on the card stock directly and then press the Fall leaves over it. Bright red and yellow leaves turn out to be really nice.

Frame the art to make it look more professional and last long too.
Have fun.