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.

Fall Leaves Wall Art

Nature offers many avenues of craft. One of the best times of the year for nature craft is the Fall season. The wonderful colors of fall leaves inspire many of us in different ways. Some love to take pictures, some make beautiful painting. Yes, you guessed right. One of our favorites is making fall leaves crafts.

This simple yet elegant piece of wall art was made using fall leaves. With a little care you can also make this beautiful Fall Wall leaves Art.

The technique used here is easy. It is called Botanical Pressing. In simple terms it is collecting the samples and pressing them. The more organized collection of plant specimens are called Herbariums and they can last hundreds of years. Scientists have been using this technique since the Victorian era for botanical studies.

Well, you need not be scientist to create this Fall leaves craft. Kids love this craft. A little supervision can help them make it perfect and long lasting.

Supplies you will need:

-Fall leaves of your choice
-Plant or flower press (optional)
-Old Newsprint or blotting paper or paper towels
-Phone Books or any other heavy books - 3
-White craft glue or spray adhesive for delicate leaves.
-Canvas (preferably stretched on wood) or any base to stick leaves on.

Instructions

1. Collect bright colored leaves.
2. Wipe off the dirt if any using moist kitchen paper towel.
3. Keep the leaf carefully in old newsprint or blotting paper. Prepare other
leaves similarly.
4. Put them in layers and press in plant press or flower press. Tight with
Velcro straps. If your press does not have Velcro straps then put heavy
books over it.
5. If you do not have plant press then you can keep the leaf in blotting paper
or paper towel, place in between pages of a big size book like a phone book.
Put more heavy books over it.
6. Keep these untouched for a week or two depending on how wet the leaves are.
7. If you are using telephone book change the paper towels every few weeks.
8. Do not disturb the assembly as when the leaves are dry they tend to brake.
9. Once dry, glue the leaves on the canvas or any base you chose. For more
delicate leaves use spray adhesive and forceps.
10. Once they are dry, frame them and hang on the wall. Your beautiful fall
leaves wall craft is ready.



Above is the picture of the completed Fall leaf wall art in my house.

Tips
-The basic technique of botanical pressing is to collect samples when they are not dry. They work best when they are moist. It prevents cracking and breaking when pressed.

-Samples should not be wet with rain or dew. Fall leaves that just dropped work fine as they are not dry yet.

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.

Beautiful flower bouquet in fall colors

We have recently moved and it has been really difficult to find time for my craft projects. But it was my friend's birthday this weekend and I wanted to gift her something handmade. Its beautiful here these days with leaves changing colors and I got inspired to make something that brings these beautiful fall colors outdoors inside the home.

Following are the supplies you need for the project :
- Double crepe paper (Orange)
- Pollens ( Black)
- Floral Wire
- Floral tape (green)
- Wire Cutter
- Fall Bush ( I used purple. you can use any contrasting color)
- Leaves and other fillers
- Glue and Scissors
- Ribbon to finish the bouquet
- Cellophane paper or any transparent gift wrapping paper


Refer the picture above for step by step instructions. ( Click on the pic to get a better view) Take a bunch of pollens and attach them to the wire (stem) using floral tape. Cover the wire with floral tape too. Now cut 8 petals out of the orange double crepe paper (duple paper) for each flower. Refer the image for the petal shape. Stretch the petals to give them a concave shape. Arrange the petals in pairs. Then arrange them overlapping each other around the pollens attach them at the bottom using glue. You can make as many flowers as you want. More the merrier :).

Use the purple fall bushes as fillers and arrange the flowers as shown in the picture. Finish the bouquet by taping all the stems together using floral tape. Add the cellophane paper and a beautiful ribbon bow. You have a beautiful fall theme bouquet ready. Here is another picture of the finished bouquet.