So after seeing Suz Stringfellow's cool flowers on her blog, she and I, and our friend, Heidi Smith, were chatting about the different types of flower centers (stamens) that are so popular right now to add to your own flowers and that are also used on the really expensive pre-packaged flowers (Starts with a "P" and ends in an "a", and rhyms with Lima). That got me thinking of different ways to create them myself using stuff from my own stash. Afterall, I am a die hard do-it-yourself-er, and if I can make it for cheaper than what I can buy it for, by gosh, I will figure out a way to make it myself! So using some plain pearl stamens I got from the local craft store and the ever-versatile Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks by Ranger, I made my very own. :)
Wanna know how I did them? Away we go:
Start with a small cluster of double-ended stamens (you can find these in the floral section of any craft store). I gathered 5 of them, and tied them tightly in the center with ordinary string. This will give you 10 finished stamens.
Bend the stamen cluster in half and snip off any excess string.
Now for the messy part! Using any color of Alcohol Inks, drop tiny drops of ink onto the ends of the stamens. You may need to roll them around on a craft sheet for even color distribution.
These are the colors I ended up with.
That colored cluster in the front is made from a different material than the pearl stamens, but still worked just the same. I mixed the gold and red colors of ink to get the orange.
And here is a close up of the stamens. Now just shove them thru the center of any old flower, trim the extra length off the back, and secure with a tiny dot of hot glue. Easy peasy!
Thanks for looking!
later,
nancy
