If you got a glimpse of my
drop cloth swag for Christmas then you know why I am in love with these flowers. Go check it out and then come right on back so I can hopefully inspire you some more!
So many of you loved the swag and commented that it could be left up all year round. You guys are brilliant! I agree and so it stays.
As far as holiday decorating goes, I am a huge Christmas decorator, somewhat for Easter, more for Birthdays (yes birthdays are holidays in my book) but not really for any other holiday. I know others like to do it up for every holiday and really, more power to ya' if you can do it. I don't have but a few "all out" decoratings in me so they have to be used wisely.
But as I was digging through the few sorry excuses for decorations that I do hang up for Valentine's day, I thought I should at least try to make something more pretty and lovely, because really, nothing says LOVE like red tattered paper hearts.
I decided to tweak the holiday swag a bit and then I realized I had never really shown you all how I made the flowers so.....wait for it,.......
I am going to to do a three part series and give you a glitzy tutorial for each flower!
Yeah! Cue the balloons and the confetti dropping all over ya!
Just spit out any of the confetti that may have gotten in your mouth and move on.
Here is what I came up with. I call them Doorknob Posies and they really do make you fall in love.....with them!
The pink color is so romantic.
I wanted to do a series of small roses and then glue them to a heart form but I wound up making huge flowers and I got bored so this is where it ended. Does anybody else get bored with an idea after they have come up with a dozy? No? Oh, so it's just me and my ADD crafting.
okay let's move on.
A few things first:
You can buy canvas drop cloths at any Home Depot, Lowes etc. Basically anywhere they sell paint.
If you are only buying a drop cloth to make these flowers then buy as small as you can, unless you intend to make a football field of these.
Wash your drop cloth so it is nice and soft. No need to iron, the wrinkles give it character. Snip an edge about 2" wide and then rip a strip off. Do this a few times.
So your first step is to dye some of your washed drop cloth scraps. Leave some grey so you can mix and match if you like.
When you see what I used to dye the drop cloth you may officially commit me.
Please don't laugh at me or if you do, do it silently, and behind my back.
We bloggers don't take rejection well.
Just kidding. You are gonna think I am brilliant!
And you will thank me for re-using a common household item.
Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash
Soda!
Pop!
Soda Pop!
It means the same thing no matter where you live in the U.S of A.
How did I make the jump to use cranberry soda as a dye.....
Hmmmm. Where to begin.
My man drinks a LOT of soda. And I am often cleaning up the half-used cans the next morning as I make my rounds. Usually after I have picked up one of the Cranberry Splash cans, there is a distinct "pink" ring on the counter that I have a hard time removing even with a scrubber pad. It does eventually fade. But in the midst of one of those marathon scrubbing sessions, an idea had been planted.
"Red#40 is an awesome dye!"
So here's the dying tutorial.
Don't blink or you might miss it:
pour soda into pot
add cloth strips to soak
Le them dry
For those who want it in slow motion:
1. Simply pour your leftover soda into a pot and add your strips of drop cloth, submerging them completely
2. Once your strips have reached your desired shade of pink, remove and wring them out
3. You can rinse slightly if you would like, but not necessary
4. Lay flat to dry
5. Use iron set heat set the color
Don't panic when you first remove the strip and it looks like the second one and you say "Ugh, this looks like Pepto Bismal!"
It dries much lighter.
Soda.
Who knew?
Go dye your drop cloth and get it ready because you are going to want to come back tomorrow for the first of the flower tutorials. Can't wait to see you!
Come thirsty, I'll be serving Cranberry Splash, on ice....
Always being renewed,
