fabric rose tutorial.

i have had several friends ask me to show them how i made my little roses... so i thought i would put this tutorial together! i basically did a search online and found some other tutorials, and just kind of went my own way. i'll be honest: i didn't want to have to machine sew or iron anything. there are tons of ways to make these, though (and each one produces a different result) so i'll post some other links at the bottom.

you'll need:
fabric (t-shirts work great)
hot glue gun
scissors
tv (optional)


so... here's what i started with. the other half of this shirt make all those other blue roses from a previous post. and this is a small. imagine how many you could make from an xxl shirt? i like to use kind of stretchy fabrics. nothing too thick or too thin/sheer. t-shirts are perfect.

cut a thin strip of your shirt out. about 1 1/2" - 2" wide and however long you can get. you can make the strips wider or thinner, depending on what size you want your rose.

fold it in half, make sure you have the right side of the fabric facing out.

put a thin strip of hot glue down on one end. i try to use the end where the seam is...

and fold it over. please be careful not to burn yourself...

you'll want to start wrapping the fabric around the starting point...

but don't go too far! you'll want to start adding folds in. i tried to get a decent picture of what that looks like here... but it's hard when you have to hold the camera too. basically you just twist the fabric over...

so that it makes a nice little fold in the fabric. try to keep this towards the top. you'll want to put a drop of hot glue down every once in a while, especially before and after the folds.

just keep wrapping and folding, wrapping and folding. you'll get a feel for how many times you want to fold the fabric over. i usually try for about 2 folds per circumference wrap in the beginning, and then 3-5 as the flower gets bigger. just remember to put drops of glue down every once now and then to make sure it all holds.

when you get to a desirable stopping location, cut the end off, but leave about an inch or so hanging off.

here's a back view. put some hot glue down on the bottom (a fairly good-sized dollop)...

and push down that fabric you left at the end. be careful not to burn yourself! this is where i usually get burned...

and there you go! you can always swish around the fabric until you get it to the shape you want. and the best thing about these is that they're not supposed to be perfect! you can make a ton of these watching a movie or your favorite tv show... and all with stuff you probably already have.

also, you could use a needle and thread to stitch instead where you would normally use the hot glue. this would produce something you might be able to throw in the washing machine... but don't take my word on it. i'll mainly be making these to put on pins, headbands and maybe some jewelry.

here are some links to other fabric rose/flower tutorials i really liked:
everyday chaos
tincancanoe
youcanmakethis
pretty-ditty
make it do

fabric rose corsage.

here's what i made with a few of my fabric roses the other day! a little corsage for a mom-to-be! but not just any mom-to-be... for my sis-in-law who will be expecting a baby boy in july.

when planning for her shower, i knew i wanted to make something sweet for her to wear. i had seen several tutorials on making roses out of baby socks, but wanted something that would be a keepsake and something she wouldn't be tempted to take apart afterwards :)

i had also started seeing fabric flowers popping up all over the place. clothes, headbands, shoes... so i searched and found a few tutorials. they were all different, so i took a few tidbits from each and created my own easy way to make these. i'm working on a tutorial that i will post here soon!

unfortunately, i left my camera at home on saturday, so no photos of the shower unless i can beg a few off of the other hostesses...

links.

i was all prepared to talk about what i've been doing with those little fabric roses, but decided to wait a little longer. you see, something i made with them is for someone special that i'll be seeing this weekend, so, i didn't want to spoil the surprise! i have been a busy little bee with projects for many things... hopefully i can share some of them soon! in the meantime, i thought i would share some links and awesomeness i've found recently...

a recently discovered die-cutting machine that allows you to cut out things you've drawn in illustrator. a dream come true!

a tutorial for making your own seed tape. helpful for teeny tiny seeds that are hard to sow.

beautifully designed dessert tables by amy atlas. so much inspiration here when you are planning a party!

refashioning a t-shirt into a necklace. i have lots of old t-shirts that would be perfect for this!

a beaded fabric necklace tutorial... i think old t-shirts would be perfect for this project too.

information on square foot gardening. i'm going to be trying this method out soon (you know, after we build our raised beds someday)

fed up with school lunch. i may not have kids, but this is some pretty interesting stuff. it baffles me how much things have changed since i was in school.

embroidery.

i have always had a certain fascination with hand-embroidered objects. brightly colored thread and intricate designs make me very happy. so happy that d bought me an embroidery/stitch book a few years back for our paper anniversary. did i learn anything though? no, i did not. i had a fun time looking at all the photos, but never went out and bought all those supplies.

but that may change. early bird special is offering up some free lessons on her blog. hurry up! today is already lesson 2...

photo found on polkaandbloom, you can purchase cute embroidery patterns and ebooks there.

lately.

what have i been up to lately? oh, so much! i've been making lots of these pretty little fabric flowers while sitting on the couch... what am i going to use them for? not sure just yet. but the great part? they're free! just some hot glue and old t-shirts...

got these trays the other day from target for $2.50 each. i love trays, and was looking for some cheap ones to go on our nightstands. that's right, they aren't finished yet and i am already plotting against them. i just can't decide if i want to leave them black or do something else with them...

and i've been admiring these lovely flowers a client gave me a few weeks ago. can't remember the flower's name, but it is an indoor plant, so hopefully i can keep it alive. in fact, right after i took this picture, i realized that there were actually 3 plants in there, so i spent some time yesterday repotting them in separate containers.

here are my little vegetable plants that i started from seed a while back in my biodome. it looks like it's about time to get them planted outside. the problem? i need to build some raised beds first. maybe this weekend...

sketch.

should i add furniture designer to my list of things i think would be a fun career? probably not, considering i just mixed a bunch of stuff i liked about other nightstands to draw these up. but this, friends, is a rough sketch of what our nightstands will look like. they will be walnut, and have 1 shelf and 2 drawers! i can't wait to see these beauties, and they bring on all sorts of new ideas for decor in our bedroom.

my dream, someday, is to have a room that i can easily change out the duvet/bedspread on a whim, without having to worry about it matching everything else in the room. i know, how very neutral of me! i'm thinking a beautiful warm gray color for the walls, crisp, white trim, creating a padded headboard like the photo from this post, and keeping most of the other elements in the room in neutrals and whites so that the bedspread can really be a nice pop of color. what's wrong with me, you say? not sure... maybe i am growing up a little in regards to my own personal style. i really want to create something that i won't be wanting to change completely all the time. and when i do want to change it, it will be as easy and switching out some fabric and pillows. sounds good to me...

lamps... yes, please.

now that i have nightstands off the brain, my next thoughts are of lamps. but not just any lamps... matching lamps. beautiful, matching lamps. all the images that i find of bedrooms that i love have matching lamps. and now that our nightstands are going to be a little bigger (and have storage!) i don't mind taking up a little space with something beautiful that sheds a little light. ideally, i would love to take home these gourd lamps from west elm. but... that's not quite in the budget. and i usually have a hard time finding two of a kind (that i like) at the thrift store. but, who knows? maybe i'll get lucky! if not, i think i could settle with these other options i found for around the $20 price range (per lamp).

jonsbo lamp from ikea. i'm really loving the clear glass base that's similar to the one above. now... if we only had an ikea nearby... because they don't ship lamps.

i really love this one from target. my only issue with it is that it will probably clash with the walnut wood we are using for the nightstands.

and i really love this base from target. problem is that shades can get pricey. as in more than the actual base... so if i could find something that comes with a shade, that would be ideal.