Don't forget BFF roses

Make a perfect gift for any BFF.

Do you have a work associates, church, good friends or a favor you need to repay? This is the perfect gift for any of these situations.

To make this item... the very first item is a rose or flower that looks real (really gives you that thought the flower is living and breathing). If it is not looking truly living real, then this gift is not for you.








Years ago, I found a good looking flower at a floral supply house, see the pic, it is not very enduring...it is a funky color. At the time it was a very popular color. So you ask who cares? Here is my story, listen carefully and hopefully you will learn from it........

I worked in a large office and I always pass by a cube held by a manager, on her desk was a beautiful rose in a cut glass crystal vase. I thought she had a standing order with a florist, because this rose always looked fabulous. Water in the vase and never a faded bloom. Sometimes I would stop in the office to check out the flower, especially when the manager had gone on vacation. She let me sit in for her. The darn thing was not real. Thank you Brenda for having this rose in your office.

The moral to this story is if you want to be the envy of your office or have given the best gift to your BFF, get the best flower. Always pick a color that will not go out of season. Brenda's rose was soft pink, I think it was her signature color.

Having looked at all the craft store around here, I found a large section of roses at Hobby Lobby, so I went with soft pink. You can go wrong with that color.

If you don't find the right type of flower than is a waste of time. Jo Ann's had some flowers, but they didn't have roses. It is up to you.

Next installment is the vase, and filler. Flower first than the rest, oh, by the way, you will need to buy 3 flowers, since the resin you will be using for fake water is mixed as a one time process, and it will make 2 or 3 vases of fake water. Go with the 3 or just make one and throw out the rest of the resin.

ello once again, I have done my shopping and got to the last step of this project.

this is the final run though, I have put everything I think will go with the bud vase. Check out the picture.

I got some baby breath from Vons florist this morning and I got two sprigs of it for $2.50. This is more than enough for 3 three bud vases. I did get some resin water from Jo Ann's. I found that the manufacture of this
stuff, has a made another type of resin. This type is cooked on the stove in boiling water, you pour the stuff into your vase then have to heat it again to get the bubbles out of the water. I went with the $12.99 type that is still mixed together, stirred together and then poured down the middle of the vase.

I have a picture above that is empty vase to show you the vase next to it, has rocks in the bottom. I think I like the river rocks..look better than the crystal drops. Check out the above pictures to see the difference. Looking again
I think I also tend to go for the hot pink ribbon rather that the pink polk-a-dot ribbon. What do you think?

I have arranged the vases the way I wanted it, to look, prior to pouring the resin water. You will need to take all the items out of the vase with the exception of the rocks.

Here is a list of the items used in the vase...
rose, curly willow (2 twigs) 2 ting-ting, several filler stuff (the green filly stuff), baby breath 2-branches, small gauge ribbon

Please note I really like the baby breath, it makes the whole thing look so professional, it gives it a soft look.
I know I can hear you saying, they will die? Yes, they die and dry very well turn a bit yellow or ivory color.
If this one is for you, I would think about every 6 months you could spring for a new bit of baby's breath, to freshen it up. Tomorrow, will do the resin. You will need to gather up a used drinking water bottle, wooden popsicle stick.
The water bottle is the type you drink from at your desk. You are going to cut the top off so you can mix the resin in the bottle, stirring with the popsicle sticks or a bamboo skewers.

Button Doll Hats 4 U to make 4 UR BFF or Birthday gifts

Here is my button doll prior to getting her new hat. I same to find myself using cups, plates or glasses to get a good circle rather than using a compass. I have found a glass measuring 3 1/2 inches but liked a drinking glass that measures 3 3/4 inches. So I circled the glass and cut out the darn thing out of interfacing. I tried using a quarter (the 25 cents thing) for a place for its head to fit though the center. I found that size to small so I cut the hole a bit bigger. See the pic. Check it out to see if you like the way it fits, does it cover the face? Or does it fall down past the face.

If it doesn't fit don't use it, start over. Now if you are doing a hat for a larger doll, start with brown paper or card stock and wrap a piece of string to measure to little cuties head. This will be your judge of the size of the plate you will use to make your circle for a hat. Use the string to measure the center of the hat to gauge the hole needed to fit the dolly head.





I cut three circles for the top, middle, and the underside of the hat. If you have matching fabric that is great but if not go with plain fabric that blends with the dolls dress. I used white felt for the bottom, interfacing and black quilting fabric. I glued the three together with white glue, but it didn't glue very well, so I hot glued the thing together. I cut around the outside so the three pieces match. I also ran around a black marker to cover up the white interfacing in the middle. Now is the fun stuff. I twisted up the front of the hat and started adding all the stuff that makes the hat interesting.

Button Doll Hats 4 U to make

I have been making button doll hats as part of on going prototype development to have the cutest button dolls. It seems like in my office there was about 2 to 3 button dollies on more than several ladies desk. They were sold at most of the charity boutiques. I would go and buy straw doll hats at the craft store, but this would not work very well, since the straw insides of the hat would catch on the dollies fake hair. So this has been like chasing a crazy thought to improve on making my button dolls look more glamour.

These hats will fit any doll, Do you have an American Girl doll? Well, these instructions or directions will fix just about any sized doll.





Stay tuned ...bookmark me. Working on the directions.

You will need interfacing for crafting, for button dolls, I brought 1/4 of yard. This is the very crafty stuff, it is titled as crafting, something that is out this time of the year, since you can make halloween masks.
Pick out a quilting fat quarters in the color of the hat you want to make. I brought some felt that was glittery.

ok, off to take some pic's for you ...I like to add feathers to the whole thing, so you could check those out in your tip to a craft store or fabric store. Let your mind wonder at what you would like to see in a doll hat. Buttons?
Left over scrapbooking small items? Jump out of the box with ideas.