Paper Rose Topiary

Paper Rose topiary
Originally uploaded by Sister Wend

April was full of pictures and blogposts that inspired me to action, many of them by Alisa Burke. She really has been redefining my creativity as I have already mentioned in an earlier post! Because of her, I started an Art Journal, made Queens out of toilet paper rolls and made a twisted rose topiary out of flyers! I might be leaving out a few things...I was seriously inspired! Anywho, wanted to show you how easy it is to just twist and coil, twist and coil. Experiment with how tight you coil or twist. You can vary the results easily by increasing or decreasing tension and using different parts of the flyer where one colour predominates.

This is a cool project to start May and I like how it keeps the momentum of Earth Day going. Catch Alisa Burke's tutorial here.

This is how I made the roses:

Choose a flyer or newspaper and rip or cut it from the fold.

Separate layers. I then fold them in half lengthwise.

Pull the strip through your fingers and tie a knot in one end.

Twist and coil. Glue. Twist and coil. Glue. Twist and coil. Glue.

And there you have it!

Make a whole bunch! To make the topiary, I then took two styrofoam balls, shoved the bigger one onto a dowel, about a quarter of the way in. I then bruted the dowel entirely through the smaller ball. I shoved it in, first on one end, and then the other, working it gently through. Then I used pretty pins to fix the flowers on the balls. You can paint the balls and the dowel if you want, add a ribbon, stick it in a terracotta pot and there you have a really beautiful centre piece as well as a conversation piece!

These would be nice at a handmade wedding!

If you make some, will you please tell me? Thanks!

Recycled Roses

IMG_3043
Originally uploaded by mealisab

The minute I saw this post by the catalytic Alisa Burke, I had to make these roses! I grabbed a Shopper's Drugmart flyer and started twisting, twisting, twisting.

I like it! So I made a topiary! Alisa Burke's tutorial is super!

Why not make something like this for Earth Day?

I made the topiary...so far... you see below!

The Wendy Guide to All Things Cool on ArtFire! #1

Hanging out at ArtFire is so neato! It's the bazaar, the souk, and the agora all rolled up into one compelling melange! It can be heady, so I thought I'd help you out regularly with a bit of a guide. It's no trouble! Please visit the folks that I highlight and maybe comment. They might return the favour!

Since it's Spring and Earth Day and all that, I've been looking hard at all the crap around here...uhm...I meant potential 'craft' stuff around here, : }, and wondering if there was anything to be made out of it! You know, something that looked really cool and also helped the environment! This first guide takes a look at some crafty folk who think the same way. I call them....ta ta ta da..... the ArtFire Artists Who Upcycle!

Upcycling, a phrase coined by Cradle to Cradle authors William McDonough and Michael Braungart in 2002, goes beyond merely reusing or recycling. With upcycling comes the discovery that you are in the fairy tale realm of the frog prince…the land where nothing is what it seems to be and love always saves the day! By taking something that is disposable or unwanted and transforming it into something beautiful, something useful, something wanted again, the world and the artist are enriched.

Wanting to uncover who upcycles on Artfire, I did the smart thing. I typed ‘upcycling’ into the Artfire search engine. 2365 results later and perhaps a second or two, I was convinced that ‘upcycling’ thrives on Artfire! Have a look!

Clementine’s Closet

Self-proclaimed, Tennessee based, Fashion Re-designer, Meghan Henley,or "Clem" of Artfire’s "Clementine's Closet" takes ‘somewhat disturbing fashion disasters and creates elegant, ECO FRIENDLY, designs’. In the Inspiration/Story Behind This Design section, Meghan has a unique approach to upcycling. “I do work with my customer's clothes that would normally be thrown out or given to charity. You would send them to me, I redesign them and you have the option of buying them back for less than I would sell them for. I will donate 20% to the charity of your choice whether you buy them back or I sell them to someone else. Just think, you are doing good for mankind, staying green, and getting "re-designed custom clothing".

Jumping Dog
I love JessSprke’s old school paper beads….fashion magazines upcycled into gorgeous jewelry making bits! Possibly THE original upcycled craft material? Still beautiful and earth friendly! And colour categorized! Perfect! Find more at Jessica Mattingly's Unique Expressions.

Creations by Ingrid-eco art wear
Ingrid creates unique and functional items from recycled material, such as vintage ties, aluminum cans, suit coats, pop can tabs and everything else apparently! Her VHS Tape i-pod tote is crazy incredible!

Funky Recycling
Las Vegas, Nevada is the home of this upcycling artisan, who’s line of Funky Junq is inspired! Who knew that soda cans could look so luxe!? Check out the super shiny and colourful creations! Very retro kitsch with a heaping helping of Andy Warhol!

Artwork by KD
I really, really dig this stuff! Irristible colours combined with funky shapes and something salvaged at the heart of it all! Like other upcyclers, KD takes great pride in creating original art using recycled materials. Her goals? “To provide you with a wonderful handmade product, give the best customer service and at the same time cut down on waste”. Her water bottle bracelet rocks! And it goes with everything!!!

Mojo

Mojo has it going on with her shiny, shiny upcycled juice container totes! I've seen people do double takes around similar items! They really do express the spirit of environmental friendliness lol! And the colours! Juicy! Have a look at the ramen noodle totes as well. I could have had a full set of lugguge if I had known how to make these in university! sigh

SunCreations

Who doesn't love a rose scented plarn tote bag? Plarn is so nifty because it is yarn made out of, usually, plastic bags! What a great way to reuse them! And it's fun to say 'plarn'. Sun Creations is a fellow Ontario, Canadian and seems to "make everything under the sun", including hand crocheted items like slippers, totebags, knitted dishcloths, dog sweaters, scarves and hand beaded jewellery.

And finally, a sweet treat to finish off our visit to these ArtFire Upcycling artisans, the fantastic mini pudding box notebook, created by

With Our Hands

Not only is it cute and practical, it's also fat and sugar free! You'll find a little bit of everything here such as cards, scarves, dish cloths, jewelry, journals, magnets and more.

Hope you enjoyed the first Wendy Guide to All Things Cool on ArtFire! Wasn't that fun?

That's a question people! Please feed me back here or on Twitter!