Lucky Flutterby Creations: Scrap Your Story DIY Challenge with Maggie Holmes!!!!

Hello gang!!!! I know it's been a while but I have been out of town for the past week and just catching up on things. My family and I went down to Fort Lauderdale to spend some well needed time away from home and with my Aunt and Uncle whom we love dearly!!!! They were kind enough to have us AND the kiddies for the past week and deserve an award for their patience with us!!! Hahahahaha!!!!! Hope everyone has enjoyed their summer thus far :-)

Any who.... I am writing in regards to a BRAND NEW DIY Challenge over at Scrap Your Story. We were going to do this a week ago but unfortunately Christy, the site owner, has fell ill and needs some time to heal. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family! We've decided to go forward with the challenge with Christy cheering us from the sideline!!!!

This week, the challenge is to CREATE YOUR OWN embellishment. The girls have put together some FABULOUS ideas for you to learn the latest and greatest techniques for your pages!!!! My DIY embellies are the ever-so-fabulous ROSETTES!!!! They are super easy to make and add so much flavor to your pages!!! And the best part?!?!? You just use the same papers you're already working with to make them :-)

I've put together a step-by-step tutorial on how to get these done in a past post that includes a YouTube video if that will be of more help to you, but I will add the steps below as well.
First, here is the layout I created making my very own rosettes. I used a sketch by the wonderful Tabitha Triplett for the Twisted challenge over at Colorful Creations and Crate Paper's "Maggie Holmes Collection" (LOVE this line!!) to complete the page. Here's a look:

Here's a close up of some of the rosettes. As you can see, I cut them in half after making them to add a beautiful border to my picture! I also added some K&Company brads to add a little detail :-)

For the page, I started by choosing papers that matched mine and my husband's outfits. Just like a "girl" to do something like that!!!! Hahahaha!!! I used a Martha Stewart deep edge punch set to create the die-cut behind the photo. Then, I just layered some papers, added the rosettes and grungepaper embellies, threw on some ribbon, bling, and liquid pearls, and called it a day!!!! Don't those rosettes just make the page?!?!?

Super Easy Rosette Tutorial!

So, how do you make them you ask?!? Well, it's SUPER easy and well worth the effort!!! Here's what you'll need:

Necessary

12x12 paper (any kind)

Scoring Tool

Adhesive

Hot Glue Gun

Paper Scraps

Not Necessary

Paper Edge Punch(es)

Ink

First, you'll need to cut out some strips out of 12x12 paper that you want to use. It HAS to be 12 inches in length for the rosette to form. Depending on the size of the rosette, you'll want to cut your strips anywhere from 3/4inch (.75 inches) wide to one and a half inches wide(1.5inches). Anything bigger or smaller will be too hard to work with. Use your SCORING board and tool and score the strips at EVERY 1/4 inch. To mae it easier in the long run, you should start on one side and score at every HALF inch (.5, 1, 1.5, 2,etc...), then flip it over and score at every 1/4 inch and 3/4 inch (.25 and .75). This will make the accordion fold MUCH easier when you get to that step!

If you DO NOT HAVE a SCORING board, just use your paper trimmer and bone folder, or something similar. When I don't feel like taking out my board that's what I do!!!!

When you've completed the first step, you'll have a bunch of strips that look like this.. maybe more, maybe less. You only need ONE strip per ROSETTE.

For added detail, you can use your edge punches on some of the strips after you've scored them. THIS IS NOT REQUIRED. I'll show you the difference between them and the punches I used :-)

They should look like this when you're done punching.

If you're an "inker" like myself, this is the perfect time to do your inking. Just choose a side on the "non-punched" strips and ink the detailed side on the "punched" strips. These are the inks I choose:

Here's my heap of strips!!! After you're done inking, go ahead and accordion fold the strips using the score lines. This should be VERY easy!!!!

Now, use a little adhesive and bind your strips to make a circle (see below). VERY IMPORTANT: You MUST adhere the edges together keeping the SAME accordion fold pattern. If it doesn't meet with the same pattern, just CUT one 1/4inch piece from ONE of the sides. Then it should meet perfectly!!!!

Now, you'll need something to glue your rosette to when it's done. This will be UNDER the rosette and NOT noticeable. It doesn't have to be pretty... just big enough to keep it down and small enough to not be seen!!! I decided to use my 1inch circle punch and make circles. You can use squares, strips, scraps, or anything else that floats your boat!!!

Now, take your circle strip of paper and FLATTEN it!!!!! Literally, just squish it down in the center while it's standing and it should form your rosette. You can squeeze it tight for a "tighter" looking rosette, or lightly for a more "relaxed" look. I usually go tighter!!! Using your HOT GLUE GUN, place a little hot glue on the piece you cut for your base. This would be my circles. Now, take your rosette and CAREFULLY place it down atop the base while the glue is hot. You must work rather quickly here!!!! Hold the rosette in place on the base for about 30 seconds, or until the glue is cool enough to hold it. That's it!!!! YOU'RE DONE!!!!!

Here's a look at my rosettes: You can see the difference between the "fancy" edge ones and the regular ones. I actually like the look of BOTH!!!!!

Pretty cool, right?!? Now, you can embellish as desired!!! I usually like to add a brad to the center of mine, but you can add buttons or anything else that looks good!!! You can also "stack" them for added detail like this:

Tim Holtz Grungepaper Fun!

As an added "bonus" (hahahaha!!!), I also want to show you the versatility of GRUNGEPAPER!!!!!!! I absolutely LOVE grungepaper.. it's SOOOOOO much fun to play with!!!!!

I used various stamps and stamped on the "smooth" side of the paper using embossing ink.