Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Foliage doughnut corsage with a hidden Boutstix Floral Magnet
- 26 March 2014
- click to send Christine a smile
Read more about Boutstix Floral Magnets on their website
Cut a cardboard circle and draw another circle just slightly off-centre
Cut the circle out with a sharp knife
Match a Boutstix Floral Magnet on the wider side of the cardboard.
Glue the Boutix Floral Magent to the cardboard.
Rip a hand full of leaves into strands. You can use flax, typha, palm leaves, iris leaves or any fibrous leaf. (see the detailed Tutorial below for more on ripping foliage)
Take a small amount of ripped strands and combine it with copper wire.
Design note:
The copper wire is mostly decorative. You can omit the wire or use any other decorative wire, string or ribbon. I like to use this flat copper wire that I unravel from a copper pot scrubber (see detailed Tutorial below)
Start to wind the strands and wire around the cardboard. Simply secure the strands by wrapping it over itself.
Add a bit of bulk by wrapping the strands thickly around the cardboard. The wire should merely peek out of the strands and not dominate
Cover the stick part of the Boutstix. This flat plastic piece creates a strong base for the magnet to rest on that will help support the cardboard and keep it from bending
When you reach the end of a strand simply add more as you go along. Wrap the new long strands over the short end pieces to secure.
Keep wrapping...
Cover the magnet part of the Boutix Floral Magnet.
Simply wrap the strands around the magnet.
Add more bulk by wrapping a second layer of strands
When the cardboard is covered knot the strands in on itself
Foliage doughnut corsage with a hidden Boutstix Floral Magnet ready to design with
Fit the other magnet over the hidden Boutstix Floral Magnet. This will be the back of your design
Glue on the design details.
Place the corsage on the jacket lapel and secure with the shiny magnet at the back
This can, of course also be attached to a hat, handbag, sash, belt or whatever you need embelished
This design should look pretty for days and would dry beautifully to last for a long time
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Tutorials
Up-cycle a pot scrubber to get a huge roll of very pretty copper wire
Weave grasshoppers or butterflies (or fireflies) from palm leaves
Favourite Flowers
Rosary vine, Chain of Hearts, Collar of hearts and String of hearts
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