12 Tags of 2015 - May

Happy Sunday, Everyone!

Hope you all are having a fabulous weekend.  Today I am sharing my Tim Holtz inspired May 2015 tag project.  First, here's a peek at Tim's inspiration tag:

I'm pretty sure that this is my favorite so far.  (I'm also pretty sure I say that every month.  They just keep getting  better and better, as impossible as that seems!)

Here is my take.  I finally got around to adding some paint to the second "frame".  I painted a layer of Gathered Twig DP, and dry brushed on touches of Walnut Stain.

I used a mix of ephemera cut from Tim Holtz Idea-ology papers, and copies of my personal attic collection, along with Idea-ology, random bits and pieces, Chit Chat stickers, and Remnant Rubs.  My tiny roses and buds were cut with my Silver Bullet Professional cutter, colored with Distress Stains, and assembled.  

Some close ups:

 

I used a charcoal pencil to ground my ephemera on the burlap backing.  The mirrored star was alcohol inked and then rubbed with a bit of Gathered Twig Distress Paint.  (The brown circles were punched from sandpaper. I can't recall why I did that, but I sure am glad I kept them in my "junque" box!)

 

The rhinestones on the frame received the same treatment as the mirrored star; Alcohol ink followed by a bit of Distress Paint.  I didn't want anything to be too bright and shiny. I don't know who the lovely lady is, but since she was in the family attic, I'm claiming her as a relative.   You can see my stenciled and inked embossing paste peeking out from behind the elements on the left side.  I added many layers of Distress Paint to the metal label frame before adding the Remnant rub label.  It started out shiny, believe it or not! I tied it on to my tag with a simple Distress dyed seam binding bow.

I love my Penny Duncan Creations rose SVG files.  Being able to cut them in any size (less than 1/2 inch in diameter for these ones!) with my Silver Bullet and SCAL software gives just the flexibility that I crave as a crafter.  The foliage cut is also one of Penny's designs. 

Here you can see the custom charms I made using alcohol ink and a Remnant Rub on a glass charm, and alcohol ink and Distress Paint on a gumdrop in an Idea-ology Type Charm base.  I find that the Distress palette of products coordinates really well with my collection of attic ephemera, as well as Tim's  Idea-ology ephemera, which makes creating matching, custom colored bits and pieces really simple and fun. 

Creating this month's tag was a rewarding process of combining personal and reproduction ephemera, and creating custom coordinated embellishments using my collection of Tim Holtz products.  What a pleasure!

I hope you find time to have some fun playing with Tim's ideas for the May tag of 2015!

Thanks for stopping by!

Elizabeth

Feeling Bravely Experimental.... (Updated with a 'before the experiment photo")

Hi Everyone,

Happy Sunday to you!  It is a beautiful sunny day here, and I should really be outside planting, but before I go out and get my hands dirty, I am going to take a moment to share a recent project.

The current challenge over at  Frilly and Funkie blog is Snap, Crackle, Crackle.   It was just the push I needed to get out my Wendy Vecchi crackle paste and do some playing around.

This product creates the most amazing crackling in the simplest way of any of the crackle mediums I have tried.  I find the chalky finish to work very well with my vintage projects, and I love the way it takes paint and inks.  For this piece, I combined it with bead gel for a super texture-y background.

I found this sweet little tray at the thrift store. I painted over the dated brown and white polka dots with matte white spray paint.  Next, I randomly scraped bead gel and Wendy Vecchi Crackle Paste onto the tray with an old gift card.   I made sure to get some of each product on the edges of the tray.  After letting this dry over night, I added Frayed Burlap Distress Ink to the cracks and beads to highlight the texture. 

I cut all of my paper flowers and leaves with my Silver Bullet Professional digital cutter.  The flower files are all from Penny Duncan Creations.  She makes and shares the most beautiful SVG cut files on her blog,  I like to cut all of my paper elements from white paper, and use Distress Inks and Stains to add custom color. I  As you may know, I love using vintage text, and added some curls of book paper to "fluff out" the floral.  I added a printed garden quote, and a custom dyed seam binding bow, and thought I was finished.  After a couple of days of looking at the project, though, I just wasn't completely satisfied with it.

I guess I was feeling bravely experimental, because I took the project outside and sprayed the whole thing pretty liberally with the same matte white paint I had started with.  Voila!  It was the perfect way to tone down all of the bright colors from the flowers, and blend them into a much more vintage appearance.  I added just a touch of brown Distress Inks and Sprays, and stamped a Tim Holtz stamp in Tree Branch Archival over the previously  printed tag. 

Big thanks to the Frilly and Funkie gang for keeping me hopping with fun challenges this year!  And in case you didn't know, Linda is having a big sale over at the Funkie Junkie Boutique.  Almost all of her terrific products are at an additional 10% off her already discounted prices!  Thanks to a gift card from my hubby and recently being chosen as a random challenge winner, I have been able to fill my "shopping cart" with new goodies to use in future challenges. 

Now I'm off to plant those flowers!  Hope you have a wonderful rest of your day!

Elizabeth

While editing photos of another project, I found this photo:

Here you can see the original brighter colors of the project.  Of course the Distress colors are all beautiful, but I like my choice to shabby the project up by toning them down with the spray of white. 

How about some Christmas projects?

Hi Everyone!

Happy Wednesday!  With the view from my craft room looking like this last weekend,

I couldn't resist working on some Christmas projects!

This is an SVG Cuts file that I altered by adding starry flourishes to the 'glass' panels.  I cut the file from black paper and added lots of Aged Silver Distress Paint to give it a metallic appearance.  I embossed the decorative panels at the top for some extra texture.  The roses are my favorite Penny Duncan Creations grungy roses, colored with Distress Stains before assembly.  I cut the roses and all of the Christmas Greenery with my Silver Bullet Professional.

Here is how they look from a different angle.  I love how precisely the Silver Bullet cuts tiny details.  Some of these evergreens have really fine needles and my Bullet handled them with no problems.  I cut all of the greenery from white cardstock and colored it with various colors of Distress Inks.   This piece is already on its way to decorate my older daughter's house. 

My next project is just for me:

 
I purchased this shadow box at Goodwill quite some time ago.  It was pretty hideous, but had great potential.  I painted it with a nice yellow green acrylic craft paint, dry brushed on a bit of darker green, and added some brown antiquing wax.  I gave it a good buff once the wax had dried, and I really love the effect!  The letters and the base for the vintage ornament wreath were cut with my trusty Silver Bullet.   I used some junk pieces of foam that were laying around to pop up all of the elements from the vintage newspaper background. 

I am very excited to find a place to hang this new piece.  It has all of my favorite Christmas things.  Joy, Green, vintage glass ornaments, (rescued from someone's trash pile!) vintage paper, and cardstock.  I just need to add a hanger to the back, and it will be good to go.

Thanks for stopping by to see some of what I've been working on.  Hope your week is filled with joy and good things!

Elizabeth

My DLP Week 23 Journal Page, and some summery projects

Hello All,

Happy Monday!  Today I am sharing a very altered photo of last week's Documented Life Project page.  The challenge was to document something I am grateful for on each day of the week.  Since I do this for small things on a daily basis in another part of the journal, I opted to document seven big things in my life.  Because it's a bit personal, I opted to apply a Photoshop filter.

Because I was short on time last week, and because my journal is getting pretty fat, did things a bit differently.  Rather than add a tip in with my art work, I include my artwork, a simple gradient of Pan Pastels for each day, on the weekly page of my planner.  As always, I reserved the space on the right page for my weekly journaling.

And because that isn't much to look at, (posting these weekly pages keeps me motivated) I am also sharing some floral projects that I have made over the last several months.

I made this altered Tim Holtz Configurations tray box as a thank you for a friend.  I used Penny Duncan Creations rose files and my Silver Bullet Professional cutter, vintage sewing items from collection,  a vintage calling card and some photo copied ledger paper. 

The outer and inner sides of the box were painted with Spun Sugar Distess Paint, and stamped with Coffee Archival.  The roses were cut from white cardstock, and colored with Distress Stains.  This is my favorite way to custom color my roses.  The little wooden spool is not vintage, so I aged it with some Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  The ribbon and embroidery thread are vintage scraps from my "attic treasure" sewing basket.  I am getting a lot of crafty mileage out of that basket!  This project was a breath of fresh air at the end of the winter.

 

 

I made this project just for me!  I saved this shiny candle lid from the trash, and added lots of summery flowers, again using Penny Duncan Creations files.  This time, I cut the flower parts from text weight paper rather than cardstock.  I really like the look I get with this paper.  I achieved custom colors with Distress Stains, again.  This piece sits at the base of my computer screen at work.

 

 

This tiny mixed media canvas was made as a hostess gift for a friend who had a dinner party recently.  All of the pieces were leftovers from my work table.  I stained and stamped the 2 inch square canvas, added Distress Inks t the edges of the hex pieces and the "hope" ticket.  The multicolored Distress Inks and the haphazard construction of the rose give it just the right informal look. 

 

Thanks for stopping by today.  I wish you a crafty, happy week!

 

Elizabeth



It's Prom Day!

Good Morning, Everyone!

Today is Prom Day for my younger daughter.  We have been having fun for several weeks, with gown and shoe shopping, fittings, and of course, crafting a special project. 

Leila's dress is all edgy elegance, so we didn't even try to find a corsage to match it.  Instead, I put my Silver Bullet Professional die cutter, and my Foil Master to good use, and made a custom corsage for my beautiful girl. 

I echoed the black and neon green color scheme of the gown, and chose silver to accent the wonderful mirrored beads and sequins on the bodice.  To make the glossy black and silver papers for the roses, I printed big black rectangles on both sides of plain white copy paper.  Using my favorite Penny Duncan Creations rose files, I cut the layers for each rose from the laser printed paper.  Then I ran the roses through my Foil Master with glossy black and silver foils from That's Scrap, Inc. 

By following Penny's video's, I was able to easily construct all of the roses I needed. I chose to use a combination of PDC Grungy Roses and PDC Rose Design in two sizes for variety. as well as one small bud with a black bead center.

Here are a couple of close ups:

(There is no blue in these roses.  The super shiny foil is reflecting the color from my craft room walls.)  I had to visit a few craft stores before finding just the right lime green ribbons and beads to use as embellishments.

I love adding "stick pin" embellishments to all of my flower projects.  These mirrored faceted beads match Leila's gown perfectly!  I used a Spectrum Noir marker to color the pearl head of the corsage pins.  I wanted each detail of this special project to be just right!  (Leila's big sis used the leftover beads to make a lovely multi strand bracelet for Leila to wear tonight when she removes the corsage.)

The background leaves are cut from lime green cardstock, again with Penny's files.  I added some Distress Ink to tone down the color just a notch, and some embossed veins to add a touch of realism. 

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek at my special project today.  I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Elizabeth

Catching up on the 12 tags of 2014

Hi Everyone!

Happy Hump Day!  I took some time last weekend to catch up on Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2014.  After making the January tag, I let a couple of months slide by without a  tag made. 

I will start off by sharing my version of  this month's tag:

 See Tim's tag tutorial   for his fabulous tag and instructions.  I followed along as closely as possible using what I had on hand.  (Thanks to Mr. Holtz's excellent salesmanship, I have plenty of supplies to play with!)  There were lots of Distress products on my craft mat! 

 

As an alternative to the pinecone rose, I used Ms. Penny Duncan's SVG file, and my Silver Bullet Professional cutter to make my little roses.  I have some philosophy tags, but simply couldn't resist adding the butterfly to the trellis as my metallic element.  I enjoyed every minute while creating this tag! 

I think I'll continue in reverse order, and share the March tag next:

 

I love the idea of using second generation stamping to create a second tag.  It really speaks to my frugal nature.  I was late with these tags because I hemmed and hawed all throughout April about purchasing these stamps.  I am trying really, really, hard not to spend money on new craft supplies this year.  As you can see, I caved in to myself, and purchased the Nature Walk stamp set.  I like to work on smaller tags, so this set is perfectly sized for me.  As a bonus, it includes an absolutely adorable silverware stamp that I can't wait to use!  I'm almost certain that this is my favorite stamp set to date.  I am totally in love with it!

I don't have the Distress Marker Spritzer tool, so I substituted a stencil and Distress Re-Inker spray for that step.  I had a package of mini numerals calling out to be used, so they got colored with a bit of Distress paint and popped on.  I added Distress Painted bird house and washer charms to the seam binding tassels.

I really like these soft and simple tags.  They have a definite spring feel.

And finally, the February tag:

I had nearly forgotten that Distress Inks could be used to emboss, and was happy to have a reminder.  This is a really fun background technique.  

I don't have the supplies to do Tim's chalkboard technique, and improvised with white embossing powder.  I rubbed on some white chalk to "real it up" a bit.  I added glitter and Distress ink to some
grunge letters, with Glossy Accents as my adhesive.  I am really starting to love this stuff.  It will be time soon to restock with a bigger bottle.  The bottom border and ring reinforcer are embossed foil tape with Distress paint, and the metal embellishment is a random piece from my stash. 

There!  I am happily caught up with my 12 Tags of 2014, and looking forwarded to seeing what Tim has in store for May.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Elizabeth

The Documeted Life Project- Week Sixteen (& a bonus project)

Happy Easter Everyone!

I hope you are having a lovely day!  This week's challenge from the ladies at the Documented Life Project was to use find a creative way to use a food box on our page.  Since I seriously overhauled my eating habits early last summer, I don't really eat much that comes in cardboard boxes.  I do eat a LOT of salads, though, and the lettuces I like come in nice plastic boxes.  Here is how I added one to my journal:

I found this photo in my collection of scans from my parents' attic.  I used my favorite transfer technique to make a skin, and then attached it to the plastic with matte medium.  To finish the page, I added borders of washi tape and some simple lettering.  All of the elements are somewhat transparent, and in real life, you can see my writing from the page showing through the tip-in, in a really cool way.  I love this photo, of me (in red) and my sister Sue, and am very pleased  to have it in my journal. 

To make a photo transfer, print your photo on plain printer paper with a laser printer.  Paint a generous layer of gloss gel medium onto a sheet of smooth metal, (I use aluminum from All That Jazz Supplies) and adhere your photo face down onto it.  Make sure there is enough gel so that your entire photo is adhered.  Let this dry for several hours or overnight.  Spray the back of the paper generously with water, and let it sit for a few minutes to soak in.  Using your fingers, gently rub the wet paper, removing it as you go.  Add more water as necessary.  When you have removed all the paper, allow the piece to dry well again.  When dry, you can carefully lift the gel "skin" from the metal. 

I found time last night to make some incredibly cute hair accessories to tuck into my daughters' Easter Baskets. 

This idea came from the always inspiring Penny Duncan.  Check out her Blog, Penny Duncan Creations for the cutting files and video instructions to make these adorable flowers.

I used my Silver Bullet Professional cutter to cut plastic template material.  Penny has generously shared six different template files.  These pony tail holders represent just two of the possibilities.  I guessed, and sized my templates at 2 inches for my first two flowers.  The finished flowers came out just the right size.  I was totally amazed by how precisely my Silver Bullet handled the intricate cuts.  Some of the pieces were tiny! 

I loved using fabrics from my stash of quilting fabrics, and buttons from my tobacco can of vintage buttons (more booty from an attic scavenger hunt!)  If you don't have a large stash of fabrics, you can double it by using both the right and wrong sides of the fabric, as I did for the purple flower. 

I can't wait to make more of these flowers.  They are so easy and fun and will be a perfect car project for me as I travel with my family this summer.  Thank you, Penny Duncan!!

Have a wonderful week, all!

Elizabth

Sympathy card

Good Morning!

Today's card is another of the sympathy cards I made recently. 

I applied Distress Stains directly to the floral stamp to get a watercolor effect, then stamped the sentiment with Archival.  The fancy fold border was cut with my Silver Bullet Pro from a Penny Duncan Creations SVG file. 

Here is the inside of the card:

and an alternate view of the front:

I wish you a wonderful week!

Elizabeth

Supplies and tools used for this project include:

Distress Stains Dusty Concord, Tattered Rose, Wild Honey
Recollections and Georgia Pacific Cardstock
Silver Bullet Professional Digital Die Cutter
Archival Ink - Deep Purple

The one with the gift for my college bound girl.... (edited with improved photos)

Hi Everyone,

I finally finished my latest altered project.  Again, I used a frame from the local thrift store to create this piece I designed to hold my daughter's  keys and or necklaces in her dorm room.  Also again, I forgot to take a before pic!

 

 

 

As you can see, I used lots of items and techniques to make a shabby chic/vintage piece for her.  It all started with a piece of cream colored cardstock, which I embossed with a template cut using a favorite Penny Duncan Creations   SVG file.  After embossing, I used the "negative space" from the cut as a mask, to stamp text on the raised portion of the embossing.  I hope that makes sense.  You will be able to see it better in some of the close-ups that follow.  I also used the mask when sponging on some green Distress Ink.

 

For my next background layer, I stamped a variety of vintage text, and tiny vintage pictorial stamps; keys, bees, clocks etc., using Distress Inks and Archival inks, in browns, pinks, and greens.  Then I applied Distress ink randomly with foam applicators.

 

As I started laying out my vintage elements, I decided that the background wasn't interesting enough yet, so I cut some tiny tags using my Black Cat Cougar from Sherri at That's Scrap, Inc..  I stamped and inked these with the same tiny vintage stamps, and glued them on behind some of the major pieces, such as...

 

 



 

... this little spoon, that DD and I found at a local antique shop earlier this summer.  I used Tim Holtz Remnant Rubs to add a bit of motherly advice.  Couldn't help myself!  The brooch behind it is from Recollections.  It has a nice pink butterfly that is obscured by the glare. The tickets were inked with Distress Inks. 

 

 

 



I added some charms and buttons.  I thought it was high time I started using up some of my vintage button collection.  Between the family button boxes (or tobacco tins) that I have cadged from the attic over the years, and the bags of vintage buttons that I have purchased, I have quite a stash.   The clock and the music charms are Tim Holtz Idea-ology Custom Fasteners.  The metallic flower is from Recollections.  I added Distress Paints to coordinate with my project. 

 

After attaching the two vintage glass knobs, I decided that the piece really needed another crystal element, so I pulled out this chandelier glass and dangled it from a Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ring Fastener. 

 

 

This is a photo copy of one of the vintage trading cards I found in the attic recently.  I distressed and curled the edges, added some (you guessed it!) Distress inks, and mounted it on a piece of inked cardstock.  I made a second smaller copy, cut the roses out and popped them on with foam dots and brushed on just a bit of Rock Candy Distress Stickles for some vintage sparkle.  Next,  I added a stick pin that matches the one on DD's Prom corsage. 

 

Finally, I added a metal label bracket that fell off one of my many photo storage boxes, and got tossed in the "mixed media" box.  It was the perfect place to add one more bit of life advice. 

 

 

I added some Tarnished Brass Distress Paint to age it a bit.  I used the same paint to color the brads that I put in the screw holes of the glass knobs.  (I attached the knobs and the bracket to the frame with E-6000 adhesive.)

 

Speaking of the frame, instead of sanding it down, repainting it, and distressing it, I decided to cover it with paper.  This might sound difficult, but with my Black Cat Cougar and SCAL software, I was able to quickly design and cut the brown floral paper pieces.  I simply adhered them to the frame with Yes Paste.  I may never paint another frame! 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by to check out my project.  

 

 

Have a terrific day!

 

Elizabeth

 

P.S.  OK, it took three rounds of photos to get good ones!  Sorry if you caught the poor ones I posted last night.  

 







The one with my favorite card ever (so far).....

Happy Happy Friday, Everyone!

Today, I had planned to spend the entire day in my craft room, but a nap got in the way!  I should not be forgetting to finish my morning tea.  Before the sleepies set in, I made a card that I absolutely love.  I scrap lifted it from a card magazine that I have had laying around for at least a year.  I am going to a co-workers wedding tomorrow, and wanted to make a special card for him and his bride. 

Here is what I did:

Front



Inside

I used my Foil Master and gold foil for the sentiment and buckle on the front, and inside sentiment.  I did a print a cut with my  Black Cat Cougar for the layers and the buckle.  I like to foil before cutting, as it makes it easier to make a "sandwich" for my foiler.  I embossed the bottom of the rectangle with my Sizzix Big Kick, and ran some navy ribbon through the buckle.  With sheer ribbons, I like to just tape the ribbon ends on the back of the card, so the adhesive doesn't show through. 

The buckle is a file from Penny Duncan Creations.  I swear, I can't go a week without using one of Penny's files!

So that is it, a clean and simple foiled wedding card.  I'm in love with it!  I will be a little sad to put it in its envelope and give it away.  (But I'll do it!)

I wish everyone a beautiful weekend, filled with happy things!

Elizabeth

The one with the Graduation party projects....

Hi Everyone,

I am going to try to quickly post photos of some of the projects that I made for oldest DD's High School Graduation Party.  I have had so much fun with my Black Cat Cougar Electronic Cutter from Sherri at That's Scrap Inc. lately.  It is the perfect tool for party decorations! 

I made a giant cap using an SVG cuts file and a full sized sheet of poster board:

 

I made a banner with a files that I designed myself:

 

 

 

I made a flower for my bathroom curtain:

 

 

I made lots of elements to add to my newly installed giant antique window:

 

 

(We celebrated DD and her BF, who graduated together.) 

 

I made a Grad Card for DD (inspired by a cool scrapbook layout that I pinned on Pinterest recently:

 

 

 

And DD and I made flowers to decorate her cap, using a Penny Duncan Designs rose file:

 

 

(Did you hear that the amazingly generous and creative Penny Duncan is offering all of her files for free?  I know, I can't believe the good news either, but it's true!  Go check it out!  http://pennyduncancreations.blogspot.com/

 

I did some other things, like table scatters with their initials and their grad year, and hats, as well as some smaller sized SVG Cuts grad hats to place around the house, but I ran out of time to take photos of it all. 

 

That's all for now.  I am looking forward to spending some time in my craft room working on some swaps and challenges that I have signed up for, as well as making lots of dorm decorations for when DD heads off to college in September. 

 

Have a Marvelous Monday!

 

Elizabeth

 

 



 

 

 







 







The one with the "window"....

Hi Everyone!

Recently, my oldest "baby" turned 18!  She has been very grown up for a long time, but I still find it hard to believe she is an official adult. 

I made this fun card with a diorama window inside for her special birthday:

This is the front.  No window here!

 

There's the window! 

 

 And a top view, so you can see how it works. 

 

This was surprisingly easy to do.  Click here to grab my basic  SVG file to get you started.  For my card, I fancied up the window with a Penny Duncan Creations Shaplie file,(break the file, replace the plain rectangle with a shape of your choice, and join) and added some embossed layers and a shadow outline.  I printed the inside sentiment, and added some extra color with a colored pencil.   The sentiment on front was stamped, heat embossed and layered with more variations of Penny's Shaplie file, to co-ordinate with the inside. 

 

I added a recycled bow, rescued from some packaging and tucked in my ribbon box.  5 minutes before giving it to Naomi, I decided it needed a little something else, so I added a button made from the printed paper.  Of course, I didn't have time to snap a new photo, so you will have to use your imagination!

 

(The best thing about this card design is that it folds flat to fit in an A2 envelope!)

 

I hope you are all having a fantabulous day! 

 

Elizabeth

The one with the Prom flowers....

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Today, I thought I would post a couple of photos of the corsage and boutinneire that I made for my oldest DD and her BF for their Senior Prom last weekend. 

I have to give total credit for this idea from the incredibly talented and inspiring Penny Duncan.   She is so generous in sharing her ideas, and instructions for making beautiful flowers.  She recently posted  the most gorgeous projects that she made for her two sons.  I borrowed ideas from both of these projects to create custom flowers for my project.

 

This, obviously, is the boutinniere that I made for DD's BF.  All of the files are from Penny.   You can buy a collection of her files for each year from her Etsy Store.  I have all of them, and I use them ALL the time! 

 

And this is the corsage:

 

 

I used regular copy paper,  which I am really liking for roses, and printed it with the kids' names in a light color, because I wanted the effect to be subtle.   Then I cut the flower pieces and leaves, and inked them with Distress Inks.  After applying the inks, I misted the paper with water, and crumpled it.  I carefully uncrumpled it, and dried it with my heat gun. 

 

Next I used my styluses (stylusi?) to shape the petals, and glued them together with Scotch Quick Dry adhesive.  I hot glued everything to a square piece of plastic packaging that I rounded with my corner rounder.  Then I hot glued that to a purchased corsage base.  (To make it easier to attach the tiny pink rosebuds, I made a hole through the center with a bead reamer and inserted a wired flower center from the Wilton section of the craft store.  That gave me something to tuck down between the larger roses.) 

 

For the boutinniere, I used a wire floral stem and floral tape.  The beaded embellisments on both pieces are simply beads on a long head pin, with a dab of glue to secure them. 

 

The kids were very happy with them, and more importantly, they had a great time at the Prom.  I'm really hoping that my younger DD will want me to make her Prom flowers next year.  It is really fun!

 

Have a great rest of the week!

 

Elizabeth