leather camellia brooch

JANUARY’19 Flower of the Month: CAMELLIA

Welcome to 2019's new monthly section devoted to the Flower of the Month.
In here, taking into account the seasonality and other factors I will be presenting you with some of my best flower making tutorials and tutorial bundles at ... the best prices. silk camellia
For the month of January I have picked out for you the Camellia flower. And, since camellias come in different shapes and sizes TWO Camellia tutorials are awaiting you this month (the offer is valid till 31 January 2019)

If there are any seasonal fabric flowers, this metallic fabric backed velvet version must be one of them.

The detailed step-by-step tutorial reveals the secret behind smoothly shaped petals arranged in a near perfect geometric flower shape.

Rumors have it that Chanel's camellias have 26 petals. My version features 33 of them. It is a little stylised version of the camellia flower with its near perfect geometric shape and a flat back, which makes it ideal in many projects ranging from jewellery to millinery. You can make it oversized like I did with the black one in the photo collage below and turn it into a hairpiece. Small camellias will look great as shoe clips, small stick pins or corsages. This flower can be made with a wide number of fabrics (think heavy satin, denim, linen, cotton, tweed etc) as well as LEATHER . In the tutorial you will learn how to work with velvet, which can be challenging if you have not tackled it before.

 

As the flower of the month you can now purchase the tutorial and the tutorial+kit bundle with a discount (-15% and -20% respectively). All discounts have already been applied on the website. Please click on the images below to find out more and purchase.

Velvet Camellia Tutorial + DIY kit

Velvet Camellia Tutorial

fabric camellia tutorial
In case if you are after a more realistic delicate looking camellia flower, my detailed VIDEO tutorial on camellia japonica might be what you need

silk camellias

Camellia flowers are beautiful but very short lived. Now you can create your own camellia corsage, hairpiece or a hat trim with these striking blooms in the colour of your choice to enjoy throughout the year.
For realistic colour combinations visit a garden with flowering camellias, go online or browse through a gardening book.
The video tutorial will guide you through the process of dyeing the fabrics, shaping all the parts with millinery tools and assembling your flowers together.
To make your delicate camellia japonica flowers use silk or rayon satin with its smooth slightly shiny surface that so much resembles the real camellia petals.
As the flower of the month you can now purchase the VIDEO tutorial and the tutorial+kit bundle with a discount (-15% and -20% respectively). All discounts have already been applied on the website. Please use the buttons below to find out more and purchase.

Fabric Camellia VIDEO tutorial + DIY kit

Fabric Camellia VIDEO Tutorial

I hope you will enjoy making your fabric (and leather!) camellias this January!
velvet pansy workshop

Secret Santa gift exchange

This year first time ever I am taking part in Secret Santa gift exchange. To add more excitement to it the exchange allows only hand crafted presents! Over 40 artists across Europe are participating. I have prepared a gift for a girl from Estonia. We did state our preferences in terms of colour, type of craft or item we would prefer to receive. My addressee was very easy going and said that she would be pleased to get any nice handmade gift.
It goes without saying that I have whizzed a flower piece for her. Here is a sneaky peek into my Secret Santa project.

velvet pansies 3 (1280x976)

 

Obviously as it is a secret I can not reveal it just yet, but I am sure you will be able to guess the flowers I have made for it. I have used velvet, that I’d painted by hand and doubled with very thin silk.

 

velvet pansies2 (1280x939)

I have posted it today and after the addressee has received and announced it I will be able to reveal the whole piece to you.
I could have stopped my post right here if not one little thing: the postman has just delivered my gift from Secret Santa! And you won’t believe it, it is from the same girl that I have made a gift for! It is by some incredible coincidence that out of 40+ people we have chosen each other for this gift exchange 🙂 So much more exciting!
Well, I will be a nice girl and not open mine until Christmas.

P.S. In case you wonder I did include some nice chocolates together with my flower piece. Christmas should me magical and sweet! ♥ ♥ ♥