Putting to use old Valentine's Day flowers

My husband gave me beautiful flowers for Valentine's Day, and I would love it if they would last forever. 

I went on an internet search to find different ways to preserve my flowers so that they wouldn't just end up in the trash. I hope this helps you decide what to do with your flowers too. If you know of any other great ways, please comment below - I would love to hear from you :)

Composting : Adding your flowers to a compost pile is a great idea! Old flowers add many nutrients to your compost, making it thrive. I don't have a compost pile, but I am inspired to start one after reading about its advantages to my garden. What could be my first addition to my compost pile...? My flowers! 

Flower Press: There are so many different things to do with pressed flowers. I love this idea of attaching one to a gift. Very pretty. Also, you can frame your pressed flowers or even glue them to card stock and use as a bookmark. So many choices when it comes to pressed flowers! 

Potpourri: Making your potpourri is easy and smells great! Drying out your flowers and crunching them up to make potpourri will definitely spruce up my drawers. My friend Brittany sells these bags on Etsy. Although they are lingerie bags, I think they would be perfect for this job as well.

I hope one of these options works for you. I think I might just try all three :)

Have a great week and left the crafty waves keep rollin!

Emma

    

 My featured seller this week is Amy from PaperFinchDesigns. Amy is a wonderful person. She drew my name for an Etsy secret santa and sent me these peacock coasters that she handmade. 

  

She is a pleasure to work with and her art has clean lines and positive vibes. She definitely has those crafty waves rolling through her artwork. It is my pleasure to showcase her items and shop this week. 

Anything nautical themed is my favorite.

Perfect for Valentine's Day!

I want this for my kitchen.

One of my favorite cities.

Thanks again to Amy for allowing me to feature her fantastic art. If you would like to purchase from her shop, please visit PaperFinchDesign. Enter craftywaves (coupon code) at checkout to receive 20% off your order :) Code does not apply to weddingsets/invitations. 

Let the crafty waves keep rolling...

Emma

Silk Rosette Flower Earring Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to make some fabulous earrings for a little money and a little time. That's my kind of DIY project! :) See below for a special surprise!! 

Here is what you will need:

-Hot Glue Gun

-Pair of fabric scissors

-2 pieces of silk (any color) measuring 2in. by 7 in. (I have a 1/4 yard pictured)

-Earring posts (I use surgical steel posts for my sensitive ears, but that's your choice!)

That's it!!! Here are the very easy steps:

Step 1: Gather your supplies. 

Step 2: Cut your silk to the dimensions 2in. x 7in. 

Step 3: Take your cut out silk in your hand and twist one end.

Step 4: Knot that twisted end. 

Step 5: Begin to turn and twist your silk around your knot. The more twisting you do, the more dimension your flower will have. 

As you twist and turn around your knot, apply small amounts of hot glue to hold your flower in place. Don't worry if your flower doesn't look like much at first... 

As you twist and turn, your flower should start to take shape - remember...glue throughout!

As you reach the end, glue the "tail" of your silk to your flower. 

You should end with something that looks like this! 

Step 6: Cut of the fraying fabric...if you choose. Sometimes I like the way it looks, sometimes I don't...

For this earring, I decided to cut the frays off.

Now, just glue your earring post on the back of your flower and you are half way done...Of course, the steps above only make one earring - so, REPEAT the process :)

   I love this color!                                        So many fun color to choose from!! 

This earring looks so feminine and pretty on the ear. It really can brighten up any outfit!!!

Important tips I have learned after making many of these earrings:

- You will get burned by hot glue. And, it hurts.

-Don't try and pull hot glue off of silk when it is wet; it's a hot mess! Wait for it to dry!

-Don't worry if one earring is bigger than the other; you can always add on more silk to the smaller one. On that note, don't glue your posts on till each earring is to your liking. 

-You can try with other kinds of fabric. Batik is great because of the pattern on both sides. 

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. As a special offer, the first person to follow and comment on this post will receive the earrings in this tutorial and a "starter kit" (color choice and all) to make their own. 

You can always check out my silk rosette earrings on my etsy shop :)

Let the crafty waves keep rollin'

-Emma

 "All you need is love."

Welcome to the month of L-O-V-E, February. Throughout my life, I have shared my Valentine's Day with different groups of people. Growing up, my Mom always got me a Valentine's present. Then, heading to college, my friends and I would go to dinner and exchange "secret cupid" gifts. Now, I exchange with my husband. All of the exchanges of gifts were special and a welcome addition of love. I have posted some gifts that inspire me (and hopefully you) to give something special to the one you love on Valentine's Day. Enjoy.

The last gift is from my shop LaMarDesigns. Enter code craftywaves at checkout to receive 25% off your order. 

Keep the craftywaves rollin,

Emma

Welcome catchall corner - crafty waves first artist feature...

Catchall Corner has been a shop on Etsy for almost three years. When looking at Rhoda's craftmanship, you can't help but notice her attention to detail. Her stitching is wonderful and she only uses top-quality fabric. Her buyers have even more wonderful things to say about her work...

BEAUTIFUL pillow covers!!! LOVE your work Rhoda .... THANKS SO MUCH!!!

Just received and given to a friend. Perfect!! We both love it!

I love this fabric, the colours are bright and inviting. The quality of sewing is high and I know that these pillow cases won't fall apart after a washing. Thanks very much Rhoda :)

Great seller, product and transaction. Highly recommend.

Here are some fabulous items from catchallcorner.

And what's her most popular item? The Grumpy Owl pillow! Perfect for owl loves or children's rooms.

Use coupon code craftywaves during checkout to receive a 10% discount from catchallcorner. A big thank you to Rhoda for letting us feature her beautiful, handmade items.

Let the crafty waves keep rolling.

Until next time,

Emma

Welcome to Craft Waves - my inspiration blog. I hope you visit often to learn about how to become creative in your own life, by looking at other's items and making some of your own. Every week, I will feature a new artist's item, in hopes to familiarize my readers with all of the beautiful, handmade items that are available online. There are so many reasons to buy handmade. Handmade items are unique, carefully and thoughtfully crafted. Each person that I showcase will offer you a special promotion for visiting the blog.

If you create handmade items and would like to be featured, please contact me. I would love to hear from you.

I look forward to bringing you many waves of craftiness. Enjoy and have fun.

Emma