It really isn't good form to be
late to your own party, is it? The Halloween tricksters have obviously been out
in force this morning, but I'm here at last and very happy to let you know that
this is, indeed, a celebration of all things ghostly, ghoulish, wicked and
wonderful. A few weeks ago, Julie and I decided it might be fun to organise a
Copy+Paste Project Halloween blog party and, along with a few of our spookiest
chums, we've got together to share plenty of tricks, tutorials, pretty projects
and an especially special treat.
For my 'trick', I’ve been inspired by the darkly resourceful Violet Baudelaire, although I think Morticia Addams would probably approve,
too. Tissue paper flowers might not be the first thing you think of when it
comes to Halloween, but these dahlia-like blooms are big, bold and look amazing
in shades of deepest, darkest black. Just in case you’re reading this after the
event, though, don’t be put off – the flowers and project ideas below can
easily be adapted to work at other times of year which, by strange coincidence,
is a trait shared by many of the projects in our Copy+Paste Christmas workshop.
So, to make a basic flower, you
start by cutting two strips of tissue paper, each around 50cm long and
12-15cm wide. (I used plain black tissue for the bouquet project and a
metallic, bronze-black colour for the garland.) With the sheets layered one on
top of the other, concertina-fold them along the full length.
Snip a length of jewellery wire and
wrap it around the centre of your folded tissue. Twist the wire ends together
to hold in place. To create the spiky, dahlia effect, snip each end of the
tissue strip into a point.
Now you can start working your
flower into shape. Starting at one edge of the strip, pull the upper part of
each fold upwards, and the lower part downwards. Pull gently but firmly, making
your way along the strip in order.
Repeat on the other side of the
strip, to create a complete flower-head.
You might be able to see in the image above that a little of the folded wire is still visible in the centre of the flower.
You can either leave this as it is or cover it up – I added buttons to the
metallic flowers and, for the matt black set, spread glue in the centre before
sprinkling (black) glitter on top.
Once both groups of
flowers were assembled, I set about putting them to use. The black group was simplest. With
their green wire stems twisted loosely together, I tied seven into a small posy
using a length of velvet ribbon.
These are my Violet set and would,
I think, be a wonderful finishing touch to any ghoulish-but-girly Halloween
costume. Think dark-coloured frock and stripy tights, or maybe even a Corpse
Bride-style wedding dress. If you’re not the dressing-up type, you could try
sinking them into a vase or jam jar instead, either as part of a larger
Halloween display, or on their own as a simple seasonal decoration.
The metallic flowers, I used to
create a simple garland that I’m planning to string above my fireplace. If you
want to try something similar, snip your fabric into small rectangles (I used a
medium-weight suiting fabric). Fold over a hem along one short edge and fix in
place to create a narrow channel along the top of your rectangle. You can
either stitch or stick this down – for speed, I ironed on a thin strip of
fusible webbing.
To decorate the bottom edge, cut a
strip of lace and, again, stitch or glue into place.
Add a flower by stitching a button
over the centre, sewing through both the fabric and the tissue paper to secure.
Make as many of these simple flags
as you like, and then thread a length of ribbon or trim through the channel in
each one to join them together.
Despite the fact the above projects
are officially my ‘trick’, they’re really not all that tricky. If you want to
make them work for other holidays, it’s as simple as changing up the colours –
fold a set of red flowers to make Christmas poinsettias, glue a selection of pastel
shades round a polystyrene form to create a pretty wreath for spring, or just
make a single bloom to decorate the front of a birthday card.
What with this being a party, I'm now sending you off to mingle with some particularly splendid guests. It's always easier when you’ve been properly
introduced, so here you go with a quick run-down of the Halloween heroines who've
pitched-in to the party and have both a trick and a treat waiting
for you on their blogs:
First up are a couple of people who've already
signed-up to '12 Days' and are getting to know each other on our class
blog.
Gabrielle (sign-up number one!) is our
environmentally-friendly friend and has a pretty stamped something for you
at The Green Gal,
inspired by this equally-amazing leafy project she made a few weeks ago.
Sarah, meanwhile, has
admirably found time to treat you between juggling the roles of '12
Days' student and 'student with a dissertation to write'.
Art-journalling, book-loving Kelly, was
also an early sign-up. Pop in to see what she's prepared for you here.
And then there's Sarah LP who, over at Paper Obsession,
has been playing along with the pre-class quiz we set this week as well as
creating a little Halloween goodness for you to visit.
Next, head on over to see what Anne Lawrence found time to prepare for us in between teaching
students of her own.
Ashley Watts is
planning to spend November up to her ears in words - around 50,000 of them, in
fact! She's taking part in NaNoWriMo (that's National Novel Writing Month, for
the uninitiated), but before that kicks off, she's scribbled down a little
spooky something for us.
And then we have an especially
well-dressed pair who've recently taken to trend-spotting in their 'Fashion
Forward' posts. Katherine's take on trick or treating is at Paper Pocket, and
Clair Rigby's got a little fashion-inspired project to share with you in more
ways than one. Not only has she made a pretty Halloween-ish project, she's also
offering you the chance to win it over at Obstinate Pursuit.
Sharmaine Kruijver shares her take on
Halloween couture in a fabulous layout over here.
Last but not least, there’s
self-proclaimed 'art-tart', Michelle Jackson Mogford.
Last Halloween, ex-theatre designer, Michelle, transformed an old church into a
witch's castle for a local fundraiser so it’s probably safe to say she'll have
something special for us!
And just on the off-chance all of that doesn't sound tempting enough, I'll leave you with a few sneaky peeks at their amazing work. Whatever you're up to this weekend, have a very happy Halloween.
