Wall Flowers

They're not just a euphemism for shy people anymore!

With the new paint in our master bedroom and new floors the walls needed something to spice them up. Our ceiling slopes with the roof peak so I wanted some wall art that would highlight that. I really wanted the art to be three dimensional and repeating, so my usual go-to of buying a canvas and whipping something up was a no-go.Then I found myself watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Normally I find that show to be really tiresome... it's just weird that the designers are doing more acting than they are designing. Anyhow, they made a flower out of scraps of fabric and I thought to myself "I could totally do that."

And here we are.First I went to the fabric store and hunted down fabrics that appealed to me. I wanted the pattern to look good even if I was using a tiny little piece of fabric; the colors needed to coordinate with my 'neutrals' bedroom, and I felt like I needed at least 7 different fabrics so the pattern was sufficiently random. (In total, I spent $8 on this project!)Then I went to our gigantic pile of empty flooring boxes and pilfered some cardboard. Used one of my beloved Sharpie markers (my love runs deep) and sketched out the flower. I cut the cardboard with heavy duty kitchen scissors but a box cutter or Exacto would work too.Then it was time to cut the fabric. After quite a bit of trial and error I found that a triangle piece of fabric worked best. This piece is about 4inches wide at the hypotenuse. I did use a variety of sizes and none of them are cut measured or cut to perfection.Here is how I folded the pieces. (It kinda reminds me of a diaper!)This is what a piece looks folded and glued at the pleat.Here are a few in place. I put a dab of hot glue on the back of the 'petal' shape and glued it directly to the cardboard. The task itself was repetitive so once I got the hang of it I was set!

Here is a finished flower. I worked from the outside towards the center and used curled ribbon for the center, but it would also look cute with a button placed there.

I used cotton and canvas fabrics because that was the look I was going for but you could mix it up and add silk/sateen or lace or felt. I'm thinking it wouldn't look right with fleece, but that's just my opinion!

I glued a loop of ribbon to the back to make hanging them a breeze. They are so light-weight that I was able to use push pins to hang them. Which means I could do it during nap time- Score!