I am still contemplating what to do with the bedroom fireplace. Definitely not carved wood. It just doesn't look right. So instead I decided to make Tessie somewhat happy.I don't think that she is ever really happy when she has nothing to complain about. The somewhat part comes from a pot of spiderwort. This is the real one that used to grow in my backyard. The frost got it one year. Yup. It really does frost in AZ. We even have had snow at Easter a couple of times!
Mine isn't as pretty as that one was, but I was just doing a quickly for the sake of keeping Tessie quiet.
Spiderworts are probably one of the easiest flowers to reproduce in mini. 
There are only three petals and some fuzzy yellow stamens in the center. The leaves are very plain spear shaped leaves that curl.
There are only three petals and some fuzzy yellow stamens in the center. The leaves are very plain spear shaped leaves that curl.Basically you cut three petals from purple scrapbook paper for each blossom. Then you cut a bunch of slivers off of the edge of green paper.
You then use a ball stylus to cup the petals. I use a double thickness of suede leather for a pad. This allows me to cup them without having them fly up and hit me in the eye. I curled the leaves with the edge of my tweezers, like you do curly ribbon at Christmas. Soft curves please. No whirligigs.
I put a piece of dry floral foam in the pot. I covered that with glue and miniature railroad ballast. I have been known to go out in the back yard and grab a handful of dirt in times of need. It works fine.
I poked a stem, with glue on the end, down through the dirt. Then I coated the top end with fast grab Aileen's glue. I put a bit of railroad floral foam(yellow) on the tip and then placed three petals, curve up around the center. I fiddled with them until they were pretty much an equalateral triangle.
After that, I started putting the same glue on the bottom end of the leaves and arranging them in a circular pattern around the stem. Some times there are a couple of flowers coming out of one of the crowns.
Just keep building until the pot looks full. They may not be perfect, but Tessie is looking at them as a promise of things to come.......Keep dreaming Tessie, old girl!
See you tomorrow.
6 comments:
Tessie looks really happy with her plant Casey. Is she going to get her dream Spiderwort Manor?
Okay, I must be really stupid-- I thought "spiderwort" was a made-up name of a plant! I didn't know it's real! They're really pretty too-- your mini one turned out great!
I may have to try doing a few spiderworts too. I'm rubbish at flowers though. But I think I could probably pull off these. ;-)
You should try it Kat. They are dead easy. The punch that I used for the petals was just a very simple leaf shape, pointy at one end and flat across the other. Have fun with it.
So pretty and Tessie looks so happy with it. I did not know that Spiderwort was a real plant. There is nothing like that here.I shall have a try on them even though I do not own punches and I shall have to hand cut them. Hugs
Wonderful spiderwort tutorial and no, I couldn't imagine that it actually frosts in Arizona?! We have frosts and ice storms here more than snow. We are in a 'thermal belt' at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North and South Carolina so my poor little children wish for a good snow that keeps them out of school every year but some years, only ice or frost.
Jody
http://minileapsandbounds.blogspot.com/
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