Pages

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Recycled Dryer Sheet Blooms ~ Tutorial!!

I had so much fun making up this layout for a Bo Bunny assignment to Recycle/Re-use.   For my project I decided to make embellishments using recyled dryer sheets!!  They come out looking so sheer and pretty...and the nice part is that you can tint them whatever colors will work well for the papers you want to use.  Here are the 'ingredients' you'll need to make these:
~ used dryer sheets (yes! go ahead and use them for your laundry first!)
~ Glimmer Mist in any shades you'd like your blooms to be
~ Stickles or any type of glitter glue
~ scissors and glue or adhesive tape
~ Gems or Trinkets for the centers (I used Bo Bunny Jewels and Trinkets fromt the Timepiece collection)
Step 1
~ Layer your dryer sheets and cut out circles in varying sizes from large to small.  I made 4 circle, each just a little smaller than the other.   You don't have to be very exacting with cutting your circles, just take a pair of scissors and cut.  The circles do not have to be perfect, in fact I think they come out nicer if they are not perfect.
Step 2
~ Spritz your circles with some Glimmer Mist....you can use Tattered Angels or make up your own, (I've made my own using a small spray bottle filled with a little distilled water, a few drops of alcohol ink and a pinch of Perfect Pearls (or Pearlex) mica powder).   Allow them to dry.  You can speed up this process by just dabbing them with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.

Step 3
~ Rim each circle with some glitter glue.  Allow it to dry before stacking the layers together.  I applied a little bit of two-sided sticky tape between the layers and added the Bo Bunny Jewels and Trinkets to the center.  Here are the finished blooms close-up....

I made up this page using the new Bo Bunny collection called Timpiece! Love this collection...just filled with wonderful vintage elements and lots of flourishes!  I also embellished with the fabulous Dusty Attic Laser cuts....for this page I used the new hinges and one of the ornate corner brackets.  I gave the hing an embossed look by painting some 3D paint (thickly) onto the hinge and then taking a swirly stamp and pushing it into the wet paint....here is a close-up look at the finish....
For the corner bracket I simply rubbed some brown chalk ink onto the design and touched it with some Distress Stickles by Tim Holtz....it gives the piece a kind of 'rusted' look.....
For more recycling product ideas check out the Bo Bunny blog for today and for more Dusty Attic inspiration check out the Dusty Attic Ning site.  Hope you give these fun blooms a try!

I've added another type of flower I made with the dryer sheets .....Here's a pic of them....
The pink blooms I again made from recycled dryer sheets. Again, super easy to do....just put a few drops of alcohol ink (I used Time Holtz Pink Sherbert for these blooms) or some food coloring in a small cup of water. Dunk your used dryer sheets in the mixture and just blot off on a paper towel..


TIP: IF you find the dryer sheet a bit to wrinkled to use nicely for your bloom and don't want to pull out your ironing board and iron a quick way I smooth out my swatches is to us my hair flattening iron. I just give it a quick smooth with the flattening iron and the piece is ready to work with (also helps dry it quicker too)

....so the next step is to cut some strips from the swatch and gather the two long edges using a needle & thread (I use about 2 and a half strips for the large flower). My daughter made me the flower centers using some bling from the Bo Bunny's Buttons & Bling packages and some seed beads.
~Gabrielle xxx

48 comments:

  1. So, so pretty!!!! And how do you have all this flowers ideas. Gabrielle, you are totally ROCKS!!!
    Hugs Nataliya.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your flowers, I went to a class once that used the dryer sheets for flowers and it was surprisingly adorable. I love the addition of the stickle edges, Very cute!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Now these are my kind of flowers! They look simple and quick yet make such an impact! They are stunning on your page! Thanks for sharing the tutorial, I'll be sure to give it a go!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gosh.... this page is sooooooooooo BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! I love all the details. so so gorgeous.
    Thank you for sharing this amazing tip..... dryer sheets... who would have thought of that???
    Amazing how they came out. I totally gonna try this. First need to score me some dryer sheets tho. lol. TFS Gabi.

    ReplyDelete
  5. gorgeous Gabi, I really love this tutorial and what an awesome layout again! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. How gorgeous, all the beautiful elements just look so lovely together. And the flowers.....WOW amazing! Sue x

    ReplyDelete
  7. TFS your awesome tutorial with us! I love the look of these flowers!!!!! I can't wait to try them. And your page is just so lovely with the wonderful photo of you and your daughter!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. P.S. I love your blog and the music!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a clever lady I bet you don't throw anything away!!!! The flowers are gorgeous and just look amazing on your wonderful layout!! Love Chanelle xxx

    ReplyDelete
  10. wow,wow,wow,amazing like always!!And the flowers are beautiful!!
    Have a nice weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beautiful layout! I'm definitely going to give the dryer sheet flowers a try!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lovely ladies, lovely lo. Great graphics and handmade flowers. Like the masking and embossing.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for sharing. Very pretty and innovative. I will give them a try.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Gabrielle,

    WoW...what a beautiful layout and pic. Luv all the details. Your tutorial is fab! I would have never thought of using used dryer sheets. TFS! I'm in Ontario, Canada, and was wondering where I could purchase the lovely Dusty Attic laser cut chipboard pieces? They are all sooo pretty. I would luv to get some.

    xoxo,
    Lori

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh wow, your layout is gorgeous. I knew Timepiece would be right up in your alley...and you rocked this collection indeed:) Thanks for the tutorial. You always do the best handmade flowers!

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a great idea, thanks for sharing!!!! Love the new work, just beautiful!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow your Lay-out turnout so wonderful and so beautiful flowers
    and thanks for sharing the great
    tutorial...

    ReplyDelete
  18. thanks so much for sharing the details. hopefully i can try out the dryer sheets

    ReplyDelete
  19. Can't wait to try this. Gorgeous layouts.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Now that's what I call upcycling! What a really, really brilliant idea - the finished flowers are simply stunning!!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thanks for the tutorial. It's so nice of you to share what you know. I'm lovin' card making

    ReplyDelete
  22. These are beautiful Gabi! Thanks for sharing this idea!

    ReplyDelete
  23. What a gorgeous layout and wonderful tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
  24. WOW! What an awesome idea. I'm going to try this! :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Beautiful layout!! Thanks for sharing! Now I'm off to find some fabric softner sheets I can use!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thank you for such a wonderful new flower idea. Love the idea of using something common like dryer sheets. They look marvelous on the layout.

    ReplyDelete
  27. coucou
    cette page est très belle et merci pour le tuto des fleurs!
    bises de france

    ReplyDelete
  28. What a fun idea! I'll have to try these flowers! TFS!
    Gorgeous page!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Gabrielle, these flowers are fabulous... as is your page! TFS how you made them too! Love to use recycled items!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Just used these on a LO - love how they turned out!
    http://sarahs-scrapbook.blogspot.com/2011/07/cancun-sunrise.html

    ReplyDelete
  31. Thank you so much for all the wonderful ideas. Now I need to try them. Can't wait, no house work getting done today.

    ReplyDelete
  32. What a fantastic idea and so much better than throwing the sheets away. Lee xx

    ReplyDelete
  33. This is such an amazing idea! I would love to feature this on Reduce, Reuse, Upcycle. Feel free to stop by and grab a featured button. Thanks!

    http;//reuseandupcycle.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  34. Amazing tutorial. I am going to try this for sure.. thanks so much for sharing this beauty..

    ReplyDelete
  35. Someone posted your idea on pinterest and I came! Adorable idea! I then shared your link (not your post) for others to come and see what you did! Too cute! you can find the post at www.facebook.com/sweetlyscrapped - Hope you have a great day! I am also definitely a new follower! :D I haven't had time to scrapbook in a while, but your layouts are inspiring me to make time! :)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Love this! Came here from a link on Emily Keaton's blog. Thanks so much!!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Gorgeous flowers, very clever, thank you for sharing, came via Lisa above, take careX:)

    ReplyDelete
  38. What fabulous flowers! I MUST try this! Gorgeous LO too!

    ReplyDelete
  39. ohhh Gabi how did I miss this....awesome!!! Your flowers are sooo beautiful as your layout!!!loveee all the Dusty Attic elements you added
    hugs
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  40. This is very interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your rss feed and look forward to seeking more of your great post. Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks!
    Nike Golf Men's Long Sleeve Stretch Tech Essentials Mock Neck T-shirt

    ReplyDelete
  41. I've been exploring for a little for any high-quality articles or blog posts in this kind of house . Exploring in Yahoo I ultimately stumbled upon this site. Studying this info So i'm happy to exhibit that I've a very good uncanny feeling I found out just what I needed. I most no doubt will make sure to don't disregard this site and give it a look on {a constant basis|regularly}.
    Sorel Women's Helen Of Tundra Boot

    ReplyDelete
  42. So glad to find your blog. Your beautiful work is a precious gift.Keep on inspiring everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Thsnk you for the tutorial! I love the blooms. I am using them in my layouts :)

    ReplyDelete