Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Goodbye Winter!

Well, today is the very last day of Winter. I am so looking forward to Spring, but there have been some things that I love about the cold season. Things like:

Curling up by the fire with a good read

Long, brisk walks with the dog

Bokeh

Cute flannel pj's

Snowdrops

Beef Bourguignon

Endless games of Scrabble and Take Two

Beautiful white mornings

Nursing a cold with an enormous pile of Donna Hay magazines and steaming Peppermint Tea

Crisp, clear nights with an amazing view of the stars

Hot chocolates

What are some things you like about Winter?







I love this!


Image courtesy of That Kind of Woman

Thursday, August 25, 2011

I love roses...

Couldn't resist capturing this beautiful rose this morning.
I'm really sorry for the delay with the Kusodamu Ball tutorial. It's coming!

Kusodama Ball Tutorial, Part 1

And finally, the long-awaited Kusodama Ball tutorial! I'm planning to do this tutorial in three parts over the next few weeks. Have fun!

Kusodama Ball Tutorial, Part 1

In this post, I'm showing you how to make the individual petals for the flowers. All you'll need is 60 pieces of paper cut into 8x8cm squares.

Step 1. You start with a square of paper.
Step 2. Fold it in half to form a triangle.
Step 3. Fold the left corner up to the middle corner.
Step 4. Do the same with the right corner.
Step 5. Fold the left point in half again so the edge of it is exactly in line with the outside edge of the square.
Step 6. Do the same with the right side.
Step 7. This is where things get a bit tricky! What you have to do now is open up the left flap you've just folded, and flatten it out.
Step 8. Do the same with the other side.
Step 9. Fold the top of the left triangle down so it's level with the edge of the paper.
Step 10. Do the same with the other side.
Step 11. Fold the left triangle back together again along the crease you've already made.
Step 12. And the same with the other side!

Repeat with the other 59 squares.

I'm still trying to work out how to make my photos bigger, but in the meantime, if you click on each photo they'll come up in their full size and you'll be able to see the individual steps more clearly.