And then there were two............

I've tackled the window box project.  My first task was to cut the window box in half, and thanks to my Dremel with a cutting wheel attachment that task was completed in a matter of minutes.

I did learn one lesson from this task though.  When cutting through metal wear a face mask over your mouth and nose.  The metal shavings mustache I was sporting afterwards wasn't pretty!!  I was sneezing metal shavings for a day afterwards.....it wasn't pretty!!

Then it was on to the task of making a shiny black metal window box not so shiny and new.  Again I returned to my Dremel with a fine tip grinding attachment and removed the shine and some of the black paint.  This also helped to prep the surface for the bit of rust that I added to the window box afterwards.  When you consider watering the planter box daily must result in some rust on the metal over time right?!

I liked the end result.  You can see the comparison of the ungrinded half versus the one I have aged.  It made a nice difference.  Now I have an extra window box for a future project!

Then I had to fill it.  I added some foam covered in "moss" and added the geraniums I had made.  I was so pleased with the results of the geraniums.  It's a Hanky Panky kit and I have to say it was my most successful completion of a Hanky Panky kit so far.  It went together beautifully and even though I only had enough petals for 6 flowers, but I had lots of leaves.  I checked my supply of punches and found that I had one very similar to the petals in the kit, and I had the identical paper, since I've bought lots of paper from Hanky Panky, and I punched out petals for 6 more flowers.  I still have lots of leaves left, the kit recommended making some stems with just leaves on, which I may do. Do you think the flower box needs more leaves?  Love to have your opinion.  I have lots of leaves!

I love the geraniums leaves.  As per the kit instructions I had to add some gold chaulk in the middle of the leaves and some rust chaulk around the edges, and I think it adds a lot of realism to the leaves!

Using another Hanky Panky punch, I also added some ivy vine hanging down the planter box.  I could also add more of these, I think I punched out about 10,000 leaves!!  It takes a lot of time to vein and curve them, and I added a little colour around the edges to make them a little varigated.

No flower box in the spring would be complete without another visitor as well.  I purchased my last addition to the window box at last year's Camp Mini Ha Ha.  It was made by one of my fellower campers, and I think she has done a beautiful job on the butterfly.  From the moment I saw the butterfly I knew I had a home for the little guy.  He is perfect in his new spot.

Overall I am pleased with the results.  Hope you like it.

On a last note I have to welcome one new follower!  Amica, I don't see that you have your own blog, but if I have overlooked it, let me know and I will post a link to the blog here.  Welcome, I hope you enjoy the postings!

Until the next time...........

Wanda

Another great punch

During a recent trip to Michael's I purchased another Martha Stewart punch to use to make doilies for the cakes in my bakery.  It was a larger punch than some of the other punches I have used, but it works perfect for cutting out little paper doilies.  I got it on sale, which is even better!

  

Aren't the doilies just perfect?  They are about one inch in diameter.

 See, they work just great on the cake stand with one of my miniature cheese cakes!

Don't worry Norma, I got this one on sale, less than $10, so no need to choke on your coffee this time!!! lol.

-Wanda

Flower Making with Punches

I've been experimenting with different punches. I have Fiskar punches, Martha Stewart punches, some really inexpensive punches from the clearance bins at Michaels and some of Hanky Panky's inexpensive punches plus one of their really good punches. But it goes to show that the more you pay for the punches, the better the quality.

 

The inexpensive punches, work for a little while, and work best on plain paper. But I was extremely impressed with the Martha Stewart punches. I paid less than $10 for them, and they are easy to operate and they punch clear petals, no matter the type of paper. The more expensive punches from Hanky Panky are fantastic, but be prepared to pay in excess of $50 for those. I only have an ivy punch from them right now, but I have to say it is fantastic.

If you are going to use the inexpensive punches, (less than $2) be prepared to buy several of each, because they only keep their sharp cutting edge for a short period of time.

Likewise I found the Fiskar punches worked well for the first several hundred petals, but they also loose their sharp edge and then start making fussy edge petals, which aren't great for making flowers. I made about 60 hyacinths, and each one used a dozen star shaped petals, and the punch would not punch crisp star shapes any more, so that means it worked for about 700 punches.  Maybe that sounds like a lot for a $10-15 punch, but I had hoped for more use than this.

I made the same amount of tulips using the Martha Stewart tear drop shaped punch, and it is still working beautiful. I went to Michaels this weekend to see if they had a Martha Stewart star shaped punch, but they didn't have one. I'll have to check other Michael's stores when I am travelling to see if one exists.

I would love to hear from other flower makers to see what brand of punches they use and what works best for you. I still have lots of flowers to make, so any good advice is greatly appreciated!

-Wanda