The beautiful weather continues in Michigan. The trees are leafing out, the dogwoods are blooming, and the hyacinths have emerged bring with them the most gorgeous fragrance. Last night the women- and teen girls- in my little family went to enjoy a fun Taylor Swift show in Detroit. I posted the photos and a video at the end of this post for those who are interested. A little tease... there were fireworks inside Ford Field. Fireworks....INSIDE Ford Field. My sister and I go to a lot of shows- in the last 6 months alone we've seen fun., P!nk, and Madonna. I've seen some amazing shows in my life- Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Cher, Adele, Bruce Springsteen, Indigo Girls... but never have I seen actual fireworks. Lots of pyro of course, but not shoot-into-the-sky fireworks. Scroll to the end to see photos and video from last night.
This is Part 2 of the Wedding Large Rosette Post and a Tutorial. Part 1 is here and to see a few of the completed embellished rosettes here.
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There was little rhyme or reason to how I chose the designs- basically I wanted a mix of size and designs so I just jumped around. The designs on the Ribbons & Rosettes cartridge run from simple and basic to intricately detailed and I will admit that in the begining I stayed away from the complex designs; too chicken to deal with all the tiny details and itty bitty pieces of cardstock that would inevitably need to be cleaned up- and removed from the cutting mat. Over time I tentatively put a proverbial toe in a water and did cut a few of the more complicated designs. I quickly learned that cutting them wasn't as much of a disaster as I imagined and they do look spectacular. In the end, there were still a select few that were simply too scary and best left for another day. I will be sure to show them if and when I do cut them out.
Large Rosette Tutorial
Supplies:
1. PUNCH: Begin by punching a bunch of circles from scrap cardstock. You will use these on the BACK of the rosette so it doesn't matter what they look like.
2. GLUE: If you used the Ribbons & Rosettes you need to connect 5 individual pieces together and accordion fold them. Whether you glue all the pieces together first or accordion fold them first really doesn't matter. I did it both ways and really there isn't a best way. If you forced me to choose one I would probably recommend gluing them first and then folding.
Each section has a tab on one end that is glued to the back of the next section. Pay close attention to where you are gluing the tab- you want all the tabs to be on the back or they will show on the completed rosette. It sounds obvious, but as you go along it is easy to make a mistake...she says....as she learned the hard way.
I used, and highly recommend, Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive. I love how fast it dries and the tip is small enough it is easy to control the glue. The cap holds the glue with the tip down ensuring that the glue is always at the tip and flows easily.
***If you are making rosettes without a Cricut, aka hand-scoring the paper- there is a good tutorial at The Paper Source. Once you get the pieces scored and folded you can refer back to this tutorial to finish the rosette.
4. CLEAN UP: Now would be a good time to remove all the hanging chad (a 2000 election joke!); all those tiny, pesky pieces of paper hanging in the little lacy details.
5. FOLD: Accordian-or fan-fold the entire length of cardstock. When I put together the first few rosettes, I actually scored them all on a Martha Stewart Score Board. What? Wha? Huh? I know. D.U.M.B. The cartridge cuts two small notches on each fold line making the paper weak and therefore easy to fold. Thankfully it didn't take me long to realize my error, summon some courage, and toss away the scoring board. I'm all about fewer steps, less complicated, and faster because I have to make a LOT of these babies.
6. BONE FOLDER: I like to use a Bone Folder to ensure crisp folds...NO, not on every fold, that would be ridiculous. After the entire piece is folded into a small stack, run the bone folder down the length, turn the stack over and repeat on the other side...Perfect. It isn't even a necessary step but it does give you crisp folds which look more professional. Who exactly is a professional rosette maker and where does one get such credentials? Is there an academy involved?
Tip/Hint: The rosettes are pretty forgiving so you don't have to be super precise in gluing or folding. Just be sure that all of the tabs are glued to the same (back) side of the paper so you don't end up with visible panty lines and try to keep the bottom edges in line. I found if I glued the tab to the back of the next piece and then folded the tab so the new piece is on top of the tabbed piece, I could line up the bottom edges and make adjustments before the glue dries. It doesn't have to be perfect.
I found that no matter how precise and careful I was sometimes, sometimes the fold-line notches simply aren't in the correct place- maybe it is within the acceptable margin of error or maybe the mat moves a tad while in the Cricut, I don't know, but sometimes one folded section ends up larger or smaller than the others. If you find the folds are skewing kiddywampus, first go back and be sure to check that the fold is actually on the notches. If the fold lines are simply in the wrong place, I simply used my bone folder- and a dominating attitude- to force the folded stack in a straighter- but not perfect- alignment. Remember in the end the rosette won't show these little imperfections so don't sweat it.
7. COMPLETE THE CIRCLE: Glue the tab of the last length to the edge of the first length; this completes the circle.
8. FORM THE ROSETTE: It is time to beat the paper circle into submission to form the rosette. I will be honest, when you first start it can sometimes feel like the paper is winning. Just like anything, once you get a few under your belt it will be easier and you wonder why it was ever difficult.
Here you have to make a choice: The rosette is formed by gluing a structural paper circle to the center. The circle can be secured to either the front or the back of the rosette- it's your choice.
Secure the structural circle to the front:
A. Start by placing the rosette on the table like this.
B. Push all the sides of the circle toward the center as you press down forming a flat circle. Sounds SUPER easy but it can be tricky with large rosettes because you end up having conquer a lot of paper and many folds. Some rosettes will let go with nary a whimper and some will make you want to throw it across the room. Patience.
C. Once you have it looking like this, hold the rosette near the center. Grab you hot glue gun with the other hand and add a LOT of hot glue to one of the scrap circles you already cut.
***If you can't do this one-handed, let go of the rosette, add the glue to the circle and then reform the rosette.
E. Place the center of the rosette as close to the center of the glue-covered circle as you can and drop the rosette onto the circle. You will probably not get it centered but it's the back so it doesn't really matter.
F. Fill the center hole with hot glue- it doesn't have to be filled completely but the larger rosettes need the structural integrity of the added hot glue.
G. I have no patience so I added a heavy weight to the center for a few minutes while the glue cools enough to keep the rosette shape. You can skip this step if you hold it. Of course, don't crush the folds with your weight.
You can always push the intended outside edge toward the center of the rosette to get a different look.
- 5 sections of a design cut from Ribbons & Rosettes or scored on Scoring Board.
- Scrap cardstock
- 2 or 3 inch Circle Punch
- Hot Glue Gun and Hot Glue
- Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive or other quick dry paper adhesive
1. PUNCH: Begin by punching a bunch of circles from scrap cardstock. You will use these on the BACK of the rosette so it doesn't matter what they look like.
2. GLUE: If you used the Ribbons & Rosettes you need to connect 5 individual pieces together and accordion fold them. Whether you glue all the pieces together first or accordion fold them first really doesn't matter. I did it both ways and really there isn't a best way. If you forced me to choose one I would probably recommend gluing them first and then folding.
Each section has a tab on one end that is glued to the back of the next section. Pay close attention to where you are gluing the tab- you want all the tabs to be on the back or they will show on the completed rosette. It sounds obvious, but as you go along it is easy to make a mistake...she says....as she learned the hard way.
I used, and highly recommend, Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive. I love how fast it dries and the tip is small enough it is easy to control the glue. The cap holds the glue with the tip down ensuring that the glue is always at the tip and flows easily.
***If you are making rosettes without a Cricut, aka hand-scoring the paper- there is a good tutorial at The Paper Source. Once you get the pieces scored and folded you can refer back to this tutorial to finish the rosette.
4. CLEAN UP: Now would be a good time to remove all the hanging chad (a 2000 election joke!); all those tiny, pesky pieces of paper hanging in the little lacy details.
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| All 5 pieces of each rosette connected awaiting the last connection to form the circle. |
Tip/Hint: The rosettes are pretty forgiving so you don't have to be super precise in gluing or folding. Just be sure that all of the tabs are glued to the same (back) side of the paper so you don't end up with visible panty lines and try to keep the bottom edges in line. I found if I glued the tab to the back of the next piece and then folded the tab so the new piece is on top of the tabbed piece, I could line up the bottom edges and make adjustments before the glue dries. It doesn't have to be perfect.
I found that no matter how precise and careful I was sometimes, sometimes the fold-line notches simply aren't in the correct place- maybe it is within the acceptable margin of error or maybe the mat moves a tad while in the Cricut, I don't know, but sometimes one folded section ends up larger or smaller than the others. If you find the folds are skewing kiddywampus, first go back and be sure to check that the fold is actually on the notches. If the fold lines are simply in the wrong place, I simply used my bone folder- and a dominating attitude- to force the folded stack in a straighter- but not perfect- alignment. Remember in the end the rosette won't show these little imperfections so don't sweat it.
7. COMPLETE THE CIRCLE: Glue the tab of the last length to the edge of the first length; this completes the circle.
8. FORM THE ROSETTE: It is time to beat the paper circle into submission to form the rosette. I will be honest, when you first start it can sometimes feel like the paper is winning. Just like anything, once you get a few under your belt it will be easier and you wonder why it was ever difficult.
Here you have to make a choice: The rosette is formed by gluing a structural paper circle to the center. The circle can be secured to either the front or the back of the rosette- it's your choice.
Secure the structural circle to the front:
- gives you a completed rosette
- ends with a simple, uncomplicated looking rosette
- works best on smaller rosettes since you have to add hot glue to the circle and then pick it up. Picking up a large, 3 inch circle covered in hot glue isn't not my idea of fun
- difficult to further embellish the front of the rosette
- works well even with a large rosette/large hot glue-covered circle
- allows you to add hot glue to center to add structural stability
- allows you to embellish the front to your hearts content
- back can be a sloppy mess
A. Start by placing the rosette on the table like this.
B. Push all the sides of the circle toward the center as you press down forming a flat circle. Sounds SUPER easy but it can be tricky with large rosettes because you end up having conquer a lot of paper and many folds. Some rosettes will let go with nary a whimper and some will make you want to throw it across the room. Patience.
C. Once you have it looking like this, hold the rosette near the center. Grab you hot glue gun with the other hand and add a LOT of hot glue to one of the scrap circles you already cut.
***If you can't do this one-handed, let go of the rosette, add the glue to the circle and then reform the rosette.
I find it best to add a lot of glue. You will only be glue the tip of each fold to the circle so you need good coverage to ensure the best bond.
D. Pinch as many folds together as you can on opposite sides of the center (use both hands, here I needed one to take the picture) as you carefully lift the rosette off the table just enough to get it up and over top of the glue-covered circle. 
E. Place the center of the rosette as close to the center of the glue-covered circle as you can and drop the rosette onto the circle. You will probably not get it centered but it's the back so it doesn't really matter.
**You can cover this mess later with a larger circle if you want the back to be clean and neat.
F. Fill the center hole with hot glue- it doesn't have to be filled completely but the larger rosettes need the structural integrity of the added hot glue.
G. I have no patience so I added a heavy weight to the center for a few minutes while the glue cools enough to keep the rosette shape. You can skip this step if you hold it. Of course, don't crush the folds with your weight.
You can always push the intended outside edge toward the center of the rosette to get a different look.
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| A pile of Rosettes awaiting their make up. |
The center rosette has a simple embellishment on the front. No, it's not done! Have you met me? Please!! The other two have simply been secured with a structural circle on the back and are awaiting further embellishment.
This one may get a hit of glitter. I used Martha's Fringing Sheers on simple, but gorgeous, tissue paper.
The smaller rosettes like these are made a little differently. I will post a short tutorial on this technique soon.
I will be posting more specifics tutorials AFTER the wedding-end of June- on exactly how I embellished all of the rosettes.
Taylor Swift RED Tour
This video show is the closing song- We Are Never Getting Back Together. Very high energy with fireworks, dancers, light show and Taylor. So much fun.
The blast of fire on the left side stage is a firework. iPhones never take good photos at concerts but you get the idea.
More Fireworks
Though it isn't a great picture it gives you an idea what 50,000 with flashlight apps and light sticks looks like. It was so magical and beautiful.
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| Darren Criss at Taylor Swift Concert. Not my photo |
Summer 2013 is "The Summer of Concerts". We have tickets to see Justin Timberlake and JayZ, P!nk (again) and fun. (again). The next show I'm going to is the gentleman above-Darren Criss. I'm dragging my husband to see him in Chicago in June. Darren was at Taylor's show Friday night and though I didn't know until after I got home, we did see Taylor stop and hug someone as she walked from a satellite stage back to the main stage. We wondered why who it was....
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| Taylor Hugs Darren. Not my photo either |
Finally, I am now posting to Vine. So far the videos are all of Taylor's concert but I will be adding craft related videos and short- hey they have to be less than 6 seconds- tutorials. Vine can only be watched from their app or through Twitter. You can find me as Danee Kaplan or ItsRainingJellyBeans.
Make life pretty....toss a handful of GLITTER in the air.
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