1:12 gerberas

 i am not a huge fan of flowers. but if pressed for my favourite one...i would say, either lilies or gerberas. and i found a cute little paper puncher yesterday (Carlacraft, at art friends, CP-1 Daisy-S) so i decided to make some ^ ^

i first saw some in 1:12 when i visited Peili's blog a while back....and immediately knew i wanted to attempt some! i think hers are made out of air dry clay, but i knew at my skill level there's no way possible i could do it, so i took an easier route via paper. i didn't know how to make the centres, and so i fudged about and here's a point by point of how i made these semi-passable gerberas XD jotting notes more for myself than as a guide :X my memory's getting really bad lately........:(

- punched out 3mm (i think i'll try smaller next time) cardstock circles using a Daiso hole punch
- glued floral wire (smallest gauge i could find at Popular book store, donno the measurements it didn't state) to circles with tacky glue
- finely cut up some dark maroon wool that i had from my knitting stash to create some flocking
- applied glue onto the cardstock, dipped into flocking being careful not to inhale
- sneezed, turning head in time to save the flocking from flying all over the place
- punched coloured paper petals out with my new puncher, i used 80gsm A4 paper
- attempted to score lines into the paper but i think the effect was lost :( clay would probably hold the detail better(?)
- shaped and divided the petals into 2 so i get thinner petals, using manicure scissors
- glued on the petals individually
- cut out a star shaped thingy for the green part thingy (wuh, lost my "I'm a Botanist!" badge a looong time ago) and stuck the wire into the centre, pushing up and gluing the base onto the flower, thus completing it

as you can see here, the thinner 'tissue' (the stuff you use to wrap up gifts) didn't work so well....so i decided they would be perfect as wilted gerberas :P these are nowhere as good as i'd like, but honestly, i do not like flowers all that much so....they'll do for now! HA!

for the mini365 project. :)

SKIP NEXT PORTION IF YOU AREN'T INTO DEPRESSING STUFF (wtf right?)

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on a personal note, i've been feeling less than lackluster the past few months, and a recent annual checkup has given hints as to why :( it's nothing serious, or at least i keep telling myself that, and i've a scan scheduled in march...so it -can't- be all that serious (right? RIGHT????). being so sickly most of my life has made me somewhat of a hypochondriac, so i suppose this news is nothing surprising. it's making me quite upset and what with some other more serious stuff going on around me with my friends and family, i've sort of (and this is hard to admit) 'given up' on making anything. some days, i can barely pull myself together to get out of bed. i don't even know who to talk to, i don't know if i really want to be reminded anyway....just feel as if life keeps sucker punching me. i suppose i should be glad that there's an explanation as to why i've been feeling so sick and flat out fatigued (not just a product of my 'emo' mind). now for the docs to figure out how to fix it.

*deep breath*

typing it out does help, and i don't want to give up, i just am feeling quite...stuck. i have lots of mini ideas going on in my head, my body just doesn't seem to want to co-operate. i have a number of incomplete projects on my table. a quick glance throws up:

- all parts of 3 mini teddy bears/bunnies knitted up but unstuffed and unassembled
- various 1:12 st honore bases waiting for piped cream
- made new cookie molds but haven't yet tested them out
- ditto on chocolate molds
- about 3 untacked/incomplete crocheted (life sized) doilies tossed about, i haven't even sewn in the ends
- chocs for v-day meant for my etsy sitting waiting to be packaged

that's just from what i can SEE and not already packed away waiting to be listed. i just really, really don't have it in me at the moment.

sorry for the debbie downer entry. but see, i warned ya.....:P
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chinese new year is approaching, and fast!! i'd better start the spring cleaning....bleh.