Roses are red, Violets are blue.....

This week has been spent with one of my best pals up North and so my craft box has been severely neglected and crying out for some attention. Something beady I hear you cry? No! Something glittery someone shouts from the back? No! Something with buttons you say? No, no and thrice no!

On my rummage, I stumbled across a lonely block of Fymo clay. For those not in the know, fymo is like a really colourful clay that you can buy in blocks for about £2 from most big craft stores, mine is from Hobbycraft, and comes in looooaads of colours and some even have glitter infused into them! Wowza! I got playing and made a few big circular beads (I would have written about them but I expect you are a bit beaded out at the mo) and then my hands took over and I became one with the fymo and somehow created this rosey little numbers!! I was quite pleased with myself!

To make these little nicknacks, I fear they have no purpose other than that of an ornamental one, please note the instructions below.

Now, as I always say, these are only my instructions, puurrlleeaassee don't feel you must follow these to the letter- let your creativeness take you! :)

1. Tear off a teeny tiny piece of fymo (about the size of a petit pois) and warm up between your finger and thumb until its nice and subtle. Mmm I like the word "subtle", that's another for my happy list.

2. Squish (very technical word there) the little ball into a flatter longer circle, kind of like the shape of your thumb print and roll it to make a little curl. This little curl will make the first part of your rose bud.

3. Continue the process of ripping little bits off, rolling and squishing but each time, very gently wrap the little bits round the first curl, then the second layer, then the third etc etc. Each time you create a layer, make the little bit of fymo slightly larger.

4. You will now have a pretty rose bud and all that it will need are the finishing touches. VERY gently curl the edges of the wrapped sections outwards, to create the look of a flourishing flower.

5. Poke a cocktail stick up into the bottom of the rosebud and this will make the stem. I plan on painting my cocktail sticks green for a more "stemmy" look and perhaps even add some sort of petal. Remove the cocktail stick but ensure the hole for it remains open.

6. Once you are satisfied with your bud, place it gently on an oven tray and put it in the oven for 30 minutes on 110 degrees C. This will bake and harden it.

7. Once it is baked, reinsert the stem and voila! You're done!

You can add as many or little of layers as you like to make bigger or smaller flowers and really experiment with this project. It's great if you're feeling a little whimsical and just have a spare 10 minutes on your hands.

Toodlepip! xx