Ikea Ikebana

[silverhart]

This is my first time trying one of the challenges!    so i guess here goes:

Ikea Ikebana!


The first thing i thought of was paper flowers...but i didnt want the usual "put on a pipecleaner and crumple into a ball" flowers...i wanted something a bit more.....sleek, i guess?

Ikebana (which is, for anyone who doesnt know, Japanese flower arranging) was something that had caught my interest a lil bit ago...so i figured, why not give it a shot?

Add one thrift store pot + an outdated 2007 Ikea catolouge =  fun times!

The branches were made by taking some wire and wrapping masking tape around them.  Then i wrapped strips of pages around them all paper mache like, dipping them in gluey water and such.  i tried to use wood like and/or brownish pages so they looked more branches.

I cut out little leaflets, poked some holes in them and attached them to some green wire, then i wrapped the wire around the branches (after they had dried of course )



The flowers were made my cutting out some circle...petaly shaped...thingies.  I used some of the title pages which were mostly the same color so i could get mostly blue flowers.  i made them bigger to smaller and threaded some more green wire thru the middle of those...and made a little circle twisty part out of the access wire for the stamen.  



I hot glued some leftover floral foam (from the original ugly flowers in the thrift store pot   ) into the bottom of the pot.  i arranged all the bits, hot glued the sticks in there so they wouldnt come out.

for the "dirt" i admit i didnt use a catalog...what i did use was newspaper and add papers...which are almost the same thing    i used one of those "paper mache clay/paste" recipes (not really one in particular...i kinda mixed a few together and improvised) i just spread that on the bottom...its still wet in the pics and i imagine it will be for a while...that stuff is SOPPING!  

hehe...so then i went ahead and stabbed the wire "stems" of the flowers into the foam/dirt....and voila!



sorry theres no "making of" pics...im too ADD to remember to take them...but heres the "aftermath"....not as messy as it usually is...i remembered to clean a bit as i worked this time    

[LeapFeetFirst]

Those blue flowers are really pretty! Great Job.

[hipslikecinderella]

What a creative way to repurpose a catalog!  I love the simplicity of the project/flower arrangement, and the blooms you've made are gorgeous.  I really like the detail on them and their delicate, fragile appearance.

[crafty gurll]

That is totally awesome.  Somehow you made Ikea even better than it already is!

[hopskip09]

oh. oh. oh. brilliant. beautiful.

[KedaZenovka]

that is so beautiful. I was confused when I looked at the thumbnail picture, I didn't realise it was made of paper! the colours are really nice, subtle.

[Belladune]

thats really cute!  Looks real in the first pic.  very pretty. I'd put it on my coffee table (if I had one, and if my children wouldn't distroy it.)

[Asheri]

Lovely!

[robosnail]

Very cool.

[lovesclutter]

I think this looks so delicate, and my favorite shot is the last one. Looks like home. Really, this is wonderful.

[alorarox]

  ok?

[chimes]

this is really cool!  good job.

[starrygurlrox]

i love the colour scheme- the electric hues!

[thecleverfox]

Wow! Great job! At first glance I thought that only the ble flowers were made from paper, but the whole plant?! I love how classy it looks too!

[9thLife]

At first I thought it was real flowers, till I took a second to read.  Beautiful... Wonderful.  I want one.... or two.  i do have to note I find it great that there are three Mountian Dew cans... I love MTNDEW!! (reference to the new labels)

[EternallyArachnid]

  These flowers are really pretty...at first I thought they were real...

[Dragonflower]

Oh, wow! That's just .... I don't even know what word to use. Stunning, beautiful...   soooo clever. Really a step above most paper flower projects (not that I don't like them, but wow!).

[RhymeswOrange]

This is phenomenal!

[greenfaerie]

That is super cool!  I hate craft store silks, but love stuff like this!

And trust me, you kept pretty darn clean lol

[kasei]

I love this project like I love tofu.

Which is a lot.

Awesome work.

[pandamayhem]

Simply beautiful. I am truly inspired!
I always take "aftermath" shots too, it always surprises me how much space I tend to take up

[Dorkariffic]

This is amazing!  I'm astonished by how realistic they look at first glance, especially the branches. And it's beautiful! This rocks!

[lulu5156]

I am sure you have inspired many people, this is a stunning project and so professional! 

[jedimindcrafter]

Wow. I love this. It's so sophisticated. And to think it all originated from an IKEA catalog! 

[silverhart]

Awwwww...thanks so much guys!   *blussssshhhhh*   

[PinkPug,INK.]

this is beautiful! great idea! 

[gypsypunk]

very ZEN! its beautiful

[Riechan]

I am soo going to try this if I move out!
(or maybe now for in my dorm, although haven't got much room left )

[forestfloordesigns]

This is beautiful! I want one!

[yardenxanthe]

So pretty! I'm linking to this project on Dollar Store Crafts.