Shopping Crave.

I am a self proclaimed shop-a-haulic! At home, I fill two closets. My biggest issue with college is the lack of money to continue my mall habit. To quench my thirst for a big glass of retail, I made a treasury of my dream shopping trip! Check it out today! It's super cute.
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTE4NjExNDZ8NzgwOTIzOTI0/if-only-i-had-134805-plus-shipping?ref=pr_treasury

Pipe Cleaner Rose Ring Tutorial

Okay so I'm not going to try claim the original idea. I'm sure you've all seen it somewhere be it Martha Stewart or a kids craft magazine. I did however grab a hold of the idea and perfect it! I'll get to a tutorial but lemme share a little back story with you...

I attended the 2010 Missouri Girls State and these rings were everywhere. People walked around the halls just whipping them out. Being the little entrepreneur that I am, I saw the massive money making potential. After recovering from my 7 day immersion in government and politics I got into my moms stash of pipe cleaners. It took me about ten minutes but I emerged with what looked like a rose ring.

I was in love instantly. Within the next half hour, I depleted my moms stash and had about 30 rings sitting in front of me. The ladies at my moms scrapbook store fell in love. I started getting orders for special colors and sizes. Thus making me enter...MASS PRODUCTION MODE!

Then when I won the title of Miss Concordia Fall Festival I entered SUPER MASS PRODUCTION MODE!!! I sold over 300 rings in less than a week. Sure I only charged $1.00 a pop but it adds up. If you're looking to steal my brilliant idea...preferably outside the Kansas City/Warrensburg area...these sell very well at country fair type craft shows. They're lightweight, fun and allow the customer to bring home something fun without carrying a bag.

Alright enough with my story. Here's the tutorial!
Supplies Needed:

• 6 pipe cleaners for the petals, any color
• 2 green pipe cleaners, for the leaves (optional)
• A ring sizer (optional)

Step One: Take all 8 pipe cleaners and twist them together in the middle. You'll want about three inches of pipe cleaner twisted for an average size ring. If you do more, it won't hurt.

Step Two: Make the ring. You have to make the circle for the ring by making a loop with the twisted part of the pipe cleaner and twisting the top of the circle together. It'll end up like this.

Step Three: Bend the colored pipe cleaners up and the green ones down and out of the way. The leaves are the last step.

Step Four: Roll your first petal. You want to start at the very top and roll down keeping the petal flat and round. Then bend it to this position on the ring.

Step Five: Repeat this with three more pipe cleaners only positioning them as the four corners of the bottom of the flower.

Step Six: Next you'll use three more colored pipe cleaners making a triangle-esque shape on top of the four base petals. Then roll the last colored pipe cleaner to make the top.

Step Seven: Shape your flower too look like a nice rose. Finally use the same rolling technique on each green pipe cleaner keeping them on the bottom. The only difference it to pinch the end making a point on the leaf.

Ta-Dah!

That is the most basic rose. Feel free to experiment with different style of pipe cleaners and color combos.

Feel free to share this tutorial with all your friends! Oh and by the way...if your rings aren't quite as you like, they're available in my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/70357222/rainbow-rose-ring-party-pack-any-size?ga_search_query=rose%2Bring&ga_search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_6145607

Introductions, People!

Welcome to this BRAND NEW BLOG! I'm going to introduce myself in the 5,4,3,2,1 style!
5 Things You Like:

• animal print (zebra, leopard, giraffe, snakeskin, anything!)
• crafting (it's my escape...my happy pill...the filler of all my free time...need I say more?)
• shoes (I own over 100 pairs)
• my phone (DroidX-basically a handheld laptop)
• the internet (my major is graphic design with a minor in computer science)

4 Things You Hate:

• my job (I work at a Cree Mee Freeze.)
• crafts involving yarn and needles (sorry there will never be any tutorials on that!)
• oatmeal (mushy flavorless gunk.)
• people with a sense of entitlement (you work for it, you get it...it's a two step process)

3 Most Important People in Your Life

• my boyfriend, B. (been together for almost 1 1/2 years...he's the cheese to my macaroni)
• my boxer puppy Abby (9 months, 52 pounds, and eats EVERYTHING!)
• my Mom (she's always there)

2 Things You Like About Yourself

• my determination (I get it done)
• my craftieness/intelligence (I'm good at researching, crafting and doing it professionally)

1 Thing I Would Like to Say to Someone I Hate

• GROW UP.!.!. (Some things just don't seem to apply to people.)

Alright now that I've introduced myself, I wanna hear from the blogosphere! Post a comment and introduce yourself. Have a great night!