paper protea

I love these paper flowers, and they are so easy to make! All you really have to do is to get out and pick up a few branches, then dig in your bookshelf for a few old books.  I got these books from a local second hand bookshop cheap, cheap... 

FYI: 
Proteas get their name from the Greek sea god Proteus, who could change his form at will - quite appropriate, given the many unusual shapes of proteas which are found. (www.capetown.dj)

You need: 

• Old books (one for each flower)
• Branches (thin on the one side so it can fit into the hole of the flower)
• Ribbon (optional)
• Wood glue

step 1: Remove the cover of the book, so only the pages of the book left 

step 2: Start folding the flower, three pages at a time and make sure that you fold it neatly at the bottom of the page and the bottom edge neatly against the spine of the book...

Fold the whole book in this manner (depending on the amount of pages, sometimes you will have to tear off some pages) you'll end up with something that looks like this (well almost done)...

step 3: Now we start folding again... in the same direction as you previously did but making sure that, again you keep the corners at the bottom neat and that all the pages are folded in against the spine of the book

 Keep on folding till all pages are folded in and voila... you have your flower!

step 4: Now for the stem of the flower! Turn the flower upside down squirt some wood glue in the hole and then push one of the branches you have collected in the hole. You can then cut the branch to the desired length to match the pot you want to put the flowers in.

You can put a ribbon on the stem of the flower or you can use it as is... one per pot or you can make a few to put into a pot. Enjoy them!!!

in the vineyard

End of winter...  and it’s time to prune the vineyards.

A friend of mine is the viticulturist on a beautiful farm up the road from me, so I put on my boots and headed to the vineyards to get some vine shoots for making wreaths.  They are so easy and cheap to make and I love them...

:-) for your information...

viticulture  (ˈvɪtɪˌkʌltʃə)
— n
1.	the science, art, or process of cultivating grapevines
2.	the study of grapes and the growing of grapes
[C19: viti-,  from Latin vītis  vine]
viti'cultural
— adj
viti'culturer
— n
viti'culturist
— n

Collins English Dictionary

To make the wreath

You need:

• ·         A pair of sharp garden shears
• ·         Vine shoots (free of leaves and fruit, but leave the curly bits on the vine, they look pretty)
• ·         Ribbon and decorations

When cutting the vine shoots make sure you cut long pieces that easily bends.  [Best is to craft the grapevine wreaths soon after you have cut the vines. ]

Starting off use the one end of the vine shoot to form a circle, then use the loose end and wrap it around the circle that you have made in a spiral fashion.  When you reach the end of this vine, tuck the end into the circle that you have wrapped.  

 Then take the next shoot and tuck it in between two wrapped pieces close to where the previous vine ended, and again wrap it around in a spiral fashion, when you have reached the end tuck the end of the grapevine into the wreath as before.  Continue until your wreath is the desired thickness.

Grapevine wreaths make a lovely decoration to use as is tied with a ribbon. You can also use it as a base to hang decorations from, spray-paint it white, use it horizontally tied with a few ribbons as a chandelier base. There are many ways you can use the wreath...