Creations: Fall Flowers and photos

So, everyone knows that the Dallas Arboretum is gorgeous and you should go there. But seriously, you should go there! It's nice in the summer, but it's amazing in the fall because you can actually enjoy walking around in the cool weather instead of the sweltering heat.

It's so beautiful, it gives even the most inexperienced photographer (me) a fighting chance for some good pictures. (even with a point and click camera)

And having the most gorgeous subject ever doesn't hurt a bit. But my point is that anyone can go and take pictures of anyone and they will come out great no matter what you do!

So, with all this flowery autumn inspiration abounding, I just had to try my hand at creating some felt flowers. Besides the fact that I’m obsessed with all things felt, I also just wanted a small project that I could keep by the couch and work on when I’m watching TV. Plus you can use these puppies for anything; from embellishing a plain t-shirt to wearing them in your hair. You can see a little chocolate brown one I made on the pink shirt below.

Even though all of the tutorials I've read say that you should purchase top quality felt, I took my chances with the cheapo craft store stuff for my first project. It worked fine - the only drawback is that you don't have as many color choices (the upside is that you spend $5 on felt instead of $50).

This tutorial from the pearl bee is really good and includes a free pattern. I got my initial inspiration from A Alicia Accessories, which I read about here on the Old Sweet Song blog. Another great tutorial from Mia Moo here.

This is how my first attempt turned out:

There are so many different ways to make the flowers, and I got so excited about the project I just dived right in. I started by cutting out a bunch of different sized circles and sewing them together in different ways. Some rolled up and sewn like roses, some sewn together as petals, and some sewn in bunches. Once I had a pile of flowers in all different shapes and sizes, I just sewed them together in little groupings for hairclips and pins.

The colors alone give you infinite combination possibilities, and the felt lends itself so well to giving each flower it's own personality - so no two are alike. It's so easy and fun to create gorgeous little collages, you won't be able to stop. This is a project that anyone can do - and all you need is felt, a needle and thread, and a pair of scissors. I can't wait to make more :)