Sunny greetings to you, Clear Scraps friends! Maureen (Mo) here with a cheery craft today. I am such a big fan of sunflowers - besides being my favorite color, they have such a big, bright blossom and bloom any time of year. I've planted them for several summers now, and love that they bloom right as Summer turns into Fall. I thought I'd share a project to celebrate this time of year with all of you!
I've started with the Circle Printer Tray Frame because the round face reminds me of a big sunflower. I thought it would be a great idea to get the pictures of last year's crop off my phone and preserve them in a frame. Last year was certainly a year to create our own sunshine, that's for sure - and these were spectacular!
I took the top layer of the frame and traced a black card stock circle, then painted the trim black. I decided to remove a layer in the final assembly because my ending version was going to hang on a wall, and I didn't need the extra weight.
Next, I cut several petals on my electronic cutting machine in a gold card stock - about 40 in all. Any die cut in a similar oval shape would work well. I dusted the edges of these petals with a black ink and sponge. Then, I took the 6" Plaid Masking Stencil and sponged more ink in the middle of each petal. I only sponged a section in the middle - no need to fill the whole space.
Time for assembly - I glued a layer of petals on the base of the Circle Printer Tray chipboard base, leaving space in between each petal.
The next layer overlapped the first, but with these petals, I pinched the middles first to make the flower more 3D. Once these are dry, take the black card stock circle, and glue it to the middle of the flower. If you want, this is also a good time to glue in your ribbon hanger as a sandwich in between the chipboard and the card stock.
It was time to add the pictures - after laying them out in the spots I liked, I drew a faint line on the photos using the trim of the tray as a guide. Then I cut the excess pieces off. I adhered these using an adhesive tape to the back of the trim, getting it ready to place down on the black card stock base of the flower.
This next chipboard layer of the frame set the pictures over the black circle. With the remaining open areas, I started to lay out the sayings that I cut from my electronic cutting machine. A clear glue adhesive worked well to stick them to the black card stock. Then I prepped the frame for the next layer.
Here's another close up of the die cut phrase - it reminds me of chalkboard handwriting!
The final steps in layering the tray were to adhere the clear acrylic cover with a clear glue, then slip a wired checkered ribbon in between the acrylic and the top black chipboard frame piece. Once dry, I formed a bow with the loops of the ribbon.
I decided to hang this frame in my front foyer, along with all of my other "budding" collections of sunflowers. I'm really excited about how easily this came together. A great weekend project to instantly add color to your home!
Would you try something like this in your home? I hope you enjoyed this project - make sure you check out the other Printer Tray Frames available on the Clear Scraps site too! Thanks for stopping by!
Other supplies: black paint, clear Tombow glue, black and white checkered ribbon, black ink, gold/black/white cardstock, cutting machine or oval die cuts, photos, twine (for hanging).