Tutorial for Four Inch Monogram Medallion

Making a Four Inch Rosette Medallion
By Christine Kepler (Please credit me if you use this – Do not use this tutorial for profit)
This rosette will have three layers of paper: Layer one is a four-inch diameter pleated base rosette, next on top of the base is a three-inch diameter ruffled crepe paper rosette, and the final, or third layer, is a two-inch diameter pleated rosette. The layers I listed do not include any embellishments or other layers you may choose to add to your finished medallion. The layers I am listing and showing photos of are general guidelines only. You may choose to substitute tulle or lace ruffles for any of the layers, or you may use specialty papers such as mulberry paper or metallics for your rosettes. You may make the paper strips narrower or wider to make your finished medallions larger or smaller. Again, this tutorial is for a four inch finished medallion.

Supplies

One strip paper 2” X 18” hot glue gun small piece of cardboard
One strip paper 1” X 16” glitter
One strip crepe paper 1-1/2” X 18” tacky glue or equivalent (not glue stick)
Various embellishments such as gems, pearls, leaves, flowers, ribbons, and a chipboard initial or letter if you are making a monogram medallion. You may also want a compatible color of ink to ink the edges of your rosettes as I do.

Step one:
Begin by cutting your strips of paper to the above widths. I use 12 X 12 scrapbook paper, cut two strips of each width, cut one of the strips off leaving about a quarter inch to overlap each other, then I glue pieces together to get the lengths I need.

Step two:
Begin scoring the paper strips (not the crepe paper – we will come back to it later). I use the gridlines on my paper cutter because it is marked off in quarter inches, and a bone folder to crease the paper. Remember that whatever increment you use to score and crease the paper, that is how tall each layer will end up being. I like the quarter inch pleats because we are building up several layers. If you were making just a one layer rosette, you could pleat it in half inch intervals and your rosette would be ½ inch thick. Score both paper strips in the same way. Now is when you need to plug in your hot glue gun so it will be hot. After you have scored your paper strips, it is time to pleat them. Just start folding like you are making a paper fan, back and forth on the score lines. Hold the paper folds together as you go back and forth, making a little bundle.

Step three:
It is time to glue the ends of your pleated paper strip together. Allow the folded strip to come unfolded, and bring both ends together like you are making a bracelet. Using the hot glue, spread a thin line along one short edge and bring the other short edge together and glue, making sure you have two mountain peaks glued together so they look like one crease. Now your strip of pleated paper should form a circle like a bracelet.

The next step seems a little tricky, but just work with it a little to make the medallion. Start folding up the pleats again while holding them together. When you have almost all the pleats folded into a little bundle, lay the bundled part down on the work surface, hold it in place with one hand, and with the other hand, manipulate the rest of the pleats to lay flat so the part that is not folded all together can kind of “spring around” with the bundled pleats to form a circle. I don’t know if this makes sense to you, but your goal is for one side of the pleats to all come together in the center of a circle. Another way to do this step is to stand the “bracelet” up on edge so it is standing by itself. Using your palm, press down on the top edge and press the whole thing down onto the work surface.

This should make the top edge you are pressing on close in together and allow the rosette to form itself. As soon as the pleats are uniformly arranged in a circular shape, put a dot of hot glue in the center, AND

HOLD THE CIRCLE ON SEVERAL SIDES UNTIL THE GLUE COOLS. If you don’t hold it, your pleats won’t hold or your circle will pop out of shape and you will have to start over with laying the circle flat and gluing it.

Turn the medallion over and put a spot of glue on the back, again waiting for the glue to cool. Repeat this step for both strips of paper to form layers one and three of your medallion. After your rosettes are formed, this is when I ink the edges of the rosettes to give them a more finished look. Drag the outer edge of each rosette across your ink pad giving them as much or as little color as you choose. Set rosettes aside.

Step four:

This is where you will form your crepe paper ruffle. Using a small piece of cardboard or stock, trace about a one inch circle and cut it out. Lay the circle flat on your work surface, and put a little dab of hot glue on one side about ¼ inch in from the edge of the circle. Lay the edge of your strip of crepe paper into the hot glue, then start bunching it up into that glue, gathering it into that spot to give it fullness. Add another little dab of glue onto the circle where you left off ruffling the first section, and then keep ruffling the crepe paper on around the circle until you have evenly created a ruffled rosette similar to your pleated one. The end of your crepe paper strip should meet up and overlap the spot where you began making your rosette and the cardboard circle should no longer be visible. Don’t worry if it looks a little rough - you are just going for a fluffy look and no one will see the center of this layer so it can overlap and be a little messy in the middle. Next, if you want, you can glitter the outside edge of the crepe paper. To do this, simply put a mound of glue on a piece of scrap cardboard or paper so you can dip the edge of the crepe paper rosette in it. Just barely dip the edge in the glue, and then dip it in a dish of glitter. Shake off the excess, dip the next little section of the edge in the glue, then glitter, and keep going all the way around the edge. Hold over the trash, shake again, and set aside to dry for a bit.

Step five: Putting it all together!

Gather the embellishments you think you want to use. In this example I have a small piece of feather trim, a beaded rose about ¾ of an inch across, and about a six inch piece of antique tatted lace. I also have a one foot piece of green silk organza ribbon, ¾ inch wide, that I am going to use for a hanger on the medallion. Lay the largest rosette flat on your work surface. Using the hot glue, put about a dime-sized glob of glue into the middle of the rosette. Lay the crepe paper rosette onto this OR, if you are using an embellishment that you want to be peeking out from under the edge of the crepe paper ruffle, glue that down first then lay the crepe paper rosette down. Add any embellishments you want to layer under the top rosette in place, then add a dollop of hot glue to the center of the crepe paper rosette and lay down the last, smaller rosette. You will need to find a small pearl, gem or jewel, paper flower, or some other small thing to glue onto the very center of this third layer to cover up the glue you used to make it into a rosette. Next, take the one foot length of ribbon, bring both ends together and knot them making a hanging loop. Turn the medallion over and glue the knotted end into the middle of the back with some hot glue. Then, smooth the hanging loop so it lays flat and tack the two sides of the hanging loop to the upper edge of the medallion so it will hang flat. The last step is to add any final embellishments or, in this case, a large chipboard initial.


Some Final Thoughts . . .
• Paper works better than cardstock. It is harder to get good, even pleats into cardstock, but it can be done.
• You can pleat your rosettes without marking, but it is hard to get them even. Just think about folding those childhood fans!
• The larger and farther apart the pleats are, the taller your rosette will stand.
• You can change up the middle layer. Instead of crepe paper ruffles, use gathered lace, feather boa, tulle – whatever you want.
• The more you practice, the better you’ll get!

One more note: there is another, somewhat easier way to make the rosette, but I don't think the rosettes look as sharp and neat. Cut a strip of paper the same width as you want the finished diameter of your rosette to be. If you want a four inch rosette, cut a four inch wide strip of paper. Halve the length you think you will need. To make the above four inch diameter rosette calls for a 2 inch by 18 inch length of paper, so to make the same rosette in this manner, you would double the width of the paper strip to four inches, and halve the length to nine inches. Follow me so far? Pleat, using the paper fan folding method, back and forth in quarter inch intervals. When you have it all folded, tie a sturdy piece of string or bend a little wire around the exact middle of the bundle of pleats and and twist or tie to secure it tightly. Starting with one side of the bundle of pleats, run a line of glue along the side, and glue an edge to its mate on the other side of the midline of the bundle of pleats. hold until it dries. It should look at this point like a paper fan - a half circle. When it is dry, repeat on the opposite side so you have made a full circle. Again, this does not make as neat a medallion, IMHO.

What Have I Been Doing?

Wellllllll . . . Lately I have been spending way too much time engaged in activities that a friend's daughter says are just mindless activities that give you a false sense of accomplishment - computer games. Most notably, Farm Town and Country Life on FB. Argggh! I quit Farm Town back in the summer because I was spending several hours a day on the computer just playing that stinking game, but I unblocked the application a couple of months ago, and unluckily for me, my farm was intact. Then, being the follower that I am, the same friend whose daughter calls computer gaming mindless activities with false senses of accomplishment (which they are), sent me a request to help her out in Country Life - so I did!!! Now I am sitting here once again with this stupid game occupying me in the evenings.



Sitting here putting this down in black and white makes me feel ashamed of myself. I can really see that it does no good at all, and it does, indeed, induce a false sense of accomplishment since there is no real-life gain in playing these games. Yes, you build up a bank of coins and goods, but what can you do with it? In a way you are competing against others, but there is nothing measurable achieved. As a teacher, I have viewed video and computer gaming as the enemy because many children neglect reading and homework and physical activities in favor of their virtual counterparts. Now I find myself getting sucked into the very thing I have advocated against. Hmmmmn. Time for a change in habits for me, I think.



I can think of about three dozen things that I could do right now to take the place of my little addiction. Coming to the foremost, with the arrival of nice weather, is cleaning out the flower beds around here. That includes picking up the pukey remains of last fall's pumpkins sitting in melted puddles of what-used-to-be-orange, white, and green nearby the steps. Soooo attractive to look at. I always do that - leave them for spring and I always un-enjoy it so much! As long as they are hidden by snow, I let them go, but they are always lurking under the snow and in the back of my mind, waiting for spring! As old as I am, you'd think by now I would be done with it and haul them down to the compost heap (so-called) in the fall.



Another upcoming job is too clean out the veggie plot. That, too, is a fall job that I didn't do this year. But it was kind of neat this winter to look out the back door and see, hanging on for their dear lives, the little pear-shaped heirloom yellow tomatoes that were left on the vines. (Unlike those lurking pumpkins!) I don't know why, but these particular tomatoes really stick to their vines. I bet too that they will self-sow if I don't get too aggressive cleaning that area. I loved those tomatoes in salads this past summer, too.



Another big thing I can do to stay away from computer games is my continuing self-directed professional development. I have spent many evenings this winter reading and researching and relearning many early primary best practices for teaching reading. My big job change at the beginning of the school year prompted this flurry of PD, and it feels as if it has really paid off. I am much more secure lately in my knowledge base and my teaching practices. I think that increased confidence has benefited my students, too. Either that, or just their natural developmental progression has increased their growth through the school year, but I like to think my intervention has helped! I am still reading and rereading my Jan Richardson, Debbie Diller, and Richard Marzano. Another hugely valuable resource that I continue to explore is the Florida Center for Reading Research web site maintained by Florida State University. This database is vast and although I have downloaded and copied all the materials for grades K-3, I haven't read or evaluated it all, yet. Of the eight-ten activities I have tried, I found several worth using again, so I will definitely keep sifting through this treasure trove of materials looking for teaching materials to use with my students.



The other things keeping me busy lately have been hand-made goodies. I am hosting a traveling round-robin swap through my paper doll group on Swap-bot. That endeavor has been semi-sucessful in that one person dropped out after not sending on the dolls she has received for the past couple of months. I think she has deeper issues than the doll swap, though, so I hope she gets everything in her life straightened around. She is a talented artist in real life, but her health and employment issues are not where she needs to have them. The other swap participants have hung in there and are creating some really cute outfits for the dolls. Don't know who has my doll right now, though! I've also been making a BUNCH of jewelry. I finally used the bright red coral nuggets (huge and honkin!) that my hubby bought for me at a bead and gem expo in August. Now I need to think of something exciting to do with the biwa and dentil pearls I bought there as well. Now they are GORGEOUS! I really need to come up with a special design for them. I also have been making a lot of Pandora style keychains lately. They are pretty cool. I've also been experimenting with some fabric creations, but I am not trotting them out for a while. I need to work on my technique! And last, but certainly not least, I finally found out that my flip book of paper dolls is being published in the summer issue of Somerset Studio's Gallery magazine. I can't wait to see how they feature it. I hope it will be a multi-picture spread just so people can see the diverse group of dolls I stamped and embellished. And that, Folks, it all there is for this update!

A New Doll

This is a new mermaid doll I made last night at my weekly visit to the Shack. She is made from a template available theenchantedgallery.com.

Paper People Art Dolls

That's the name of my Swap-bot group that has been consuming huge chunks of my time lately. The reason it has been consuming so much time? We've grown! (http://www.swap-bot.com/group/60da1bd1b0a02190d47611c4d36a1309/about)

This is a group that is dedicated to making paper dolls, so the focus of what we do is pretty narrow. This was reflected in my group's membership. Up until recently there were about thirty of us in the group, and we weren't very active. I'd create a swap here and there and three or four members would sign on to swap, but to tell the truth, it was getting to be pretty boring! I was even thinking about getting out of Swap-bot altogether until I made a fabulous new online friend. RyeRye invited me to join a group she founded on the "Bot," we began chatting, and the rest, as they say, is history.

So, here I am complaining to RyeRye about the small membership of the group and wishing I had more members to entice into swapping dolls with me. She immediately does what I should have done long ago - INVITE new members. Some group founder I am. Didn't even know I could do that! Does she invite one or two? Oh heck no - she invites bunches, tons, GOBS of new members. And so our membership for PPAD grew from thirty-two paper dolls lovers to 105 members within just a couple of weeks. That girl is nuts, I tell you! Anyway, with our ranks pumped up by this amazing friend of mine, our group is experiencing a renewed vigor and is practically brimming with talented artists ready to swap some gorgeous, original pieces of artwork.

Our group has a gallery on Flickr now where we can post pictures of our dolls for everyone to ooh and aah over. If your curiosity is piqued, you can roll on over to our photostream (http://www.flickr.com/groups/1231880@N24/). Even if you think paper dolls are for kids, I bet you will still get a kick out of the unique interpretations created by the artists posting here.

I'm very excited about a couple of the swaps we have going on right now, too. One swap is to make a Marie Antoinette paper doll, and while that concept itself is not new, we're taking it to a new level by creating a backdrop, or display stage for her. The most exciting and fun swap I've created for this group, however, is The Huge Traveling Self Doll Round Robin swap. This swap was taken from Lisa Vollrath's site, Go Make Something. (http://gomakesomething.com/ht/artdolls/flat-self-doll/)

She originated this Self Doll and put the pattern up, so I can't take credit for the doll or the idea, but I am taking credit for making it into a round robin doll swap. The people who signed up for the swap are making a "Self Doll." That is, the doll has your own face or your self on it. Then, we are sending our dolls off on a round robin journey so each person in the swap can make something for the doll before sending it on to the next person in the circle. We've also made the swap more fun by creating an identity, or theme, for ourselves. My alter ego? I am going to be a Wild West dance hall gal. My inspiration for this came from an anniversary card my mom sent to my husband and me years ago. It shows a dance hall gal and a cowboy at the bar. She's hanging off him with one arm draped around his neck and her other hand in his back pocket. I think that about sums up my personality, folks! We've also got an Audrey Hepburn (hey cpbunch!), a hippie chick, and a fairy princess, to name just a few of the multiple personalities floating around in this swap.

I'm loving the play of ideas and creativity we're bouncing off each other. It's refreshing to the soul to be a part of a dynamic group having fun together. And the best part is we don't have to travel far or invest a lot of money in it. It is happening within our own homes and at our convenience. We set the parameters for how much time we devote to it, and how involved we become with the group.

I bet at this point you're asking, "But what in the heck do you do with paper dolls?" Well, I don't actually do much with them except look at them and display them in my personal, private areas. I don't inflict them on my husband, much, because, well, he's just not that into them. But I guess because I made them as a young child and because I like girly things, I just like them. They're fun to make. So there's the reason I like paper dolls - pretty much a no reason type of reason. So if you find yourself bored with nothing much to do, check out Paper People Art Dolls on Swap-Bot. You may just find yourself elbow deep in glue and paper fashioning a new persona for yourself!

MISSING IN ACTION

I haven't been very faithful to my blog here lately. I can't really come up with an excuse except that I've been on Facebook a Bunch! I think I owe that to my good buddy Michele, who introduced me to the evils of Bejeweled Blitz, a game on Facebook. Plus, several of my sisters and other relatives are members there and it makes it easier for us to catch one or the other of us online and chat. Cheaper than calling! It's actually pretty funny to catch up with friends from back in the day when none of had personal computers, to find that we all own them in the here and now.

I've been working on some Swap-bot swaps as usual, and these are the latest of what I've snapped pics of. The Victorian Row House almost didn't make it out the door. I wanted to keep it for myself. I guess the things you make that you want to hang on to are the best ones. If they are good enough to meet my standards, then I deem them good enough for others. I like the Vegas Showgirl dolls ok, but the outfits didn't turn out quite the way I envisioned them. I did like using the Marilyn Monroe doll as the model for the showgirls. I have asked to join a new group, Chunky Row House Group because they are making all sorts of these cute little row houses. The purpose of the row house, besides being cute, is that they are to be displayed side by side like - well, like row houses. The one I did has copper roofs and sheet acrylic printed with black STayzon ink. I used two of Tim Holtz spinners put together with a brad to make a weathervane. Like I said, I didn't want to send it off. But, my swap buddy Ayn, in Alaska, won out in the end, and she has it coming her way.

In other news, my mother has been looking around for a place to rent while waiting on th insurance to settle on her house and contents. Thank goodness my sister, Susan, who is a public insurance adjuster, came up from N.C. and found a company that does reciprocal work for them and put Mom in some good hands.

Mom has it in her head that she wants ot live out in the country now, and I've tried my best to talk her out of it. The reason I don't think she should move out into the country is because it is so much harder to live out in the country in the wintertime, and she is too old to move to the country by herself. She's 73, and I know that is not real old, but she is old enough that I think she needs neighbors. She's stubborn though, so I imagine the country is where she will be going.

New Paper Doll Swap on SWAP-BOT

http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/36966ap-bot.com/swap/show/36966

I just created a new paper doll swap on swap bot. This swap is for a Vegas Showgirl Doll. You will be creating two showgirl dolls and will have two partners. This is about BLING, BLING, BLING, Baby!

I plan on creating a whole series of swaps based on dancers, and then I am moving on to historical figure paper dolls. My goal is to start one swap per month. So, if you like paper dolls, drop by Swap-Bot to play!

I'm going to repost pictures of some of the dolls I've already made to try to get perople interested. How bout any of you bloggers? Do you like to dabble and play with paper? Here's the link: http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/36966.

I've also created a new group on Swap-bot, Paper People Art Dolls, and again, if you are interested in making and trading paper dolls, check out this group!

THE MERMAID REVEAL

Here is a picture of the newly junked up mermaid. Too tired for a long post, but she is going out in the AM mail. Hope the recipient likes her.

Stella Gets Her Groove Back

Well, not exactly, but I am rejoining the world. Mind, I'm not setting anything on fire - breaking no records for productivity- but I am getting back into the swing of things. Yesterday I finally completed some ATC's for a swap I was supposed to have sent out on April 6, AND I created my mermaid paper doll for another swap I'm in. The mermaid is not completed yet; I have not "Junked her up," but her form, face, and basic colors are laid down.

<-----------------Here's a sneak peek:

Now, you have to remember, "junking things up" is near and dear to my heart, so imagine her with oh, say, some jewels, a little tattered something-something hanging off her, some glitter, something in her hair, etc. you get the picture, right? I hope the swap partner I have takes a look at this doll b/c I did not use the template they posted on the swap. Not that it's not a good template, it just did not allow me to use my own ideas.

Here is the drawing I made for the house-shaped ATC swap I was involved in:

I ended up shrinking this from 9X12 to approx. 3X5. After I printed them, I colored them with watercolor pencils, cut them out, and stamped the backs with an ATC info stamp. They turned out to be very colorful. The only thing I didn't like was that I had to cut the drainpipe boy off so I could make it fit into the ATC format. And, it's too bad that I couldn't have put one more child in the picture to represent all of my brothers and sisters and me. Count and see how many children MY mother has.

So, I am now coming up with all sorts of things I want to create. The fog has lifted and I'm Baaaaaaack!

I'm Addicted

I'm addicted! Since participating in a swap on Swap-bot www.swap-bot.com designed to gain exposure to your blog, I've had the good fortune to "meet" some wonderful people and read their blogs. The scope of these writers is amazing! I have not spent a great deal of time online in the past reading others' blogs, but all that has changed. I am now subscribing to several blogs and blog lines, and I am quite humbled by the experience. The level of writing, the range of topics, and the depth of feeling put into words by some of those whose blogs I am following is nothing short of amazing! I am also getting tons of ideas for changing the way my blog is presented, so stay tuned as I experiment with layouts, gadgets, tools, feeds, colors, etc. in the coming months. Meanwhile, if you have suggestions for me to improve what I'm doing here, please contact me or leave a comment. I'm here to tell you, you can teach an old dog some new tricks!
My students are continuing to receive packages of goodies and information from Ohio colleges. Today brought three parcels in the mail, and students are eagerly looking forward to getting mail. It always has been a treat for students to be sent to pick up mail for the teacher, but now everyone wants to go check the mail. The coordinator of the program emailed me and told me that she would make sure that any students who didn't receive replies to their letters would get something from her, so that made me happy. I really don't want any child to be disappointed because I know how I feel if it were me being left out. Ohio Weslyan University in Delaware especially generous sending both a T-shirt and a pennant. Go O-WU!
Right now I'm off to follow my blogs - such fun!

My First Dotee Doll

I just finished my first Dotee Doll last night, and I'm not sure if I made her correctly or not. After going through and looking at all the different Dotee Dolls on other people's websites, including Dot's, the original creator's site, I am convinced that I messed up by stamping her face instead of sewing it or drawing it. I think she turned out rather, um, cute? I named her BrideZilla because she is over the top in all her finery, and as we all know, on that show Bridezilla the women are just nuts. Anyway, if anyone could weigh in with an opinion on whether I need to redo her face or not, I sure would appreciate your input. She is for a swap on Swap-Bot, and I don't want to disappoint.

The weather here in central Ohio has turned into a tropical paradise again! We are up in the 40's as of noon, and I have been out on the deck in short sleeves and barefoot. I'm tellin' ya, It's almost bikini season!

I had some help in my quest for organization yesterday. My hubby came down and made little wooden spacers for some bins I was using on my work table, and he even wire-tied them together for me so they won't come apart. I knew I married him for a reason! He can make anything! He loves to do things like that, and he makes the most detailed plans. Me, I just start and if it doesn't work the first time, just revise on the wing. I shouldn't say I never plan, I do, just not in as detailed way as he does. I usually have a mind picture to start a project, but then let the piece take its own way as it evolves. That suits me most of the time, but I do admit to not always fulfilling my "visions," and that is sometimes frustrating.

That reminds me of making my granddaughter's homecoming dress this past fall. She had a "vision" and because she sews a little and is creative, she came up with a plan for the dress and a color scheme that was SET IN STONE!!!! The only problem was, her fabric was nowhere to be found. We shopped for eight hours one Saturday until we found some Halloween costume fabric that she deemed suitable for the top, and I found drapery fabric for the skirt. It turned out so cute, but I told her the next time she has a vision, to make sure she could reach out and TOUCH her vision before she came to me with it!

Anyway, I love her and I am proud that she wants to be different and creative with what she wears. I hope to be able to sew her wedding dress someday ( not too soon, though).