An exciting aspect of Ganutell as a craft is the endless opportunities to be creative. There are many colors and types of floss and wires, and the number of  beads and embellishments available can be overwhelming. Then there are the different shapes of petals we can create, and the many ways they can be assembled. I admit it …. more than any other craft, I find myself thinking ‘out of the box’ most often with Ganutell.

A while ago, while rummaging through my stash of copper wire, enjoying the lovely shine and beautiful colors, I was inspired to try a Ganutell flower made just from wire. No floss and prepared thread for this one, just some beads and wire. I chose the color because purple’s my favorite, and found that 28 gauge wire works best for the petals, with the usual 24 gauge for the stem. It took a short while to become accustomed to wrapping the wire, but frankly my experience in doing French beaded flowers was a great help with this.  I added beads for some extra bling and to allow for a little larger petal size, then chose gold colored wire for the leaves to make the final piece extra special.

This one proved to be a winner, and sold immediately.

Which reminds me ….  crafters often ask how they can sell their work, so I thought I’d share my experiences in shows, retail sales and online selling, in some upcoming posts. I hope you’ll visit often!

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Forgive my play on words. Actually, Ganutell DOES rock, but the reference is to a cute little mount I’ve been using for Ganutell flowers.

While I love the traditional look of Ganutell florals, I also like to find ways to display my work that are more casual or contemporary. Here’s a quick and easy way to mount a flower to a river rock. You can find bags of these in most craft stores.

Choose a rock shape that appeals to you, but be certain it has a flat bottom so it will balance well. Take the lower  inch or so of your flower stem and make a spiral, then bend it at a 90 degree angle, giving your flower a ’seat’. Glue this spiral to your rock, using a strong glass or mosaic glue, as the surface of the rock is smooth. E600 glue works well for me. While the glue is curing, you’ll need to hold the flower in place. I sometimes place the rock/flower in a small glass and balance clothespins that are attached to the flower to hold it, or use the wonderful ‘third hand’ clips.

When the glue has cured, and your flower is well adhered to the rock, use some moss to cover the base of the flower. Most floral departments in craft stores have a nice assortment of mosses. Any simple white glue will work for this, and it will dry quickly and clear.

This is a great inexpensive little hostess gift, or teacher gift, or whatever you need it to be. I hope you’ll try this mount, and let me know how it works for you!

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Life gets in the way, right?

I had to take a brief hiatus from blog posting and focus on work and life issues … not nearly as much fun, but there it is. Happens to all of us, right?

The good news is that being away from it has given me an opportunity to review and regroup — to think about what direction I want to take next. I love to learn new arts and crafts. Can’t help it; when I see something pretty I often want to learn how to make it. I’ve done most crafts at one time or another, and enjoy just about all of them.

Thing is, I keep returning to bead and wire flowers, specifically Ganutell. These delicate little flowers are fun to make, offering lots of opportunities to be creative. They’re unique, and people love them, and I think I’m quite obsessed with making them.

So there’s my new focus. I’m looking forward to sharing lots of information on how to make these lovely flowers, resources to purchase the hard-to-find tools and supplies, and interesting ways to embellish them. I’ll even give you some new ideas on how to use your work in projects.

I’m looking forward to sharing Ganutell with you, so visit often!

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