Melissa Frances: Sweets for your Valentine...

The AMAZING Linda Albrecht has created the perfect craft for you to share with your Valentine this year...

Ruffles for Valentine's Day

I can remember one Valentine's Day when I was a little girl that my Dad gave my Mom a big heart shaped box filled with candy. I thought that it was beautiful. It was a shiny red foil heart box with a gold embossed rose on the front and it had a crepe paper ruffle that went all around the outside of the box top. I think it must have been then that I acquired my love for paper products. My project pieces are inspired by the ruffle that encircled the shiny red box.

Melissa Frances Supplies:
Vintage Posey "Ella" paper PA340
Vintage Posey "Henrietta" paper PA333
White Cotton Ribbon GN301
Pink Rhinestones GN279
Pop Out Glitter Hearts GN15
White Resin "Stately Applique" CX812
White Mica GN285
Crepe Paper GN303
Silver Tinsel GN298

The Cupcake bottom uses new Vintage Posey "Ella" paper that I pleated to resemble a cupcake paper holder and underneath all of those crepe paper ruffles is a 4" styrofoam ball.

Begin by making the cupcake base. You can use any small round container that would fit the 4" ball, or if you go to my blog (http://lindaalbrecht.typepad.com) you can request a pattern to make your own chipboard container from a template and instructions that I have been sharing with my readers. You then accordion fold patterned paper to go around the base and glue Melissa Frances White Cotton Lace around the top of the base.

To make the ruffles for the cupcake top, cut 1.5" x 10" strips of the cream and pink crepe paper. After adhering the styrofoam ball into the cupcake base begin making the ruffles by gathering and bunching up one of the crepe paper strips, apply a 2" line of glue onto the ball close to the base then stuff the crepe paper into the styrofoam ball with a butter knife along the center of the paper strip.
Make sure to gather and bunch up the paper, applying 2" lines of glue as you go along, then stuff the paper into the ball along the glue line. Go around the entire ball in a horizontal line using one color of the crepe paper then alternate colors after you complete each row. Adhere a flower to the top of the cupcake then wrap a small length of silver tinsel around it, tucking it under the flower as you go.
Adhere Ric Rac from the White Cotton Ribbon package around the outside of the cupcake base then adhere 2 White Glitter Hearts to the front of the base and apply Pink Rhinestones to the centers.

Add a sentiment to a White Glitter Heart then adhere the heart to a skewer or dowel and poke it into the styrofoam ball portion of the cupcake. Apply liquid adhesive to the pink crepe paper ruffles with a paintbrush then sprinkle on White Mica flakes. Adhere large Pink Rhinestones at random along the pink ruffle sections.

The Pink Heart Box is covered with Vintage Posey "Henrietta" paper. Make ruffles for the box top using 1" cream colored crepe paper strips. Gather and bunch up the strips by hand then use hot glue or low melt glue to adhere it to the box, working in 2" lengths. Adhere small cream colored punched paper flowers to the ruffle strips as shown, then apply small Pink Rhinestones to the centers.

Adhere velvet leaves to the top ruffle near the last flower and add a white resin applique near the flower. Adhere "love" letters and a piece of light blue ric rac to the box top as shown.

Make a ruffled edge for the box top by gathering and adhering crepe paper to the underside of the box top then add Silver Tinsel along the edge of the box top where it meets the ruffle.