Sand Art Crafts

What are some good websites for silk floral supplies? I want to make my own silk (artificial) flowers for hair clips. What are some good websites? Pre-made flowers are ok, but I'm looking for petals, leaves and other flower parts too. I am especially looking for black flower parts. I have tried search engines already, but have not found what I am looking for yet, I was hoping someone might know of some great obscure craft/floral websites.

craft supplies in michigan? does any one know where i can get small fishing poles, boats, ect. thing like that for my floral decor. can"t seem to find any one with these type of items

What are "Water Jewels" made of? Has anyone else heard of them? They are sold at craft stores in the same department as floral design supplies, as vase fillers for fresh or silk flower arrangements. They start out as tiny hard spheres; the clear color variety looks just like the silicone dessicant found in shoe boxes (to keep them dry). When you leave them in water for about 1 hour each one swells up to about marble size and becomes a beautiful clear or colored sparkling orb. Then they are squishy and slippery. Most amusing. The package is about 2 inches across and contains 200 or so. They come in clear, blue, and green so far but they CAN be colored with food coloring as they expand. Warm water makes them expand faster. They shrink back to original size when they dry out in about a week! Salt destroys them completely. What the heck are they???

Non-Floral Wedding Centerpieces? Hi Everyone!! I am from the NJ/NYC area and am interested in centerpieces for my wedding that don't use flowers. I really wanted the crystals hanging from the branches instead. I am pretty crafty and have made BEAUTIFUL ones on my own, quite inexpensively, thanks to a local wholesale craft store. The problem is, I would have no way of transporting them/setting them up in the reception hall. There would be 20-25 extremely delicate trees, that I would have to not only get to the reception, but also get someone to set them up. I don't see this happening, as I obviously won't be able to do it that day, and I can't even be sure they hall would have some place to keep them if I could get them there early without destroying them. Does anyone know a designer/non florist (since they don't use flowers) that makes centerpieces or tablescapes? A company that does this and will bring them and set them up. I am less concerned about the price, as I could supply the product and just pay the labor, so I know I wouldn't be ripped off.

Painting wood crafts? Hi! I'm a beginner on painting on wood. I'd like to paint (using acrylic) floral details on my wooden bread box and I read that I should always use a primer. Unfortunately there are no clear primers in my area (Philippines - art/hardware supplies are really short) so I would like to ask if there's an alternative to the clear primer, or if there's another way to prepare the wood prior to painting it. I really like the wood finish and I really want to keep it if I can. Help pls! Thank you!

Combination of Dried & Fresh Flowers? My dad's cousin has offered to create my floral arrangements for me as a wedding gift (provided I supply the cost of the materials, which I don't mind). She is completely happy with me choosing whatever I'd like and making it for me. My mother has made it clear that she expects me and the bridal party to be sporting fresh florals the day of. I've given up talking to her about it because she just yells, gets angry, and won't listen (she's also paying for the wedding along with Drew's parents). But because my cousin would only have an hour and a half to set up for the wedding due to venue rules, and because she's not actually a florist (just a hobby of hers), I'm afraid that asking her to do bouquets and centerpieces would tax her time, her energy, and her fridge. I recently bought one foot tall apothecary jars for my center pieces and I'm quite happy with them. My idea is to go ahead and ask for a simple bouquet arrangements for the day of. But for centerpieces, fill the apothecary jars with dried white flowers and some dried greenery. It's cheaper than fresh flowers (I can get 30 large white orchids for $10, not bad since I love orchids) and we can create the arrangements ahead of time and deliver them two weeks before the wedding along with the programs, cake cutters, etc. The venue has already said they accept everything we want to give them early, in fact they prefer it in case of time crunches. Would it look wrong having dried arrangements in apothecary jars but fresh bouquets? The fresh flowers would be similar to the dried flowers (white roses/hydrangea/orchids). Some of the flowers I was planning on ordering for the jars: http://www.save-on-crafts.com/whiteorchids1.html (Paper, not dried) http://www.save-on-crafts.com/whiteparchment.html http://www.save-on-crafts.com/ferns1.html http://www.save-on-crafts.com/hy.html http://www.save-on-crafts.com/jasmineflowers.html http://www.save-on-crafts.com/gyp.html ALSO: If you do like my idea, what do you think about adding birds nest and butterflies to a couple of the pieces for a summery touch? http://www.save-on-crafts.com/twigbutterfly.html http://www.save-on-crafts.com/birdnests.html Wedding colors are fern (olive-ish) and off-white with touches of dark brown for a morning June wedding.