Paper Caravan with DIY Petaloo Flowers

Given the chance to play with Petaloo's DIY blooms I tried a few different colouring techniques. I used dyes, acrylic and watercolour paints with great success but my favourite results didn't come from paint at all. 

The flowers that I was most smitten with were ones that were simply dipped in tea. They looked warm and worn, perfect for vintagey type pieces, or for a softened look.

To add a little variation, I gave some of my blooms a light wash of pink or yellow acrylic craft paint before dipping them. The result was perfectly subtle. The hardest part? Allowing those cuties to dry before using them.

Note: You could absolutely use coffee for staining, but I find that the smell lingers. Tea on the other hand has almost no noticeable scent.

So, what did I use these cute little blooms for?

Embellishing a little shabby chic paper caravan!

Here's a better look at those pretty tea stained flowers.

Those little flowers pair so well with Blue Fern Studio's Montage Mercantile Paper and Sanctuary Scrapbook Paper - Botanical Garden

Here's a complete list of Petaloo goodies I used:

DIY-Petites Teastained Cream 1650-025
DIY-Mini Mix Teastained Cream 1650-024
DIY-Calla Lily Cluster White 1650-014

Other supplies:
Tea
Acrylic paint
Blue Fern Studio's Montage Mercantile Paper
Sanctuary Scrapbook Paper - Botanical Garden
Prima Fly Away Resin Birds Set
Spellbinders Shapeabilites ‘Bow Elegance’ s6-017
Tim Holtz Thinlits Mini Labels Die Set
Wooden wheels
Doweling
Vintage buttons
Lace
Glitter
Moss

P.S. Although I didn't use them in this project, I did colour some the flowers in the DIY-Mums & Butterflies 1650-015 and they are absolutely lush and I would totally recommend.