Something I've been doing for a while now is making paper flowers. Just as beautiful as fresh ones, but lasting infinitely longer and with the added satisfaction that I made them myself. With summer just around the corner, I felt it was about time I shared my inspiration with my fellow crafters. Let's start with how to make your very own English rose...
What you will need...
Making paper flowers requires a little bit of initial investment to buy your raw materials, however, once bought these materials last for ages. You will need need floral tape, good quality pipe cleaners, scissors, all-purpose glue, card for making your petal templates, a pencil, round or bud shaped flower centres (you can get these from Hobbycraft), good quality doublette crepe paper (Homecrafts UK do a great variety of colours), and watercolour paint to finish.
What you will need to do...
You will need to cut out three petal templates, approximately 7cm, 6cm and 5cm at their widest point. You don't need a ruler, I drew mine by hand. Start by drawing two lines roughly at right angles to one another, and then join them with a sweeping circular line.
Once you have your petal templates, you can start cutting! Fold your paper over to the width of your smallest petal template and trace around it 5 times. Cut around these to make 10 petals. Do the same with the medium template but this time only cut out 8 petals (4 on doubled over paper). Repeat for the large template making 6 petals in total. When you fold your paper, make sure to fold along the grain of the paper, not against it. This will help the petals form the correct shape at the next stage.
Now you've got all your pretty little petals, you need to curl them so they look authentic. Before doing this however, it's worth preparing your stem - you'll see later, but it works beautifully as a petal curling device!
To prepare your stem, take your pipe cleaner, flower centre and floral tape. Your flower centre should have a small hole that goes into its middle. Insert your pipe cleaner into the hole and then, starting from the other end, take the floral tape and tightly wrap the entire stem and the ball that will form your flower centre. Once the ball is covered, work your way back down the stem to where you started.
Now to curl those petals! Take your prepared stem, and, with the point of the petal pointing down, use it to roll down the round edge of the petal. To make sure you're rolling the petals in the correct place, imagine the point is at 6 o'clock and roll at 10 and 2 like this...
After you have prepared all of your petals, it's time to start constructing! Start with the smallest petals, wrapping tightly around the balled end of your stem. Spread some glue on the inside of your petal before doing this. The inside will be the concave side as it will fit nicely around the centre allowing the petals to curl downwards rather than inwards.
Continue to add the petals in the same fashion, building gradually. The best way to construct is in a circles, layer...
...by layer...
...until you have a full rose!
Give your rose a little finishing touch by delicately painting the edges with watercolour paint. I have chosen a dark pink here to contrast the soft pink of the petals. Be careful not to wet your petals too much as the crepe paper is very absorbent. When dry, your rose should look something like this...
I hope you enjoy making these beautiful roses and I'd love to know how you get on. Any questions or comments, please get in touch or leave your comment below!
