Crepe Paper Flowers
Crepe paper flowers have a long history in our country. Around the turn of the last century, they became very popular for Decoration Day (the predecessor of Memorial Day) where they were used to decorate graves since they lasted much longer than fresh flowers. Today, they take a modern twist and are great for decorating and gifts. I made white daisy's for Coco's birthday to decorate the kid's gift boxes. Since a package of crepe paper costs a few dollars and will make dozens and dozens of flowers, it's quite economical as well!Here are three simple flowers that anyone can make in a flash!MATERIALS- Crepe paper (You'll need the flat sheets, not the party streamers.)- Floral wire (The straight pieces that are usually 18" long, you can also use pipe cleaners in a pinch.)- Floral tape
ROSE BUDThis is a super easy and quick flower. Great to do in several sizes and can really be done in any color.
- Start with a rectangular piece of crepe paper. The size can vary depending on how large and full you want your rose bud. This one is about 4" wide by about 10" long. Make sure the grain of the crepe paper is running the length of the paper.- Using a pencil or wooden spoon handle, tightly roll up the crepe paper- Push the paper in from both ends until it's all scrunched up- Slip out the pencil and unroll the paper
- Now loosely re-roll up the paper, pinching in the bottom and leaving the top loose- Secure the bottom with a small piece of floral wire
- Using green crepe paper with the grain running vertically, cut a 2" square so it looks like the picture- Use scissors to put additional snips down the sides of the blades of grass (you can see these little snips in the picture on the right)- Use your thumb and forefinger to roll the tips of this piece a little so they don't look so perfect.- Roll the piece around the bottom of the the rose bud and secure with the end of a piece of floral wire leaving the rest of the wire long for the stem
- Wrap the bud underneath the green crepe paper with the floral tape- Continue down the floral wire until the whole stem is covered
DAISYOur second flower takes a little more work, but is still very easy. Feel free to use creative license in the colors and details (like, daisy's don't really have green centers, but it worked with my color scheme....)
- Ball up a piece of paper to the size of a small marble and place on a 2" square of crepe paper- Wrap the paper around the ball, twisting the bottom to hold it all in place- Press the little ball against the table to get a flat top
- Cut a 2" x 3" piece of green crepe paper with the grain running the short way- Stretch the crepe paper out, it will now be around 4" long- Using scissors, fringe one edge down about 1.5"- Using the color of crepe paper you want for the petals cut a piece 4" wide by 10" long, with the grain running the short way- Cut slits down the paper every 1/2", leaving 1" at the bottom uncut- Round the top edges of the petals, cut a little "V" in the top if you'd like (I folding the paper in half and then in half again and then cut my petals, making it go much faster.)
- Wrap the green fringe around your center- Wrap the petals around the green, try to keep the petals from overlapping, placing them side by side- Pull a scissor blade against the bottom of each petal to get it to curl slightly
- Secure the base of the bloom with floral wire and wrap with floral tape as noted above for the rose- Feel free to create variations, I did some with out fringe, on others I cut the fringe really short
ROCK ROSE
- Make a floral center as with the daisy above, however, make the ball about pea size and don't flatten it
- Cut 5 hearts approximately 3" long and 2" wide- Using your thumb, slightly dimple the center of each petal- Using your fingers or a scissor blade, curve the top of each heart back, creating a curved petal- Take the fringed center in one hand and place the 5 petals evenly around the center- Use floral wire to secure the petals in place- Wrap with floral tape as with the previous flowers
These flowers make me pretty happy. I hope they make you happy too.