Rosebuds

While checking in our order of new craft supplies, I was reminded of a fun project I learned many years ago in my high school Home-Ec class. These simple little rosebuds are easy to make and would be an adorable favor for a wedding or shower. I think they look a little like tulip bulbs, so they would also be great to make in bright colors as a May Day gift. All it takes is a few dollars worth of floral supplies and a big bag of chocolate kisses to make dozens of these little buds.

What you need to start: a pair of scissors, a short length of floral wire (about 6”), a 4”x4” square of cellophane or crepe paper (doesn’t need to be a perfect!), 2 chocolate kisses, and maybe a few leaves cut from text weight paper.

Form your hand into an “o” shape, lay the cello over, and tuck a kiss—point down—into the opening. Set another kiss on top, flat sides touching.

Twist the ends of the cello around the kisses, and tuck the floral wire into the excess cello. There should be about an inch of cello at the base. You can secure it all together with some tape to keep it from untwisting.

Start wrapping the floral tape around the base of the bud. Wrap in the same direction as the twisted cello. Floral tape gets stickier as it’s stretched, so don’t be afraid to pull! I like to start about ¾” from the bottom of the bud, wrap up towards the base, and double back down to cover the floral wire.

If you made leaves, tuck them under the tape as you wrap down the stem. You don’t need to cover the whole wire with tape, just a few inches below the bud and any leaves to make sure it’s all secure.

Keep going to make a beautiful bouquet! Since floral tape is very sticky, I wrapped all the stems up together with a length from a roll of green crepe party streamers, and tied a bow around it. A cute (and edible) bouquet for all seasons! --Mayzie, Portland Store