Perfect Paper Poppies

The 3rd and final flower from our wedding show bouquet is a paper flower that I make frequently, usually as an accent on wrapped gifts. It can be made with any kind of paper and in any size. For this project I used handmade papers from Paper Zone. Because handmades are softer in texture, these are best for making smaller flowers.

For this project you will need at least 2 colors of paper, floral wire, scissors and tape. The Martha Stewart fringe scissors are not necessary to make these flowers, but they make the inner part of the flower so much easier to make and once you use them, you'll want to fringe everything. They are so awesome!

Start with 3 strips of paper. The strip for the inner part of the flower should be about 2 1/4 inches wide and 8 inches long. For the petals, use one strip that is 2 1/4 " wide and 24" long and the second string should be slightly wider: 2 1/2" wide and 24" long. They do not need to be cut perfect because you'll be cutting them down.

For the inner part of the flower, cut along one edge using the fringe scissors. Leave about 1/4" uncut so that you have a base for rolling up the fringed piece. Once this piece has been fringed, roll up tightly along the uncut side and tape.

Next, cut petals out of the other two strips. You can make squares any way you like out of the strips, but for ease, I just fold the strips over and then cut off both edges of folds so that I have a neat little stack of cut squares of all the same size.

I freestyle cut the shape of a petal into these squares. The best part of this flower, is that it doesn't really matter how precise the petal shapes are because all of the pieces will be scrunched together and will pretty much look great no matter what. With these squares you will get about 6 or 7 petals. Just be sure to leave about a half inch "stem" in your petals so that you can assemble the flower with ease.

Cut 6 or 7 petals of a slightly larger size out of the second strip of paper.

To assemble the flower you will start with the inner flower (fringed piece) as your base and the smaller petals. Using the floral wire, TIGHTLY wrap the stem of the petals to the base of the fringe, adding petals evenly around the base. It is very important to wrap the wire tightly so that the petals stay secure. I usually add 1 petal per go around with the wire. Add the larger petals in the same manner until all of your petals are tightly attached at the base.

Next, flip open the flower and let it bloom. Spread the petals with your fingers, opening it up and shaping the petals as you like. Working with paper is great because your can bend and shape the petals into pretty much any direction you like. I sometimes even do a little "gardening" and cut down larger petals if they seem out of place.

I like to change up the color patterns in my flowers when making a bunch so that each flower is unique, but in the same color scheme. And you can use any color!

To complete the bouquet above, I used some leftover of the blue handmade paper to line a square glass dish that I got at the supermarket and ended up with a pretty cute little centerpiece.

I have also seen these flowers used with a string of white Christmas lights, which makes a pretty cute decoration for any party or event. Happy Paper Gardening! --Kim

Paper Carnations

For the Seattle Wedding Show this past weekend we put together a great bouquet of paper flowers for the booth. You may have seen the instructions for the mini-puff ball on Monday's blog post, now we are on to flower #2: the carnation. These are incredibly easy to make and you only need 1 piece of tissue for 4 flowers! Start off with a sheet of tissue paper in the color of your choice. I am using white for my bouquet, but really the color options are endless.

Take your sheet of tissue paper (I started with a 20x30 sheet which is a pretty standard size) and fold it in half over and over until your folded piece is a little larger than the diameter of the flower you want to make. 3" diameter makes for a final flower that is very similar in size to a live carnation.


Trace a 3" circle on the folded tissue. This circle does not have to be exactly 3", I just found a mug that was pretty close to that size and used it as a guide for tracing.


Cut around the edge of the circle being sure to keep the sheets of tissue from shifting too much. You can use a binder clip to hold the sheets together to help avoid the shifting.



When you are done, you should have 32 (if you used a 20x30 sheet) equally sized circles.


Using a small inkpad (I used a ColorBox Cat's Eye Pigment Ink) apply ink to the edges of the tissue circles. Be sure to apply color all the way around the edges.


You will only need about 8 circles for each flower, so go ahead and take 8 circles and poke 2 small holes near the center through all 8 sheets. I find this is easiest to do with this tiny circle hand punch (I also use this punch for pilot holes when I'm putting brads through thicker or multiple sheets of paper). If you don't have the punch, you can poke holes with anything sharp you may have lying around.



Take a pipe cleaner and thread it through both holes leaving 1-2" on the end. Take the shorter end and twist it around the longer piece to secure the stem.



To make the flower, just grab the top layer of tissue and squeeze it together just above the base of the stem taking care not to crease the outer inked edges.


Continue this process with the next layer of tissue,


and then the next until all of the layers of tissue have been squeezed together and you have created your lovely carnation!



If you would like to make your carnation even a little more realistic, try using a pair of edging scissors (I used Fiskars' "majestic" pattern) when you are cutting out your circles.


That simple change followed by all of the same steps turns your final flower into this:


Put them all together and you've created this great little bouquet with just 2 sheets of tissue paper and 8 pipecleaners!


Stay tuned for flower#3 arriving on Friday!

Amanda

Going to The Chapel...

Do you hear the wedding bells ringing? Ok, you might not hear them quite yet...but it's definitely getting to that time when brides are starting to get their fix on wedding planning. This past weekend marked my first dose of wedding for the year with our participation at the Seattle Wedding Show.

For the many years I've been with PZ, I've had a hand in putting our booth together and getting things ready for the show. Every year the show is a little different, but there are always a few things that - year after year - people just go crazy for. For one, this lingerie shower invitation.
Although a little risque, it's always been a huge hit. You can find the template for it right here, and the shopping list here. This invite has inspired lots of bridesmaids to host lingerie showers, and it's made a lot of grooms-to-be blush at our booth. And the bridesmaids always love this bachelorette party invite, so fun and girlie, a perfect invite for a girls' night out:
People also were loving these new little favor boxes, simply assemble the box, fill it with candy and you have an adorable wedding favor:

Another thing that I personally was loving this year was the cupcake booths at the show...and of course the generous samples that were handed to me as I perused the Wedding Show aisles (I think I spent the entire day yesterday fueled by cupcakes!). This year, we also showcased a really beautiful bouquet of paper flowers that people adored:

For weddings, it makes a simple and chic table centerpiece...you can even switch around the papers to match your wedding colors. The bouquet was a collaboration from a few of us at PZ, so today I'm sharing the steps to my part of the bouquet (yes...I used the tissue puff ball idea that I love - see here and here, scaled it down, and created a flower with it!).

Step 1. Gather your supplies - tissue paper, scissors and floral wire (yes, only 3 items!):

Step 2. Cut 6 sheets of tissue to 8.5" x 11" and accordian fold:

Step 3. Wrap the floral wire around the center of the folded piece:

Step 4. Cut a rounded edge from each of the ends:

Step 5. Reveal your flower by peeling away each layer of tissue, one at a time:

Check back on Wednesday to learn how to create the next flower in the bouquet!

--Lauren