IMITATION FLOWER MAKING

Paper flowers can seldom rival the beauty of natural flora, yet have obvious advantage over the real thing. Paper flowers are cheap, quick to make, and can be colored to match any specific décor.

Very few tools are needed for paper flower making & none of it is expensive either. Moreover, for decoration of artificial flowers, fir cones, twigs, dried grasses and leaves, gift-wrapping ribbons, Christmas baubles, silver foil, dried flowers etc. can enhance the display.

For making paper flowers, adapt the designs; experiment with shapes and colors, invent your own flowers. Nature has given us many lovely inspirations, try and explore & evolve the same.

HOW TO MAKE:

Flowers can be composed of individual petals wired together to a stem. They can be long strip of crepe paper, scalloped and curled or just cut and then gathered together on a stem or just be glued individually on wires & assembled around a stem / stalk or by using wired shapes for petals & leaves.

MATERIALS YOU NEED:

1. Scissor
2. Plier
3. Crepe paper or duplex paper
4. Tissue paper, toilet paper, kite paper
5. Pastel sheet or sketching paper
6. Thin sheets of polythene
7. Organdi fabric, or Thin starched cotton fabric
8. Satin ribbon or gift-wrapping ribbon
9. Stockings
10. Plastic strips
11. Green colour adhesive flower tape or strips of 5cm wide green crepe paper.
12. Paper glue or transparent glue
13. Thread or lightweight fuse wire (for binding)
14. Heavy gauge wire (for stem)

• MAKE YOUR OWN ROSE

STEPS FOR PETAL ARRANGEMENT

1. Make a loop on one end of the heavy gauge wire (with cotton inside to hold the flower & petals around), covered with double layers of either organdy cloth or 1.5“ x 1.5” tissue paper. Tie thread around the covered loop, and secure with thread knots.
2. The rose flower is a combination & arrangement of two sizes of square pieces as petals. Cut 5 pieces of 2” x 2” and 4 pieces of 3” x 3” of organdy cloth or tissue paper.
3. The flower will have three circles of petals, wherein; innermost circle will have two smaller petals placed opposite to each other. The middle circle shall have the remaining 3 pieces of smaller petals, overlapping and placed equidistant. The outermost circle shall comprise of the 4 bigger petals, creating volume & symmetry.
4. After having secured all the petals to the loop using thread, cover the thread and metal gauge wire using green adhesive flower tape or 1cm wide strip of crepe paper.

ORGANDY ROSE FLOWER

TISSUE PAPER ROSE FLOWER

• MAKE YOUR OWN CHRYSANTHEMUM

STEPS FOR PETAL ARRANGEMENT

1. Pile up 4 tissue papers, and cut the square layer in half.
   Restack the 8 layers of tissue papers (transformed from square to rectangle after cut), and make accordion fold of 2cm wide pleats.
2. Hold the accordion pleat stack, using metal gauge wire while making a small loop (using plier) around the center of the stack.
3. Trim the edges of the stack, in V–shape.
4. Gently press and hold the center of the stack, before flipping 4 layers towards the stem downwards, whereas the other 4 layers towards the loop upwards (away from the lower 4 layers). Repeat the same flips on the other side of the stack also.
5. Cover the stem & thread using 1cm width of green crepe paper, and dab of glue.
6. Use different color tissue paper, and explore the shapes of petals using pinking shears to play with structure. One can also try to make variations of layer flips, as well as the layers used to make the stack.

• MAKE YOUR OWN MARIGOLD

Method A

1. Cut 10cm strip across width of crepe paper roll. And create crease line at 5cm after folding in centre.
2. Over the widthwise folded line, make cuts into the 5cm strip with 3 cm depth at regular intervals of 2mm, over the complete length of roll.
3. Once the fringes are cut, roll the strip over  stem of wire (with the fringes facing away from the stem).
4. Secure the crepe paper fringe strip using thread, and put a knot to hold tightly.
5. Stick the calyx to the back of the flower & cover the thread knot, & stem wire using green flower tape.

Method B

1. Cut 6" strip across width of crepe paper roll.
2. Make cuts into the 6" strip with 3" depth at regular intervals of 3mm, over the complete length of roll.
3. Once the fringes are cut, trim the edges using pinking shears & roll the strip over  stem of wire (with the fringes facing away from the stem).
4. Secure the crepe paper fringe strip using thread, and put a knot to hold tightly.
5. Stick the calyx to the back of the flower & cover the thread knot, & stem wire using green flower tape.

Method C

1. Cut 1.5" strip across width of crepe paper roll.
2. Trim the edges of the strip using pinking shears.
3. Using a threaded needle, pierce through the middle of strip width to form gathers.
4. Gently slid the gathers to increase the volume, and tie the thread ends together, to make a circle.
5. Cut 6 pieces of 1.5" x 1.5" crepe paper.
6. Cut fringes 1" into the pile of 6 crepe paper squares. And, roll them over the stem wire, following a thread knot to hold together the paper.
7. Slid in the stem wire through the gathered crepe paper ring, and secure the flower using dab of glue from the downside of flower. 
8. Secure the crepe paper fringe strip using thread, and put a knot to hold tightly.
9. Stick the calyx to the back of the flower & cover the thread knot, & stem wire using green flower tape.

• MAKE YOUR OWN PLASTIC STRIP FLOWER

1. Bend and make a loop of stem wire, holding onto a bunch of pollen thread tied together with a knot.
2. To make the petals of the flower, cut strips of plastic coated metal wire (3 strips of 4” length will form one petal)
3. Define the shape of the strip as shown in step 3 above, i.e., one middle fold, and two in U shapes.
4. Secure the edges of the 3 stripes, together using thread, and arrange the multiple petals around the pollen stem wire. Also try to shape the petals by bending slightly.
5. Stick the calyx to the back of the flower, and cover the stem with green flower tape using dab of glue.