A
lthough spring is yet to come, with a little bit of effort we can
manage to do what nature isn’t ready to do, quite yet. Paper
floristry is a way to bring a bit of colour to our homes. Paper
flowers have been made almost since paper was invented in
China, in about 100 BCE. They remain as appealing as ever:
pretty, inexpensive, makeable from readily available materials
and – of course – always in bloom. You can craft a paper flower very simply:
these two projects will help you elevate your skills. They can be slightly fiddly
and take a bit of time and patience to make, but the payoff is these flowers are
alsolonglasting–theV&AMuseumhassomeexamplesdatingfromaround
the 7th to 10th century. And, perhaps most importantly, at a time of the year
when an extra bit of cheer is always welcome, they share the same quality of
their real-life counterparts: the ability to bring a smile to your face.YOU WILL NEED
Cherry blossom templates*
Thin wire
Green and brown florist tape
Florist wire (24-gauge)
Paper
Small sharp scissors
Pencil
Light pink, green and pale yellow
papers
White tack
Pin or needle
Wooden skewer
Hot glue and gun sticks
Twig or small tree branch
Wire or twine for hanging (optional)Cherry blossom
DISPLAY FIXED TO A
REAL TWIG OR BRANCHPROUDLY
HOMEMADE1 Photocopy or trace the flower, leaf
and stamen templates onto your
chosen papers so that you have 40 of
each, or transfer all templates onto
card and cut them out to draw
around. Carefully creaseeach leaf
lengthways down the centre,taking
care not to press down too hard (to
avoid a harsh-looking fold).
2 Snip 6 thin strips into each stamen.
Tightly roll it up. Repeat to create
40 small flower stamens.
3 Cut 40 x 5cm lengths of 24-gauge
wire. Using a hot glue gun, apply a
small amount of glue to the end of
each wire and wrap the bottom of
each stamen around the wire. Using
florist tape, wrap the bottom third of
the stamen and continue wrapping
onto the wire. Repeat with all 40
stamen and lengths of wire.
4 Using a skewer,curl each petal
inwards, carefully uncurling themslightly as the skewer is removed.
Place each blossom flower, one by
one, onto a ball of white tack and
pierce a hole just big enough for the
stamen to be pushed through.
5 Take the stamen and push the wire
and wrapped part of the stamen
through the hole in the blossom.
6 Apply some hot glue to the
underside of the flower to secure the
stamen, stem and bloom in place.
7 Take 2 or 3 blossoms at a time and
place them onto a real tree branch,
using brown florist tape to attach the
flower stems to it. Make sure you leave
some space between the flower
groups for the leaves to be attached.
8 Bend the bottom tip of each leaf
and apply hot glue, then attach to the
twig or branch quickly before the glue
sets, holding in place for a second or
two. If using a larger branch, you
could hang it up using twine or wire.2 3456 7* Download the templates on our blog , thesimplethings.com/blog/paperf lowers.»NEST (^) | WEEKEND PROJECT