Paper Roses

"Paper roses, Paper roses

Oh how real those roses seem to be."

~ Recorded by Marie Osmond in 1973 ~

Hi there and welcome to another crafty springtime tutorial. A couple months ago I posted a pic of a project on my blog in which I used some handmade paper roses. I had lots people ask me how I made them, so I thought I would do a tutorial here on Joli Paquet and show you the step by step process.

Here are the supplies you will need to complete this project.

It really doesn't take very much at all.

1. For each paper flower you will need to punch 3 flowers from the pages of an old book. Using a scissors, cut the flowers as shown in the photo on the right above. Hang on to all the flower parts, because we will be using all of them.

2. Using a white, clear drying craft glue, apply a little bit on the petal as shown above. Next place the petal next to it on top of the petal with the glue (see arrow above) and you will end up with a 3-dimensional four petal flower.

3. Next we will work on the flower on which you cut off one of the petals. Follow the steps above, putting glue on the one petal and bringing the other petal on top of it (see arrow above) and you will end up with a 3-dimensional three petal flower.

4. Using the same technique in steps 2 and 3, apply glue to the petal of the

last flower and place it on top of the petal with the glue.

You will end up with a cone shape 3 dimensional flower when you are done.

5. Apply a dab of glue in the center of the four petal flower.

6. Take the three petal flower and gently flatten the pointy end on the bottom so it will be easier to glue inside the four petal flower.

Your flower should look like the one pictured above at this point.

7. Repeat step 6 with the last 3-dimensional flower.

Your flower should now look like the one in the right hand photo above.

8. For the two remaining flower pieces, roll each of them tightly into a tapered tube-like shape and apply glue to the end to secure.

9. Snip off the end of both of these flower parts to make them a little shorter.

These two pieces will form the center of the rose.

10. Glue both of these rolled up flower parts in the center of the flower.

11. Once the glue has dried, you are ready to add some color to your flower. I used Glimmer Mist because I like the soft colors and the shimmer this product adds to the flowers. But any type of spray-on coloring agent will work. Just be sure to test it on a sample piece of paper because the intensity of color varies from brand to brand. Pictured above are some of the colors I have used when making my paper roses. You can also try applying the color before putting the flower together for a different look.

These flowers can be used in a multitude of ways. Pictured above is a hanging heart I made earlier this year. I used a tiny flower punch to create these smaller size roses. What fun it would be to add this to your Mother's Day gift wrapping.

Use three of the larger roses to create this paper corsage for Mom or Grandma to wear on Mother's Day or use as an embellishment on a gift bag.

I brushed some white craft glue onto the petals and sprinkled crystal glitter on top to give the flowers even more sparkle. A brass charm adds the finishing touch. {I have a limited supply of these "Mother" charms in my Etsy shop here.}

Here I covered a paper mache box with vintage wallpaper and a paper doily to create an adorable trinket box to give as a gift this Mother's Day. I used three large natural glittered roses in the center along with pearl stamens tucked in between the flowers. A tiny paper tag finishes off the box.

I'm sure you will have lots of fun making these paper roses and will find many uses for them in your artwork. I'd love to see what you create with them, so be sure to add your photos of this and any other Joli Paquet projects to our Flickr site here.

xoxo

Jeanne