How to: DIY Crepe Paper Flowers

I originally found these gorgeous flowers via Pinterest (have I told you I’m addicted?) and followed it back to CountryLiving where they had a basic DIY How to. Their idea for these dark beauties was for a chic Halloween arrangement, but I wanted to give them a shot for another purpose.

Now, keep in mind this tutorial is on how to make the black crepe-paper flowers. I mixed in my book paper flowers just to give it some variety (and because I thought it looked pretty).

Ok, ready? Let’s get started.

To get started, you’re going to need some basic items that are fairly easy (and cheap) to find:

• Crepe paper – I found mine at the Dollar Store, 2 for $1. Seems like one roll will make around 20 or so flowers.
• Floral wire/Stem wire – I picked up a pack at Joanns for around $3 for 30 pieces.
• Double sided tape – this stuff is driving me nuts. It works great, but we do not always get along.
• Scissors – not sure if you can see how mine have all kinds of glue on them? Lol.

Start with one 18″ (roughly) wire. Bend it in half and started twisting. Try to leave a little loop at the top as I find it helps to hold the tape and paper better.

Now it’s time for that pesky double-sided tape. Begin wrapping around the looped end and working your way down the wire. I do around 3-4 inches to be safe.

Next, you’re going to grab your crepe paper (which can be any color I assume) and begin by folding over the first edge. Then, wrap the paper around the loop of the wire several times (I do around 4 or 5, but more so until I get the look I want).

Once you’ve got your base, you’re going to start wrapping the paper around and slowly start creeping down the wire. You don’t want to move down too fast or you’re flower will look more like a pine cone (trust me on that one). Try playing around with different techniques and see what works for you. I tend to hold the base of the flower in my left hand and slowly work the paper around with my right. I bunch the paper at the bottom and fan it out more at top. It definitely took some practice and getting used to.

Continue wrapping down the wire until you get your desired look and cut the end of the streamer. As in the beginning, fold the end and finish wrapping it around.

To finish, take a small piece of double-sided tape (around 2″) and wrap it around the bottom of the bloom. I find this helps to keep in place at the bottom.

And voila! I’ve taken an old card box that I found at an antique store, filled it with styrofoam and been plugging these babies into it as I go.

There you have it folks! By the way, I took all the pictures as I went, so my apologies for some that are a bit blurry.

What DIY projects are you working on?

comment via facebook: