Giant Paper Flowers

How to Make Giant Paper Flowers
Imaginative Crafts, Do-It-Yourself Projects and Video Tutorials by Robert Mahar, robert-mahar.com
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Robert’s Paper Flower Inspiration Pinterest Board: http://www.pinterest.com/robertm/paper-flora/

Materials:
Construction paper
Cardstock or lightweight cardboard for the templates

Tools:
Scissors
Multi-blade scissors (optional)
Pencil or pen
Bowls and/or plates to trace for templates
Ruler
Paper clips (optional)
Stapler
Hot glue gun with glue

Directions:
1. Begin by creating templates for your petals. Trace a bowl or small plate onto cardstock or lightweight cardboard to create the upper portion of the petal. Use a ruler to create the sides of the petal, tapering it slightly at the base. Depending on how large you’d like to make your flower, create this same shape petal template in two to three sizes — the flower demonstrated in the video uses three (small, medium and large). Once you’ve drawn your petal templates, cut them out.

2. Next trace your templates onto construction paper. The flower demonstrated in the video requires five large petals, three medium and three small. To avoid having to cut each petal out individually, stack two to three sheets of paper, trace the template on top sheet, clip the paper together and then cut. The clips will prevent the paper from shifting while you cut.

3. When you’ve finished cutting out all of your petals, stack the respective sizes together , take your scissors and create a roughly 3″ vertical cut in the center of the tapered petal base. Take the tab of paper one either side of the cut and overlap them — you’ll see this causes the paper cup creating a three dimensional petal. Begin with the large petals first — as the exterior petals we want these to be fairly open — so overlap the two sides slightly and then staple them together. Moving on to the medium sized petals — we want these to sit up higher than the large petals — so overlap the two sides even more and staple together. Finally the small petals — we want these to sit up almost vertically — so overlap the two sides even more and staple together.

4. Assemble the petals together to construct the flower, beginning with the large petals. Overlap each large petal slightly at the base and secure them together using hot glue. Connect all five large petals to create a cup-like form — this is the exterior ring of petals. Then apply hot glue to the underside base of the three medium petals, pressing them into the interior of the cup-like form, position them so they overlap slightly — this creates the second ring of petals. Repeat this process for the three small petals — this creates the inner ring of petals.

5. To create the interior or stamen of the flower, take a sheet of construction paper and cut in half lengthwise. Take these two pieces and fold them in half lengthwise. Using regular or multi-blade scissors create a series of cuts down the entire length of the folded edge. Unfold these two sheets and refold them in the opposite direction — this will create extra dimension to the stamen. Secure one end with a couple staples and then begin to wrap this piece around a pencil — when you get to the end of the strip secure it with some hot glue. Glue the second strip and continuing wrapping around the first piece — finishing with additional glue. The end result will look somewhat like a paper pom pom! Apply a generous amount of hot glue to the underside and press down into the center of the flower.

6. Finish your flower with some foliage! Create a leaf by folding a piece of construction paper in half lengthwise and then cut half of a tear drop shape. To add dimension to the leaf, fold it accordion style on an angle. Unfold the leaf, apply hot glue to the underside of the flower and position the leaf.

Helpful Tips:
• These flowers sit flat, making them perfect party decorations! Consider using them as centerpieces or to decorate your mantle or coffee table. You can also use temporary adhesive to mount them on your wall!
• Experiment with different petal shapes to create a variety of flower forms.
• These giant paper flowers can be created from almost any kind of sturdy paper — solid text weight or card stock, patterned scrapbooking paper or even heavier wrapping paper.