Paper Flower TUTORIAL: Carnation

For those who would like to know how I create my paper flowers, here's a little treat:

A TUTORIAL on how to make a paper carnation.

For this flower, I used a pretty double-sided card stock paper from Michael's. It's shimmer yellow on one side and really bright yellow on the other, which is great since it adds an extra layer of depth to the flower when seen from different angles.

Same colored papers look lovely, but it would be fun to use a double sided paper, or layer the petals in different colors. See what works best for you.

I call the flower a "carnation", but it looks like a "daisy", too, doesn't it :)

Here is how to make it.

You will need:

• Paper
• Scissors
• Chopstick
• Glue
• Pearl (for the center, optional)

DIRECTIONS:
The steps to making this flower are pretty self-explanatory if you look at the image above, but just in case, here they are again:

1. Cut out a paper heart (or use a heart-shaped paper punch if you have one).
2. Cut the heart in half.
3. Cut the half in another half to make the narrow petals. From one paper heart you will get 4 petals.
4. Round the tip of the petals. make the narrow petals. 
5. Shape the petals using a chop stick or a thin pencil.
6. Glue the petals on a circle in two layers.
7. Fold the petals upward to shape the flower.
8. Add a pearl or some other embellishment for the center. Or keep it simple with a few more petals that have been fringed and glued to the center.

That's it!

If you have any questions about the making of this flower, please leave me a comment.

Also, see my other tutorials for additional flower shapes and such.

A Pastel PINK Bouquet for a Book Themed Wedding

As you may have noticed, I am getting more and more into book-paper flowers lately.

They just provide that nice simple look, the base of the bouquet, which can then be perked up with a touch of color or form from other flowers.

In this case, I wanted a pastel bouquet, so pale PINK magnolia-style flowers play a big role, as do pale YELLOW flowers, roses in the palest BLUE and tiny paper flowers in different pastel colors.

I was toying with the idea of wrapping the bouquet in a dashing mustard satin ribbon or a more traditional ivory satin, but I am leaving that option open for now. The bride that purchases this bouquet will decide which color ribbon to go with.

The bouquet (sans the knit vase) can currently be found in my Etsy shop.

Pastel PINK, BOOK ROSE Paper Bouquet - Book Themed Wedding

Pink-Hued Book Paper Rose Boutonniere

Here it is.

A book paper rose inked with pale pink ink.

It's one of a kind and I made it just for Judy's wedding this fall.

The boutonniere is part of the Pink Champagne Book Roses set and accompanies the paper bouquet I made a while ago.

This color palette (pale pink, peach, cream and book paper) is so romantic and one of my favorite, and I'm so glad the bride that gets to carry these flowers down the aisle is one who appreciates handmade beauties.

Wishing you all the joy in the world, Judy!

Robin's Egg Blue Paper Bouquet

This timeless beauty bouquet would be perfect for a classic or a book-themed wedding.

I was inspired by illustrations in a natural history book by Gerald Durrell which my grandfather gave me years ago. I believe I was nine at the time.

The book is in Croatian, which at one point I could read and speak fluently (I can only read it now) and is one of my favorite books of all time. I had it with me when I first came to the U.S. and has moved with me from coast to coast and is currently taking up shelf space in my living room.

I love the stories about the author's life in India, in Cypress. The layouts of some of the things you could find in a regular old field or a meadow are amazing. Plants and occasional animal life spread out on white surface, still, yet also beautiful.

One of these layouts had a  color scheme which I wanted to capture in this bouquet.

Pale BLUE, like EGGSHELL BLUE, soft IVORY white and BOOK paper. I threw in a shade of pastel GREEN just to add a touch of warmth.

The blue flowers are in the new shape I am currently in love with. Sort of like magnolia blossoms, only with a pearl for the center.

Paper roses are still present, and abstract book paper roses as well. No fears, I used a different book for these flowers - - - I would never touch my grandfather's book for anything else except for reading :)

I wrapped the bouquet in a blue satin ribbon, but I also enjoy seeing it in a hand-knit vase (more about this vase in another post).

I will list it in my Etsy shop any day now. For the time being, it sits prettily on my desk and I love catching a glimpse of it every now and then.

Eggshell Blue Paper Bouquet

Love the Lilac

There is something very serene about a lilac paper flower resting on a green background.

I made one of these flowers the other day, while I was experimenting with petal-by-petal techniques. I liked the results and made a few more flowers, and then a few more, in different colors.

These are bigger than my usual paper flowers, which adds a bit more drama when bunched together in a bouquet.

They require a few steps to make, like creating the fringed centers, or carefully folding and flexing the hand cut petals before gluing them into place. But, as you can see, resulting flower looks very natural.

I decided to make a bridal bouquet with just these flowers and maybe just add pale green paper leaves to the mix.

Very spring evoking, don't you think?

Happy Spring!

Spring is here!!
Enjoy the pretty clear blue skies and pink paper (and real) flowers :)

My own patterned paper!

Stamps are a wonderful tool for creating your own patterned paper. Depending on your stamps you could create nature-themed paper, simple geometrical patterns, antique writings, or something abstract and wonderful.

I have these great wood mounted rubber stamps of butterflies, flowers and trees, so for I created my own paper and constructed flowers for one of my Etsy clients, an Alaska bride.

Check out the flowers which later turned into boutonnieres, corsages and cake flowers!!!

Note: The boutonnieres, corsages and cake flowers I mentioned will complement this BOOK Flowers Bridal Bouquet.

A Dozen PAPER FLOWERS and BUTTERFLIES in Pink and Yellow

I made this bunch of paper flowers for a very special girl's birthday.

Her mother wanted to create a lovely surprise for her daughter, so she asked me to make a dozen flowers in her daughter's favorite colors: PINK and YELLOW.

Roses, peonies, daisies and a few fluttering butterflies - all handmade and ready to bring joy on the girl's birthday!
Cheers!

BLUE, BOOK and YELLOW Pomander

I created a book paper inspired pomander constructed of paper roses in a summer bride's palette: Bright Blue and Yellow.

• blue tinted book roses
• blue roses
• yellow roses
• yellow satin ribbon

See a different version of this pomander in the same colors.

Cream Colored Day

Spring is near. But... We've already had a few summer-like days this year in Massachusetts. What to make of this weather???

I still sort of entertain hopes of seeing one more daring dash of snow before the winter officially ends on the 20th of March, but seeing blooming spring flowers in the parks near my home sets those hopes to the dark corners of my soul.

So, Spring it is!

Still,... who's to say that steel-colored mornings (yesterday, and this morning, for example), and beige-like sky canvases stretching above my city, are not winter-like. 

For those few fleeting moments before the day turns more sunny, I see ghosts of this warm winter and those short flurries of snowflakes we had a on a few lucky mornings. 

So, there it is. 

I say my goodbye to winter with ghost-like paper flowers in pale vanilla, beige, cream, whatever you want to call it... 

 

Pink Champagne - BOOK Paper Flowers and Pinks and Creams

Book roses are one of my favorite paper flowers. They give depth and meaning to bouquets and really stand out among solid colored flowers.

For example, see this pretty bouquet. Its pinks and cream-colored peonies and roses are beautiful on their own, but when there are book roses in the mix, the bouquet perks up and becomes whole.

The Jane Austen book pages that became the material for these roses add that extra touch of ROMANCE, beauty, meaning to the bouquet ...

What could be more appropriate for a bride that embodies these qualities as well?

Silver Belle - paper flower, restructured...

Some of you may remember the Silver Belle inked paper flower I already blogged about some time ago.

Well, this flower is a version of that, only fluffier, richer in petals.

I used the same lovely silver brocade over taupe paper for the petals, cut one by one and inked, then folded and glued to form this shape.

A single bead adorns the center.
Wire at the back for easy hanging on the wall (or on top of a pretty gift box).