As we speak, Mother Nature is dumping snow on us here in Kentucky, but I’m already thinking about flowers. Bright blooms, even if they’re FAKE ones, may be just the thing to help me pull through the remaining months of winter.
I’m rediscovering my fondness for origami by learning how to make some new flowers (which came in quite handy when our power went out for several hours the other day!) and I’m brainstorming on how to attach them to “stems” so that I can put them in a vase. The folding tutorial that I used for the origami daisy above can be found here. For the origami paper, I have a few out-dated wallpaper sample books which I’m repurposing, as well as the pages from books and magazines. After I get my fill of paper (and plastic) flowers, I’ll probably try making them from fabric.
I made the layered flowers above simply by using my new die-cutting machine (I’m hooked on it lately) and scraps of fabric and paper, which are connected together with tiny metallic brads. I’ve also decided that I’m going to need some new paper-cutting tools (of course!) to help me save time with all the cutting and gluing that will be in my future 🙂
Great project for these snowy days, I love them! I’m envisioning garments covered in them!
Do you have something in mind to use for stems? Wire coat hangers would probably be strong, yet flexible enough. Is there a pin or something piercing the center of the flowers that gives you something to attach stem to on the back? If so, you could use floral tape to attach it, or some other kind of tape that could be covered with a ribbon or fabric wrap.
If there isn’t something protruding from the back of the flowers, you may be able to fashion a ring of wire at the end of the stem that the flower can be glued or sewn onto. If you use glue, it could be covered with a fabric or paper calyx.
Neal, you are spot on…I am practicing so that I CAN cover a gown in them (good call!) And thanks a million for the great ideas, I’ll try both ways. The origami paper ones I think will be the trickiest. The gown I’ve designed will most likely be covered in white plastic flowers, so no stems necessary unless I want to make a matching bouquet for the model to hold 😉