Bouquets and Arrangements
PAPER FLOWER BOUQUET WITH FRESH FOLIAGE
Paper flowers make great bouquets because you don’t have to worry if the flowers are in season together, they don’t need water, and they will last forever. When creating a bouquet, choose flowers that show a variety of textures, shapes, and sizes. You can use the stemmed flowers in this book as a bouquet recipe. To create color harmony, craft your flowers in an analogous color palette, or in varying shades of one color. Use the peonies as focal blooms, painted tulips as touches of bold color, butterfly ranunculus for texture, and dahlias to add volume. For a luscious bouquet, mix your flowers with real foliage, like seeded eucalyptus and lemon leaf. Gather your focal flowers in a bunch and arrange the foliage around them. Make sure it does not overshadow or hide your flowers. Keep adding smaller flowers to fill in any gaps. Try not to push the flower heads together; instead have them at different levels to add depth and dimension. Once you’ve got a bouquet shape you like, wrap floral tape several times around your stems. Then use a wire cutter to cut your stems to the desired length. Finish your bouquet by covering the floral tape with ribbon.
TULIP ARRANGEMENT
For a tulip arrangement, pick a vase that is more than half as tall as your tulip stems. A vintage milk bottle, a bud vase, or a cylinder vase will all work well. Build five to six paper tulips on stems, and for each flower, cut two oversize leaf shapes out of an entire 10-by-4-inch (25-by-10-cm) sheet of green doublette crepe, folded in half along the grain. You can laminate the leaves for added mobility and sturdiness. Twist the base and attach two leaves to each tulip. Spread out your tulips in various directions. Curve and bend the stems for a more natural look. If you wired the petals, you can open and close the flower heads to varying degrees.
Gifts
ARTFULLY WRAPPED SINGLE FLOWER
A handmade paper flower artfully wrapped in tissue paper is a thoughtful gift idea for birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations. You can gift a carefully crafted single stem on special occasions like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. Paper is also the traditional material to celebrate first wedding anniversaries. To wrap your paper flower, begin by picking a paper color that matches or complements your flower. Black tissue paper or kraft paper will match any flower.
WITH TISSUE PAPER
Cut out one rectangle of 8½-by-11-inch (21.5-by-28-cm) black tissue paper and one of white. Stack the two sheets and rotate 45 degrees, then fold the left corners in. Place your flower in the middle and fold your right corners in. Gather and scrunch your paper around the stem approximately 4 inches (10 cm) below your flower head and wrap with floral tape. Finish the presentation by tying with a piece of ribbon.
WITH A CARDSTOCK CONE
Roll one 8½-by-11-inch (21.5-by-28-cm) sheet of cardstock into an elongated cone. Tape the bottom of the cone as well as the edges where the paper meets on the inside and outside. Insert your flower and matching tissue paper into the cone.
Decorations and Events
WALL FLOWER BACKDROP
Make a paper flower backdrop with cardstock wall flowers for your next event. Cardstock is a popular choice for events because of its sturdiness. It comes in a wide range of colors that can be customized to the event’s theme and color palette. To add texture and depth, paint the cardstock with acrylics before cutting it. Play with the scale of the flowers by changing the size of your templates to fit an entire sheet of cardstock. Focus on a few oversize flowers and arrange other flowers in a variety of sizes around them. Vary the petal shape from pointy to rounded on some of your flowers and cut the edges of your petals with decorative scissors for interesting effects. Attach your finished flowers to the wall with the help of removable hanging strips that hold up to one pound. If you have enough wall flowers, you can even treat them as party favors and invite guests to take them home with them at the end of the event.
BUTTERFLY RANUNCULUS FLORAL CROWN
Make a delicate butterfly ranunculus flower crown for a themed party or a bridal shower. Begin by wrapping two 22 gauge wires around your head to measure its circumference. Twist the ends of the wires together to form the base of your floral crown. For the flowers, make five to six butterfly ranunculus, assembled on 22 gauge wire stems cut to 5 inches (13 cm). You can skip the calyx, but attach two or three leaves just 1 inch (2.5 cm) below the flower head. To begin assembling the floral crown, place your first butterfly ranunculus against the base and twist the stem around it directly under the leaves. Place your second butterfly ranunculus and twist the stem around the base in the same direction. Continue attaching the rest of your butterfly ranunculus until half of your base is covered or attach three on one side of your face and two on the other. Cover the rest of your base with floral tape or crepe paper strips for a more polished look.
TEMPLATES
All dimensions are given as height-by-length. The grain of the paper should be running with height, up and down the longest part of your petal, leaf, or calyx. Cut along solid lines and fold or scrunch along dotted lines.
The templates can be downloaded here.
GLOSSARY
Accordion-fold: Series of alternating folds to create sections of similar size
Cardstock paper: Thick, durable paper in solid colors
Cupping: Shaping paper into a rounded shape
Curling: Shaping paper into a curved or rolled shape
Decorative scissors: Scissors with special edge designs
Dip-dyeing: Dipping your paper into dyes such as food coloring, bleach, or ink
Doublette crepe paper: Smooth crepe paper with good stretch
Fine crepe paper: Delicate crepe paper with subtle stretch
Floral stem wire: Flexible aluminum wire sometimes covered in cloth or paper
Floral tape: Stretchable tape that adheres only to itself
Florist crepe paper: Textured crepe paper with plenty of stretch
Focal flowers: Large flowers that draw the attention of the viewer
Freehand cutting: Cutting petals without the aid of a template
Fringing: Making successive cuts along the edge of the paper
Fusible bonding web: Thin layer of fiber that bonds two pieces of paper together when ironed. Generally used to bond layers of fabric together.
Gauge: Measures the thickness of wire
Glue stick: Solid glue in a push-up tube
Grain of the paper: Vertical ridges that give crepe paper its stretchiness
Hot glue gun: Precision gun to dispense hot melted glue
Laminating: Gluing two pieces of paper together
Mod Podge: Glue, sealer, and finish in one for all types of paper
Panpastels: Chalk pastels in a pan format
Ruffling: Shaping the edge of the petal into a subtle curve
Scrunching: Gathering paper sections with your fingers
Spray fixative: Spray adhesive used to preserve paint and protect finished flowers
Tacky glue: All-purpose glue with thick consistency
Template: Guide to cut petal flower shapes
Tissue paper: Lightweight paper used mainly for gift wrapping
Twisting: Rolling a piece of paper between your fingers
Wiring: Inserting a piece of thin floral wire between two papers
RESOURCES
I hope that this quick introduction to paper flower crafting will excite you into further exploring the craft. If you want to learn more about the world of contemporary paper flowers, there are many fantastic books on paper flowers out there, such as The Exquisite Book of Paper Flowers by Livia Cetti.
You can find the following papers and materials at these brick-and-mortar stores:
Blick Art Materials: florist crepe paper 180 g, doublette crepe paper 90 g, fine crepe paper 60 g, tissue paper, cardstock paper, floral tape, floral stem wire, coloring supplies, all types of adhesives.
Michaels: cardstock paper, tissue paper, floral tape, floral stem wire, coloring supplies, all types of adhe
sives.
You can find the following papers and materials online at:
Shopliagriffith.com: florist crepe paper (called heavy floristic crepe), doublette crepe paper 90 g, fine crepe paper 60 g, tissue paper, floral tape, floral stem wire, coloring supplies.
Cartefini.com: florist crepe paper 180 g, fine crepe paper 60 g.
Paperflowersupplies.com: doublette crepe paper, florist crepe paper 180 g, fine crepe paper 32 g, floral stem wire, floral tape, coloring supplies.
Papermart: florist crepe paper 100 g and 180 g, tissue paper, floral stem wire, floral tape, fine crepe paper 28 g.
Rosemille.com: doublette crepe, fine crepe 32 g, floral stem wire, floral tape.
Amazon.com: florist crepe paper 100 to 180 g, doublette crepe paper 90 g, fine crepe paper 32 to 60 g, tissue paper, cardstock paper, floral tape, floral stem wire, coloring supplies, all types of adhesives.
A variety of tutorials and templates for different types of paper can be found at www.liagriffith.com.
Take video lessons on Skillshare, Teachable, CreativeLive, and Bluprint.
Join the paper florist community on social media by searching for @thepaperfloristsorg on Instagram and The Paper Florists on Facebook.
Look for workshops in your area taught by local paper flower artists.
Acknowledgments
To Matilde, Magic, and Jochi, thank you for your love and support.
To Abigail Peterson, Angela Liguori, Andrea Reyes, Jessie Chui, and Stacey Lee, thank you for your help and enthusiasm.
To the paper florist community on Instagram and Facebook, thank you for your creativity and inspiration.
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