Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Paper Flowers (That Last Forever)

Who doesn't love a beautiful paper flower?  In the middle of winter when you can't have beautiful blooms, there is nothing more fun than creating your own to brighten things up a bit!  Making these Kusudama flowers is a fun family project and perfect to keep your hands busy when you're sitting in front of the boob tube!  Why not make them last forever with just one more simple step?  Heck, if you're going to spend all that time on them, why not have them for a while!  This process would be  perfect for a DIY paper wedding bouquet!  Have fun.  xoxo, Mark
When they dry, they look like glass!
I love how shiny they become
A bright bouquet of rainbow Kusudama flowers

Watch the fun video tutorial here!
Stuff You'll Need
18 gage wire
Wire cutters
3 1/2" x 3 1/2" colored office paper
Clothespins
Hot glue gun
White school glue
Yarn or twine

1. Fold the square in half on the diagonal to form a triangle
2.  Fold the left and right corners up to meet the top point and form a square
3. Fold the front points out so each outer edge lines up with the edge of the square
4. Unfold the last fold then open each side up into a pocket and flatten each pocket out along the crease lines you just made, to form a kite shape 
5.  Fold the tip of each kite shape forward along the line of the edge of the paper to form a triangle
6. Fold the lower edge of each side up along the existing crease
7. Add a thin layer of glue along one of the front flaps
8. Use a clothespin to hold them together until the glue dries
9.  Continue making 5 petals for each flower
10. Glue groups of 2 and 3 together and let dry
11.  Glue the sets of 2 and 3 together to create a complete flower
12.  Add hot glue to the end of a 12" piece of wire
13. Insert the wire into the center of the flower to create a stem
14. Mix the Glaze Coat in a container large enough to dip the flowers
15.  Dip the flowers in the Glaze Coat and hang to dry on a mini clothesline
*Make sure you have plenty of newspaper under the clothesline to catch the dripping Glaze Coat
Cut your own squares at work or try using post-it notes!  I won't tell. 
Dollar store clothespins make the best little clamps for projects like this


6 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I made these same flowers for my wedding centerpieces:
    http://bastelbazooka.blogspot.de/2015/01/our-thrifty-wedding-our-wedding.html

    All the best from Germany,
    Anni

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  2. OMG Mark Love your blog & these flowers! You're so Amazing!!! I have to try to make these with my Niece Isabella :)

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  3. Just make sure to mix the Glaze Coat outside! Have fun!

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  4. Love this, I wanted to find how to make these flowers, thank you.

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