Newspaper Flowers DIY

Not long ago I saw some colorful newspaper flowers made by kids on Pinterest and have not been able to get them out of my head.  There was something about the up-cycling, the wild abandon with color and how joyful they looked that just inspired me.  I immediately pulled out my Gel Press (best way to get tons of colorful paint on paper) and started experimenting on newspaper sheets.  It was addicting!  The paint on the paper made it into an amazing craft material.  Next, I cut some patterns and started stitching them together.  Pretty soon I had an adult version of newspaper flowers that could adorn almost anything!  Grab some newspaper and start crafting....

and don't forget to Make Your Mark!

Gift bag magic!

Try them on a wine bottle!

The more color the better!

Watch how I made mine here!

STUFF I USED

Americana Acrylics

Plastic Gems

Gel Press

Newspaper

Optional:  Sewing Machine

DecoArt Craft Twinkles and Glamour Dust

Flower pattern

Print on standard copy paper

HERE'S HOW

1.  Squirt Americana Acrylics on your Gel Press and spread the colors with a brayer making sure to keep it color blocked by rolling off each color before you spread it

2. Press and pull newspaper sheets laying them flat to dry

3.  Coat the sheets with Craft Twinkles and Glamour Dust to give them a glittery sheen and sparkle

4.  Trace the 5 different sizes of flowers and the leaves on a sheet (or 2 depending on how big your Gel Press is)

5.  Pin the pressed sheets in stacks and cut out several of the different sizes of flowers

6.  Stack the flowers largest to smallest

7.  Optional:  Stitch lines emanating from the center on the smallest flower

8.  Place the small flower back on top of the stack and stitch (or glue) the entire stack together right in the center

9.  Stitch down the center of a stack of 3 leaves

*You could also glue a line down the center of a stack if you don't have a sewing machine

10.  Glue (with hot glue or white glue) a plastic gem in the center of the stack on the smallest flower

11.  When the gem is dry, crunch the flowers, one by one, around the gem

12.  Glue curling ribbon and the flowers on gift bags, wine bottles, wrapped packages or toss them around your dinner party table!

 Gift ready!

Recycle, reuse, repurpose!

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

Glaze Coat Epoxy Resin

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

Happy Thurs-DIY!

A few of the beautiful offerings from some of my very talented friends!

Enjoy.  xoxo, Mark

1. Lia Griffith makes perfect paper posies!   2. Craftberrybush makes terrific blue porcelain pumpkins!

3. Cahty Attix rocks the pearls!   4. Make a Butterfly Resin work of art!

5. Make the cutest panda ice-cream cones!   6. Alisa Burke rocks her guest room!  

7.   Katie Harvey made this awesome floral painted filing cabinet!