A Vase of Spring Blossoms

From: Kathy Bryant


I really had fun making this vase filled with paper flowers and think you will too. By adding some candy, I turned mine into an Easter Basket.

I used five varieties of flowers made from Diamond Dust paper. Each flower’s center is a button from the Lily White Assortment by Doodlebug. I love these buttons. The set includes 20 white buttons in several retro shapes. Of course, your arrangement could include flowers from coordinating papers and buttons of different colors. Doodlebug has some fun button assortments.

The flower stems are bamboo skewers. You can find these at most grocery stores. I found thin ones that work well at Harris Teeter, Giant and Wegman’s. The stems were cut in different lengths so that the flowers could be arranged in a pleasing way.

A clay pot, a bucket or a basket would make a great container for your floral arrangement. I chose a clear glass, cylinder-shaped vase and decorated it with TWIG paper, a lacey ribbon and two TWIG border stickers. You will need something in the bottom of your container to hold the skewers upright. Sand, rice, beans or rocks will work. Another alternative is floral foam, which I used.

The instructions for making each of the flowers follow. Experiment with size, colors and varieties. The possibilities are endless. The bottom line is to have fun and create an arrangement that fits your décor or the style of the recipient. Enjoy!

INSTRUCTIONS
Don’t expect perfection in your flowers. It is likely that if you examine each flower with a critical eye, you will find little imperfections – the circle isn’t quite perfect, the one petal’s fold is larger than another’s or one doesn’t lay quite right. It doesn’t matter. These variations will not detract from the overall beauty of the flowers. In fact, the variations will make each one unique as is each flower in nature.


Since both sides of the paper will be visible to some extent, you should use double-sided paper.



Flower #1

1. Cut a 3” x 6 ¼” rectangle.
2. Fold the paper lengthwise at ¼” and 3 ¼” so you have a 3” X 6” rectangle.
3. Glue the overlapping ¼” strip down.
4. Cut 8 – ⅜” strips across the short end of the rectangle to create your flower petals.
5. Punch 2 – 1 ½” circles and punch a tiny hole in the center of each. (The size of the small Crop-A-Dile™ punch is perfect.)
6. To assemble, place one of the circles on the table with the wrong side facing up. Apply glue to the circle being careful not to get any in the hole.
7. Take each petal, push the two folded ends together slightly to round the petal a little. Then lay each petal on top of the circle, arranging them approximately equally around the circle.
8. Put glue on the wrong side of the other circle (again avoiding the hole) and place it on top of the flower to hold the petals in place.
9. Stick a 7 gypsies Twistie through a button and then through the hole in the two circles. Affix the Twistie to the stem.
   

Flower #2

My arrangement contains three of these flowers. Two have petals made from 1 ½” circles. The other’s petals are 1” circles.

1. Punch 8 – 1 ½” circles.
2. To make a petal, squeeze one end of a circle together between your thumb and two fingers. Apply a drop of glue and squeeze until the glue will hold the end of the circle closed. Then put another drop of glue on the outside of the fold and fold one side down to form a pleat. Hold for a moment until the glue will hold the pleat in place.
3. Repeat with 6 more circles.
4. Punch a small hole in the center of the remaining circle.
5. Glue each of the “petals” around hole in the center. Each one needs to go slightly on top of the prior one. You may need to arrange a bit to get the look you like.
6. Affix button and flower to stem as with Flower #1.

These flowers are quite attractive and once you get the hang of it easy to make. I’d recommend that you try making one or two with scrap paper before starting your project.

Flower #3

My arrangement contains three of these flowers. The size varies slightly. To make these flowers, you create two sections and then put them together to form one flower. One section needs to be smaller than the other.

1. Cut a ¾” x 12” strip and scallop one edge.
2. Cut a 1 ¼” x 12” strip and scallop one edge.
3. Punch a 1” circle and a 1 ½” circle. Put a hole in the center of each one.
4. Start with the smaller circle. Put glue on the circle.
5. Using the smaller strip, start folding it and fastening it to the circle gradually working your way around the circle until you have a complete circle of petals. Glue the two ends together cutting any extra off.
6. Repeat with the larger circle and strip.
7. Put the small section on top of larger one.
8. Affix button and flower to stem as in Flower #1. This also holds the two sections together.

Flower #4

Four of these are in my arrangement. All are the same size.

1. Cut 3– 2” scalloped circles.
2. Put a small hole in the center of each scalloped circle.
3. Crinkle each scalloped circle individually. Don’t be afraid to crinkle too much. The more you crinkle the more texture your flower will have.
4. Stack the circles on top of each other.
5. Affix button and flower to stem as with Flower #1.

As an example of the uniqueness, I ran low on paper so one of my flowers consists of one scalloped circle and two plain circles.

Flower #5

I have just one of these in my arrangement. This flower is made with the Tim Holtz Alterations Rosette by Sizzix. This is really easy to make as the Sizzix cuts and perforates the paper, so all you have to do is fold and glue. This rosette is 2⅝”. There will soon be a die cutter to make rosettes in two additional sizes (2” and 1⅝”).

1. Cut flower petals and two circles using Sizzix. Put a hole in center of each circle.
2. Fold rosette based upon instructions and glue ends together.
3. Push the center of the circle down.
4. Once you have the rosette forming a circle, glue the circles to each side of the rosette.

This sounds harder than it is. It will make sense once you start. If you don’t have the Sizzix die cutter, you can accomplish the same thing by cutting a strip one half the size you want the flower to be by 12”. Score the strip every ¼”, alternating the score so you can fold like a fan. Follow the instructions above, beginning with gluing the ends together.