May Flowers Tutorial

The other night, to make myself feel better, I decided I needed to paper craft. Easy and pretty, just what my brain needed. I had seen this tutorial, but I needed to put my own spin on it. My way is better for quirky and not perfect (nor found in nature, teehee). They're super simple and fun, and you could probably occupy the kiddos for a bit with this one. So I bring you the April Showers That Soak the Ground and Make Spring Come Late So You Have to Make Your Own May Flowers tutorial. Seriously - I think it rained almost every day in April.

First, you'll need some sturdy paper. I liked making my flowers two-toned, but single colored ones are just as pretty. I used my circle cutter, even though any circular objects will work perfectly. Or, if you can freehand a circle pretty well, go for it. You'll also need scissors and a glue stick or glue dots.

You can make these in any sizes you like--the small ones are really sweet, but mid-sized was easiest to work with. You'll need to cut two circles, one a little larger than the other. My larger circle is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, and the smaller one is about 2 inches. Precise measurements are not needed here--just use what you have.

I free-hand cut the next part but you're going to need to cut each circle similar to the drawing below:

Snip eight evenly-ish placed cuts around the circle but DO NOT cut all the way--you should have eight flaps.

Now you're going to make a bit of a pinch fold. Take the circle that will be towards the back and pinch each petal with the blank sides together (or, in fabric terms, wrong sides together). Take the circle that will be towards the front and pinch each petal in the opposite direction (printed or right sides together). Don't make your crease too sharp towards the center or you risk tearing the paper (go ahead--ask me how I know this).

Glue the pieces together at the center. Adjust so that the crease in the top piece lines up with the cut in the bottom piece.

Then cut a contrasting piece for the center of the flower (I just used the red gingham again). Glue it on down.

I got a little obsessed so I added two more pieces to the back, which is why the above picture has a few more pieces than where we are in the tutorial. Then I added more. And before I knew it I had a big old flower. Then I made another exactly the same. If you want to do this just cut more circles, each a little larger than the one on top of it.

I wanted to see the effect if I put these back to back and made a flower. So I got some rigid stem wire and my glue gun. I bent the wire so it had a loopy look to it:

Then I put hot glue in the center and combined the two flowers and the wire and pressed until the glue set. If you're wondering if hot glue is still hot through all those layers I assure you that it is.

I made another one using the same colors but reversing their placement. Stuck them in a vase and bam! Cute paper flowers. I did an extra little pinching and fluffing--they got a little bit flattened during the gluing.

You know how I get going on something and I just keep going? So I made a bunch more of the smaller ones in a bunch of different colors (I think they're cuter smaller).

So then I did what I always do and I strung them up on a long piece of embroidery floss and hung them up in front of the kitchen window.

It adds a little something to the window and looks crazy sweet. These would be cute as a party decoration, or used individually as package toppers, or for anything where you need just a bit of easy embellishment. Plus they hardly take any time at all. I should have made a vase of these instead, but I didn't want to waste my huge flowers I had already made :)

One other thing: I had some scrapbook paper with flowers on them already. Check it out:

I cut out two of the same size and snipped on the sides of the petals. Then I folded and glued the same way. The curved petals give a slightly different look, (see photo below) which you could achieve by cutting the edges of the petals. I think the orange flower below is my favorite :)

If you have a brain that functions well with math or can get a compass and protractor to cooperate with you, you can probably make even more petals than the eight this method gives. But I've ruined many a project with my poor math skills so I just went with what was working for me.

So that's that. Cute and easy, right?

I'm linking up here this week: