Paper Flower Power! *Make and Wear Them 4 Ways*

I've been playing with paper a lot lately over at my day job, so was inspired to dig into my own paper stash for this month's iLoveToCreate project. With plenty of time until Mother's Day, here's a delicate flower that can be applied four different ways to create a non-wilting "bouquet" for her hand, her head, her hair, or her lapel!

Materials:
-Paper scrap for template (brown paper bag or a sheet from the printer paper recycling) at least 3" x 3"
-Decorative paper scraps (card stock, book pages, paper bags, thick wrapping paper, etc., in variety of colors)
-All-purpose scissors
-Aleene's Tacky Glue and clothespins OR Aleene's Tacky Dot Rolls
-Pencil
-Ruler
-Ribbon of varying colors, widths, and lengths

Make It:
1. Fold the paper scrap in half three times to create a folded "wedge." Cut a curved edge about 1 1/4" from the point.

2. Unfold the template (it'll look a little like a four-leaf clover), lay it flat and trace it three times on one or more of the decorative paper scraps. Three tracings makes one flower.

3. Cut around the tracings to make three identical blossoms. Snip two straight lines into the center of the first blossom, cutting out a wedge equal to two "petals." Cut three petals from the second blossom, and four petals from the third blossom. Mark and then cut a 1/4" semicircle from the center of each blossom, as shown.

4. Curve each of the blossoms to the cut edges overlap a bit. Adhere with glue or dots, let dry if necessary, then fold back the tips of the petals.

5. To make a flower ring, nest the blossoms inside one another. Select a piece of ribbon, wrap it around your finger, and knot the ends so the loop fits your finger. Gently thread the loop through the center of the flower, so the knot catches and rests in the center of the flower. Trim the ends of the ribbon as desired.

6. Slip the loop over your finger and the ring is complete!

7. Return to your paper stash and repeat the process to make more! You can personalize your bloom using crayons and card stock (a sweet way for younger kids to get involved if it's a Mother's Day gift), go for a more muted geometric design using pages from an Japanese puzzle magazine, gather up some vintage appeal by cutting into that newspaper-printed paper gift bag, or simply dig into the scrapbooking scraps for some playful color.

8. Keep your flowers uniform in shade...

or mix and match the colored blossoms in a paper botany experiment!

9. To make the headband, brooch, or barrette, thread one end of the ribbon through the flower, back to front, knot it, and then thread the end back through the flower, front to back. Thread multiples together this way, too! Wrap the ends of the ribbon around the headband, brooch, or barrette base and glue or knot to secure it.

And now, the million-dollar question for the author of Generation T: Can you make these flowers with T-shirts? Absolutely! Substitute fabric glue for the adhesive, and trim the neckline of a shirt with these sweet little blooms.


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Craft on!