Why Paper?
The crimson poppy and I have come a long way in the last few years. When I remarried in May of 2009, I decided I’d tackle the flowers myself by using the Internet as a how-to guide. I came across kusudama flowers that bring a lovely, whimsical effect to a wedding, but I preferred more realistic paper flowers. During the next six months I broadened my knowledge through floral punch art and Martha Stewart paper flower kits, and took the advice of friends and family to start selling the cards and decorated items I’d created, thus the crimson poppy. The fire for perfectly realistic paper flowers that wouldn’t droop or wilt was lit. While selling at local craft shows and our small-town crafters’ mall, I searched for patterns, learned more about shaping paper, and took apart fresh flowers to create templates. I still like to play with whimsical flowers for cards and wedding favors, but my passion is handcrafting incredibly realistic paper flowers.
I love making a connection with my customers, whether we’re finding the right flowers for an arrangement to gift or building a work-of-art bridal bouquet that fulfills dreams held since childhood. The current work-in-progress for tcp is “make your own extraordinary paper flower” kits, about which I’m very excited. It’s wonderful to bring a little beauty into someone else’s day! I’m excited to say that I no longer have to balance a “day job” with my passion for paper flowers; a reorganization at the office provided the opportunity to just do it, and I jumped in totally unprepared. I wanted the freedom to be creative and still attend my daughter’s Friday morning school assemblies before the opportunity was gone. Making paper flowers is a dream come true. From the crimson poppy to you, best wishes. May you bloom and grow!
HOW TO MAKE THE CREPE PAPER LILACS
STEP 1a Clip the scalloped strip pattern to the lavender/pink lilac crepe paper. Fold another layer of crepe paper beneath the first, removing and replacing mini binder clips one at a time to secure the pattern to both layers.
STEP 1b Repeat for a total of three layers, which will be cut simultaneously.
STEP 2 Cut a strip of folded crepe paper that is approximately ¼ inch (6 mm) wider than the pattern piece.
Tips!
Crepe paper has too much stretch to cut with scallop scissors, rotary cutters, and cutting machines. Regular scissors and a pattern are all that work.
Gathering the strip at step 4 makes it much easier to gather around the wire later. It’s also a lot faster to gather the entire strip than each individual floret.
STEP 3a Cut out the pattern shape by snipping into the space between the petals from one direction, then come back up the row from the other end, leaving a pointed, triangular tip.
STEP 3b Round off the points; super-fast and easy!
STEP 4 Once the paper strips have been cut, remove the clips. Gently clasp one end of a strip between thumb and forefinger. Starting an inch (2.5 cm) or so from the clasped end, use the other hand to push the paper into a gathered fold. Repeat for the length of the strip, using the thumb and forefinger that are clasping the end to hold the gathered portion of the paper strip.
STEP 5 Lots of little flowers will be needed, so unfurl the strip and snip into it, making straight cuts halfway across the width between the first three rounded tops, then cut all the way through the paper strip after the fourth. Individual petals should look like those in the background of the photo. Repeat until there are at least 120 of the 4-round petals; I typically use 300 per lilac.
STEP 6 Use wire cutters to snip three pieces of wire, each approximately 2 inches (5 cm) in length, and a fourth measuring 3 inches (7.6 cm).
STEP 7a Squeeze a very thin bead of glue along the bottom of a petal; the amount needed as shown in the photo is exaggerated for easier viewing, so go easy!
STEP 7b Place one of the wire pieces in the glue at the far end of the petal. If you’re left-handed, the end opposite the one shown in the photo might be more comfortable…whichever works best is fine.
STEP 7c Gather and pinch the base, wrapping the petal around the wire. Gathering is important to ensure the petal sections stay distinct and separate.
STEP 7d The final petal edge will overlap the first just a bit to secure it.
STEP 7e Use a fingernail or the edge of a closed pair of scissors to gently pull each petal piece outward. The motion should be similar to curling ribbon over a scissors blade. Repeat step 7 for the remaining three lengths of wire.
STEP 8 Use scissors to cut a narrow strip about ½ inch (13 mm) wide, across the grain of the folded green doublette crepe paper.
Tips!
Using both shades of the Doublette paper when making individual blooms will create subtle depth and additional color in the finished lilac.
If lilacs in a single color are preferred, be sure to put the glue on the same side (shade) of the Doublette paper for each individual bloom.
STEP 9 Apply a thin bead of glue to the green paper strip. Again, the amount of glue shown in the photo is exaggerated so it can be seen clearly; start with half as much for best results.
STEP 10a Gather four blooms together with the longest wire protruding from the bottom of the bunch. The tops should be somewhat level with one another, but not perfectly so.
STEP 10b Place the end of the paper strip behind the wires, about halfway down the smaller lengths. Make one loop around the group of wires to secure them, and angle the green strip downward on a diagonal.
STEP 10c Continue wrapping; a gentle, constant pull on the paper and the downward diagonal will create a smooth texture and a spiral wrap where each pass barely overlaps the previous paper width. I hold the paper strip between my right thumb and forefinger and pull gently, turning the entire bundle with my left hand.
STEP 10d Wrap the green strip just past the end of the longest wire, cut it, and pinch the glued paper to complete the wrap. Congratulations! There is now one small bunch of lilac blooms. It takes practice, but after making three or four