Tutorial: Rolled Paper Flower Wreath

This project was listed at the Tip Junkie's Handmade Gifts Blog - A great resource if you're in need some unique gift ideas.  Thanks to Laurie (aka The Tip Junkie) for choosing to feature my wreath project.

I had a couple requests for a tutorial on how to make the paper flower wreaths seen in my Christmas Coffee Filter Decor post.

  

After reading through several tutorials, I used a the one I found here at Jones Design Company's blog:

Make sure you block out a generous portion of time before visiting this blog, as it is AMAZING!

This tutorial is for the wreath above.  So, rather than scrapbook paper, I used....ahem....COFFEE FILTERS (what else, right??) to make the white flowers shown in the wreath above.  I cut 3-4 coffee filters at once, and rolled them as shown in the tutorial.  (Instead of rolling a single piece of paper at a time, I rolled 3-5 at once to get a fuller looking flower.)

JDC suggests cutting the paper with wavy cuts like this:

...but I tried it that way, and I preferred the way it looked with more straight, even cuts.  Also, I tried to keep the width of the cuts as uniform all the way to the center.  Some tutorials I've read suggest making the width larger as you get closer to the center.

Try to get the very beginning of the roll as tight as possible, which is difficult, especially with the coffee filter paper.   If you've not made rolled flowers before, you might try a single piece of thicker paper before the multi-layered coffee filters.

Here I used single book pages for each flower.   The circles for these flowers were about 4"-5" across.

I used hot glue to fasten my flowers (I'm sure you would figure this out, but for the multi-layered coffee filter flowers, you'll want to put a dab of glue between each layer at the end to keep everything in place). 

So, once you have a big pile of paper flowers, it's time to make the wreath.  I used a styrofoam plate as my "wreath form," by cutting the flat center portion out, but leaving the curved edges.  Again, does not need to be perfect.

Start by placing the tissue paper flowers around the wreath as symmetrically as possible, making sure they are all facing up (not off to the side).  Then use the book paper flowers to fill in the holes, especially around the center and outer edges.

Finally, for the leaves, use the method suggested by JDC:

I made my leaves using brown paper cardstock and painted them with gold craft paint.

Tuck the leaves in bare spots...making sure they are evenly distributed.

Finally, attatch a piece of fishing line to the back with hot glue.  If you are giving as a gift or want to hide the plate, glue a piece of card stock to the back and trim to the size of the wreath.

And there you go...a practically FREE wreath...

If you like how this turned out, you might want to check out my pleated wreath, too.

Now, here's what NOT to do:

This is the first wreath I did using white printer paper before I tried the coffee filter paper.  I cut the flowers making them bigger as I went toward the end of the spiral...which as you can see above, made the outer edges very tall, and so they were hard to blend in with the other flowers.  I went back and trimmed the flowers to make them blend together better.  Also, notice how they are all pointing in different directions...looks a little funky.

So, obviously, there are all types of variations you can try...here are a couple of the different ones I did: 

  

Once you get the hang of these, you can make them while watching tv, riding in the car (not driving), etc...I'd make a pile and then hot glue them later.

You could spray paint these, dye the coffee filters, try different edges on the flowers, try various types and colors of paper, but I don't have to tell you this - you are the most creative people I've ever met!!

I'd love to see what YOU come up with!!! If you leave a comment letting me know that you've made one, I'll be sure to come over and check it out!

If you like these, but don't have time to make one yourself, I have them for sale in my Etsy shop.

I've linked this to these parties:

MONDAY:

Sumo's Sweet Stuff

The Girl Creative
Boogieboard Cottage
C.R.A.F.T.
Kristen's Junk Drawer
DIY Home Sweet Home
Thrifty Decor Chick (1st Monday of Each Month)
The Gunny Sack
Ask Anna

TUESDAY: 

Home Stories A2Z

Coastal Charm

Homework
At Home With K
My UnCommon Slice of Suburbia
Kammy's Korner (Trash to Treasure)


WEDNESDAY:
The Thrifty Home
Restore Interiors
Blue Cricket Design
Savvy Southern Style
Very Merry Vintage Style

{primp}

Momma Hen's Coop

Domestically Speaking (Paint Projects)

Faded Charm (White Projects)

THURSDAY:

The Brambleberry Cottage

No Minimalist Here

the shabby creek cottage

House of Hepworths

Momnivore's Dilemma

From My Front Porch to Yours

FRIDAY:

Remodelaholic

The Charm of Home

kojo designs

The Shabby Nest

Serenity Now
Release Me Creations

Miss Mustard Seed


SATURDAY:
I Can't Stop Crafting
Lolly Jane Boutique
Funky Junk
Be Different, Act Normal
{nifty thrifty things}
Marvelously Messy


SUNDAY:
I Heart Naptime
LambAround
Petite Hermine

take care -