We have such a lovely DIY guest post today from Julie at Hollyhock Lane – she’s put together an exclusive ‘how to’ guide for our readers on how to create these gorgeous paper flowers that can be used both as place settings and/or wedding favours.  They are a perfect project for all you crafty and creative brides out there.

Over to Julie to get you started on making your own pretty paper flowers…

So here’s a DIY for those brides that like to make stuff. Paper flowers can be used for anything really, but in this example I decided to make them into place settings which can be taken away as favours for the guests as well.

Admittedly, these could take some time if you’re planning on a wedding for a hundred guests or more, but when you get into the flow of it, they only take about 10-20 minutes each. The good thing about them is that they can easily be made in front of the TV, and unlike fresh flowers, they can be finished well in advance of the big day.

You could always make it part of your hen party activities and get crafting with a group of your best friends. There’s nothing like bonding over a creative project and a good cup of tea to while away the hours.

Materials needed

• Crepe and tissue paper, colours to match your wedding theme

• Thin floristry wire

• Scissors

• Wire snippers (although your scissors might also work if the wire is thin enough)

• Masking tape (not pictured)

• Optional – lining paper, watercolour paints (budget kids sets are fine) and brushes

Step 1 – Optional painted paper petals

This step is not necessary if you want to streamline the project, but if you would like to add something a bit different to your flowers, it’s a really nice touch. I love to use wallpaper lining paper for lots of my DIY projects, as it has a lovely crafty texture to it and it’s as firm as thin, pliable card. Plus, when you paint on it, it’s like expensive watercolour paper in that it soaks up the paint without wrinkling too much. However, it’s very cheap to buy which is always helpful!

All you need to do is cut out a rough rectangle or two, tape it down at the corners to a board or flat surface you don’t mind getting paint on (to flatten it out and keep it stretched), and then paint some very watery, splashy, washy swirls of paint onto it. Let the colours pool and bleed into each other to create some lovely effects. Then leave to dry or if you can’t wait you can always use a hairdryer to speed things up.

Step 2 – Make the flower centres

Scrunch up a small ball of tissue paper the rough size of a blueberry and then wrap a piece of coloured tissue/crepe paper around it to create the flower centre.

 Step 3 – Add the wire

Wrap a piece of floristry wire around the bottom of your scrunched ball and twist around a couple of times to secure but leave about 10cm on the shorter end of your wire free. The longer piece of wire will be your stem.

Step 4 – Add petals

Cut out petal shapes from the different paper selections. I started with a simple daisy petal shape and structure. Add several petals at a time, spacing them out and slightly overlapping them for a natural random look. When you have a complete layer of petals wrap the short end of the wire around the base to secure those petals in place. Then, add extra layers with different shaped and sized petals, to build up a complete flower, securing as you go with the short end of the wire until it can be tucked around the base to hold everything in place.

Step 5 – Make more flowers

Experiment with different colours, shapes and styles of flower petal. It’s good to fold over a length of crepe/tissue paper several times to create a flatish roll, so you can cut the shapes through several layers at a go to save time, much like you would be doing for paper snowflakes. Repeat the process with the wire to secure the petals in place.

Always finish off a flower by arranging the petals afterwards to stand up nicely and evenly.

Step 6 – Secure wire with masking tape

If your flower has a bulky base and the wire is a bit unsightly, you can tidy it up by wrapping masking tape around the base and wire to make the flower stem look more authentic. You can always paint your stem with acrylic paint if you want to make it look really smart.

Step 7 – Make the leaves

If you want to use your flowers as named place settings, cut out a leaf shape from your painted lining paper and draw the guest’s name onto the leaf with an free flowing inky pen (rather than a biro). I fixed my leaves to the flower stems with a little bit of floristry wire and then taped over the wire to blend them in to the stem.

Your flower is ready to use. Here it’s pictured a place setting, but other uses could include a fancy buttonhole, an embellishment to a wrapped present or as a small bunch in a vase as a table centre.

… these make such beautiful, delicate place settings! A big thank you Julie for sharing this fab DIY project. 

Hollyhock Lane is a recommended supplier of The Natural Wedding Company. Based in rural Sussex, Hollyhock Lane creates quirky and alternative, charming and beautiful, perhaps a little bit vintage and always lovely wedding stationery. Hand drawn invitations and stationery by artist and illustrator Julie Annis printed on 100% recycled card using vegetable based inks.Visit www.hollyhocklane.co.uk for more details or contact Julie at julie@hollyhocklane.co.uk.