Paper Roses for Valentine's Day Will Last Forever

Jan Clark
by Jan Clark
4 Materials
$1
10 Minutes
Medium
I started making these when 'twisted paper' was big. You can do it, too, with just a few tools and some patience.
Start with a piece of heavy paper in the color of your choice. Good construction paper will do. I'm using yellow card stock for a Yellow Rose of Texas. You will also need:
Scissors
Heart shaped cookie cutter at least 2" across
Floral tape
@ 16 gauge floral wire
A pencil
A tool to bend the wire
Start by cutting your wire into the length you want. Then scrunch up the paper, a LOT. As you can see, I rolled it from corner to corner and twisted it, too. It should feel soft and 'leathery' once your done. It's okay if you get a little tear. For big ones, just don't use that part of the paper.
Spread it flat and trace your heart shapes with a pencil. I recommend no less than 5 shapes. No more than 8.
If you fold your heart and it doesn't dip down - like the one on the left, trim it around so it looks more like the one on the right. This will give you a better looking petal.
Now, take your pencil and roll the tops of the petals at about a 45' angle. If it doesn't stay curled. You can mist it with a bit of water.


Bend your wire in a U shape at one end. This will help hold your flower in place.
Next, cut the number of pieces of floral tape to match your number of petals. Don't forget to stretch them to activate the stickiness. The piece on the left was just cut. The one on the right was stretched. They started out the same length and color.
Curl your first heart tightly around the curled wire end and wrap the floral tape around it. The tape does not need to go to the bottom of the wire.
Continue with individual 'petals' and pieces of floral tape. Remember to alternate them so they don't line up. Look carefully and you can see the 'dip' in the outer heart is just about centered on the curve of the inner heart.
Continue until you've wrapped the last heart, then use a longer piece of floral tape and wrap from the base of the flower to the bottom of the wire. This is the point where you could add silk rose leaves if you wanted for a more natural look.
Also, re-curl your petal edges if they've straightened up. Lightly mist if they're not wanting to curl. Do not get them wet! They'll curl just fine with a light misting.
Note: these are great gifts in groups of six or eight - especially for folks with allergies. Plus, they keep forever.
Resources for this project:
See all materials
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Comments
Join the conversation
 3 comments
  • Wendy Wendy on Jan 31, 2018

    Gorgeous, I have to give this a try!

    • See 1 previous
    • Wendy Wendy on Jan 31, 2018
      Much appreciated, thanks so much Jan! :D
Next