Paper Flower May Wreath Tutorial

Last week at art group we brought unfinished projects to work on.  I am the joke of art group lately because I always bring my paper flower wreath!  Everyone will be thrilled to learn that I've finally finished it!  

This beautiful wreath is fun to make (it just takes some time).  To make one, you will need: 

a styrofoam wreath form (mine is 14") 
3 old books (make sure they are the same size and not thin.  The three books will have different patinas on their pages and that will make your wreath more visually interesting)
scissors
glue gun
ribbon for hanging (optional)

When I started making my wreath, Sherri was making one too and it was interesting to see how different they turned out.  Sherri's flowers were all the same size and color and hers turned out SO beautifully symmetrical and mine is more organic because all my flowers are different sizes and I used different papers.  Whatever suits your taste and personality.  

1.  Pull out 2 or 3 pages in one of the books.  Cut out 2 ovalish shapes.  This will make two flowers.  My ovals are NOT perfect!  If you want your wreath more like Sherri's, use an oval pattern for every time you cut out a flower so they'll all be the same.  You should also make sure you use the same number of papers every time if you want it more uniform.  My flowers are bigger and smaller because of the amount of paper I was using (more paper=bigger flower; less paper=smaller flower).

2.  Now cut a spiral pattern in your oval.  It should look like this when you're done.

3.  This part is a little tricky so pay attention!  Just kidding.  No really--pay attention because I did this wrong a million times before I figured out the magic way.  Taking the outside of your spiral, start winding it toward the outside and to the left and as it gets bigger, use your right thumb and pointy finger to hold it on the top and bottom (to keep it's shape).  Now, I'm assuming if you're left-handed you do the opposite (anyone left-handed leave a comment if that works or not please!).  

4.  Keep winding until you just have that curly-q tail at the end and put some hot glue in the center.  Let it dry for a few seconds, then put a little glue on the tail to finish the flower off.

5.  Next, glue the flower in place on your wreath.  I found that if you work in clumps all over the wreath it turns out better.  Also, remember you are using three different papers so don't put them all in just one place.  It will look stripey (is that a word?).

6.  When you are finished, tie a beautiful ribbon around your wreath and hang it on your door, over your fireplace, or somewhere on your walls!

Thanks for hanging out with us at art group today.  I would love to hear how your wreath works out and love even more to see pictures! 


Happy May Day


Amanda