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4/21/15 Update
This tutorial has received a lot of attention and since it was done about two years ago, we wanted to give you some updates))) This was the first attempt at a paper flower and we've recommended some changes since then. I'll make some notes along the instructions of the things we have changed. Here's a link to our other tutorials. This link includes flower wreaths made on a 10" Pencil Wreath which really works better and you have a smaller center to fill in. Tutorials
This tutorial will show you a easy way to make really huge flowers or sunflowers in this case. The technique is similar to the ruffle technique, but a little different.
The supplies used for the framework was a Glitter Twig Wreath (XX742608) and we used a piece of a Glitter Twig Garland (XX742908).
4/21/15 Glitter Twig wreaths are now sold out, this wreath can be made with 24" Work Wreaths or 24" Pencil Wreaths
The Glitter Twig Wreaths are similar to the Twig Wreaths that we have in stock, except they are glittered instead of covered with the mossy stuff.
The 24" wreaths are same as the Work Wreath and Pencil Wreaths....the largest of the metal rings measures 15" in diameter, but with the addition of mesh, burlap, etc....the overall finished project is 24" or more.
We chose the Glitter Twig Wreath for this project because we really wanted very little, if any, of the twist portion of the wreath to show.
The Glitter Twig Wreaths are a little rough on your fingers, but they hold really well and were the perfect choice for this project.
We have them in stock in Gold, Silver, Red and Lime....just some basic colors but they will work for most any type of project.
The Glitter Twig Garlands are made of the same material, rough on your fingers....but when you don't want pieces of your twists to show.....they are a great choice.
The first step in our project was to fashion another ring for the Glitter Twig Wreath. The plan was to have the center made of dark brown but the 12" diameter was a bit too large.
So we took about 25" piece of a matching Gold Glitter Twig Garland using wire cutters, twisted it together and made a ring with about 8-9" diameter.
We laid the new ring on and position it in the center.
We applied 5 zip ties, all loosely to start with. Then snugged them up, equally keeping the ring in the center of the wreath. Once the zip ties were secure and tight, we snipped off the ends with wire cutters. Save your scissors and invest in a small pair of wire cutters.
Next we were ready to choose our mesh product. We chose this Yellow Deco Paper Mesh in the 10" width.
The mesh is RR800129. The roll contains 10 yards and our goal was to make this a "one roll" project. Since it was a first time project, we did have extra of course in case we needed it.
4/21/15 Yellow Mesh is sold out and on back order, hopefully arriving August. We have other colors of paper mesh.
We counted the number of twists on the outer and middle rings of our wreath which was 18.
We didn't count the twists on the extra ring that we attached since we were planning to cover this with something else besides the Yellow Deco Paper Mesh. The Yellow Deco Paper Mesh is a deep, rich yellow color, perfect for a sunflower.
We use a 24" x 36" self healing Omnigrid Cutting Mat and a 45mm Fiskars Rotary Cutter (these are available at Amazon and we have included our affiliate links.)
Our plan was to cut the mesh into 10" strips, so we should get 36 from this 10 yard roll of paper mesh.
We used a cutting mat and rotary cutter. These are great tools for wreath making and if you would to read more about the ones we have, here's a blog post.
If you've seen any of the tutorials for the ruffle wreaths, this one is a little different in that you turn your paper strip and scrunch up through the middle of it diagonally. I apologize for this poor image, I had to capture it from the video so it's not very clear.
Just make the petal by pinching up or gathering up through the middle and hold it pinched in your hand.
Secure the "petal" in the twist on the Glitter Twig Wreath. We started on the outer ring and worked all the way around. Then we went back and placed a second layer of petals on the outer ring again.
To place the second layer, you just open up a twist and lay the second petal down right on top of the first and secure both with a couple of turns of the twist.
Fluff the petals out a bit by placing your hands under them.
This was our wreath after we had placed two layers of petals on the outer ring; one layer around the middle ring and one layer around the center ring that we had added to the wreath. Remember we were trying to make this project using just one roll of Deco Paper Mesh.
We had three paper strips left, so we added three chenille stems to the center ring to fill in some gaps with the last three petals. This is the wreath from the back side.
Next we chose a 4" Chocolate Brown Paper Mesh (RR700131) to use for our center.
You could fill the center of your flower in different ways, but we wanted to use something that we already had on hand since we didn't need too much of the product just to fill in the center.
We cut a piece of cardboard about the size of the center, sprayed some adhesive and just glued down a couple of layers of the Brown Paper Mesh.
On the back side, we used hot glue to secure the edges.
Then we used some hot glue to secure it to the center ring of the wreath. We could have used a 10" wide brown paper mesh and not had any seams, but this was a test tutorial)))
Here is our finished sunflower. You could always add a few green petals and stem made from green Deco Paper Mesh.
Moss Cloth
Note: Since this tutorial was done, we have made other "flower" wreaths using a 10" Pencil Wreath which is a very good size to work with and you have a smaller opening in the center to fill.
Another question we get quite frequently is can the flower be made with regular Deco Poly Mesh. Yes it can! Deco Poly Mesh is a little stiffer to work with and you may have to add an extra layer for good coverage, but it works)))
