Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Vintage Paper Flower Tutorial

I've got some more catching up to do...Funny, you'd think with 4 kids, a husband and a dog I'd have plenty of time to keep up with my blogging...Here's a little project my girlfriend and I worked on a few months back.

Paper flowers made from a vintage 1962 novel. My girlfriend, Julie made hers into a topiary and I put mine on a few branches I purchased at Michaels.







To make them you simply cut out a scalloped circle...doesn't have to be perfect. then you  cut it out in a spiral pattern keeping your strip at least 1/2" wide leaving a little circle or oval at the end to place your hot glue. Since I made these a few months ago, I don't have any vintage paper left to show you, but here's one from a piece of construction paper.


Roll it toward the center keeping it pretty tight...don't worry about getting it too tight. We'll let it unravel a little at the end.


Once you've rolled it all up set it on the center. Then, holding it with your fingers, gently let it unravel until you like what you see.


Once I think it looks nice, I pinch the flower with two fingers, place hot glue on the center piece and hold in place making sure you press down gently in the center.


That's it. Now go and experiment with your flowers and let me know how they turn out. If you don't want to make your own. I currently have a listing for 70+ Vintage Book Page flowers (sorry, these have been sold. I'll be listing some new ones soon or you can contact me for a custom order) I had left over from my project. If you'd like me to make some custom flowers for you, just drop me a line. I'd love to help out!


**UPDATE**

I sold my initial listing and have had some inquiries on new ones...I'll be listing more from time to time.

ESTY Listing  SOLD


ETSY Listing
134 Mini Flowers		 



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56 comments:

  1. SusanneOctober 26, 2011 at 3:44 PM

    Who knew it could be so easy to make something that decorative. Can't wait to try this for decorating christmas presents.

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  2. Krista Sew InspiredOctober 26, 2011 at 4:44 PM

    I know...Who needs bows when you can make your own flowers with old books...or scrap paper..or magazines...or wrapping paper...endless possibilities!

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  3. Krista Sew InspiredOctober 26, 2011 at 4:45 PM

    You can also keep the cut straight (instead of scalloped) for a more modern look.

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  4. The Polka Dot ClosetOctober 26, 2011 at 7:42 PM

    Love this, my son is having a vintage wedding next year and I am bookmarking ideas! Thank you!

    Carol

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  5. ReviOctober 26, 2011 at 7:59 PM

    These are lovely! Thanks for your tutorial.
    -Revi

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  6. EvieOctober 26, 2011 at 8:40 PM

    So pretty!!

    evie @ brown paper packages

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  7. Shabby chic SandyOctober 26, 2011 at 10:17 PM

    Beautiful! I love the thing with the branches--I am going to copy this. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Pieced PastimesOctober 27, 2011 at 5:20 AM

    Love your vintage paper flowers!

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  9. Southern Junk ChicOctober 27, 2011 at 5:31 AM

    Love it! You make it look so easy - i am going to try it this weekend as accents to my burlap wreath!! Thanks for sharing.

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  10. Krista Sew InspiredOctober 27, 2011 at 5:37 AM

    That would look great on a burlap wreath. I would love to see it when you're finished.

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  11. KatieOctober 27, 2011 at 6:05 AM

    Gorgeous flowers!!!

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  12. AnonymousOctober 27, 2011 at 9:44 AM

    Hi! I'm Lisa the author behind Sewgloried.com and I just wanted to let you know I spied your tutorial at a link party this week and have featured it this week on my site:

    http://www.sewgloried.com/2011/10/wonderful-wednesday.html

    Thanks for sharing with us and if you like featured buttons be sure to stop by and grab one!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jenny @ Simcoe StreetOctober 28, 2011 at 3:02 PM

    Pinned this -- it is AMAZING


    Jenny
    http://simcoestreet.blogspot.com

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  14. MichelleOctober 29, 2011 at 1:56 PM

    These are so pretty, thank you for the tute

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  15. Wanda LeeOctober 30, 2011 at 2:35 PM

    This so delightful! What a fabulously creative idea; love it!

    Cheers!

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  16. outjunkingOctober 30, 2011 at 3:08 PM

    I've been wondering about those paper flowers.
    Thanks,
    Lisa

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  17. Chari at Happy To DesignOctober 31, 2011 at 6:49 AM

    Hi Krista...

    I have seen a few of these beautiful paper roses around blogland and wondered how they were made! Thank you for sharing the tutorial with us! I'm definitely going to be trying my hand at these! They look so pretty in the apothecary jar but I love, love, LOVE how they look on the branches! Soooo pretty!

    Thank you so much for sharing this sweet post with us for the Sunday Favorites party, my friend! It was such a pleasure having you!

    Warmest wishes,
    Chari

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  18. UnknownOctober 31, 2011 at 11:57 AM

    Gorgeous! I've been wanting to put together a wreath out of these-now I will.

    Happy new follower, hope you are able to visit my piece of blogland. I have a fun contest running right now.

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  19. Cathy @My 1929 CharmerOctober 31, 2011 at 7:28 PM

    Really gorgeous. I've tried making flowers but they don't turn out anywhere as good as these. I think you either have the touch or don't. Thanks for joining in on Sundays' Best. Good luck in winning and come back soon.

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  20. Heather @ CommonplaceBeautyOctober 31, 2011 at 8:14 PM

    Hi Krista, I your post and just had to tell you, putting them on branches is just genius! I love the way they look. I wish I had thought of that for a friend's wedding. I made topiaries out of them and you know how long they can take. We made 8 topiares and they took 85-100 roses each. Ugh! I dry brushed them and added some pearls. You can see the results here: http://commonplacebeauty.blogspot.com/2011/04/book-rose-topiaries.html.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Krista Sew InspiredNovember 1, 2011 at 4:31 AM

    Heather-I can't imagine how long it took you..hopefully you had help. Thanks for sharing the link I'll be checking it out as soon as I get the kids off to school.

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  22. Miss KittyNovember 4, 2011 at 7:29 AM

    Hi Krista! These are just wonderful! I am going to "pin" them on my board over at Pinterest so I can find your great tutorial when I get the time to make some of these. I saw your post over at "From My Front Porch To Yours".

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  23. Courtney ~ French Country CottageNovember 4, 2011 at 1:26 PM

    These are just darling!! Sharing them on FB- thanks for linking up at Feathered Nest Friday! Following you along :)

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  24. Crafty Mommy DivaNovember 4, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    Those are simply beautiful! Thanks for linking up to Scrappy Saturdays!

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  25. Christina at I Gotta Create!November 4, 2011 at 8:38 PM

    Sew, so PRETTY!

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  26. Sharon, aka Bootersmom03November 5, 2011 at 5:30 PM

    Love the roses! Thank you for sharing! Found you via Sunday's Best...Congrats on your feature!

    ReplyDelete
  27. aimeeNovember 6, 2011 at 1:41 AM

    I love these flowers. great tutorial thankyou. new follower here :-)

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  28. Krista Sew InspiredNovember 6, 2011 at 4:08 AM

    Thanks Ladies!

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  29. Sherry @ No Minimalist HereNovember 6, 2011 at 3:14 PM

    These are so cute and I can see many ways to use them. Thanks for sharing at the Open House Party.
    xo,
    Sherry

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  30. Krista Sew InspiredNovember 6, 2011 at 3:42 PM

    Thanks for hosting, Sherry!

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  31. EdithNovember 8, 2011 at 2:04 AM

    This was such a cute idea.

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  32. PamelaNovember 9, 2011 at 1:31 PM

    Come on over and grab your Ive been featured button! Hope your week is going well!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Good Time CharlieNovember 10, 2011 at 5:59 PM

    Absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for the tutorial, I want to try this out tonight! (in the world of make believe I would have time!) Soon I hope :)

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  34. Kayla aka Kilo BravoNovember 29, 2011 at 7:26 AM

    Wow I love these! These will make a perfect addition to my centerpieces for my wedding (we are hallowing out the center of old books that I got for free and turning them into planters). Love it!

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  35. Krista Sew InspiredNovember 29, 2011 at 8:29 AM

    Kayla. Sounds like a beautiful plan for wedding centerpieces. If you run into any issues or have any questions feel free to ask.

    Krista

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  36. AnonymousDecember 4, 2011 at 4:19 PM

    I tried doing this and it was practically impossible. I ran in to issues when twisting the paper around. I would get stuck at weird corners with angles that did not work. It also turned out nothing like the picture and I don't understand how to make the final product stay. Is there any more technique to it than what is shown or strategies that would help solve these issues?

    ReplyDelete
  37. Krista Sew InspiredDecember 4, 2011 at 4:38 PM

    Anonymous,

    Try holding the "top" and "bottom" of the flower between your thumb and pointer finger while you roll it up (don't press too hard, or you'll damage the paper). When you make your initial cut, try to keep everything in a circular spiral. If your cuts start to get more of an oval shape, then you tend to get those "weird corners". When my flower was finished and it had unrolled enough that I liked it, I pinch the "sides" of the flower, gently pull the very center far enough away to get your hot glue gun in there and place some hot glue on it. I then gently hold the "top" and "bottom" together to make sure it stays together while the glue cools and making sure that most of the bottom edges are secured in the glue. Be very careful, this last step can get a little hot.

    I hope this helps. I appreciate all you questions and comments. Please feel free to contact me if you need any more help.

    Krista

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  38. AnonymousDecember 5, 2011 at 1:47 PM

    I am very stewpid

    ReplyDelete
  39. Krista Sew InspiredDecember 5, 2011 at 3:38 PM

    Anonymous,

    We all have our moments...but I'm sure you're not. Were you able to figure it out and make some nice flowers?

    Krista

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  40. Niky DesaiDecember 20, 2011 at 6:57 AM

    hey my name is niky desai from india... loved d rose and tried making d roses ... its fantastic an idea and made many of them ,,, loved it .... thanks

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  41. AnonymousDecember 23, 2011 at 9:37 AM

    Thanks for the great idea. I am going to try these this afternoon. Wonder if they would work using newspaper? Have to give it a try!

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  42. CarlisaJanuary 26, 2012 at 2:51 PM

    Love this idea! I have been looking to purchase something similar for my baby girls room. Thank you for sharing, now I have to see if I can actually do it.

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  43. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2012 at 4:53 PM

    These are great! I made one...just to try and it turned out so cute that I want it to last forever. I might try spraying some with paint..or watercolor on the edges..then some sealer? Worth a try! Thanks for sharing!

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  44. samralaMarch 28, 2012 at 11:06 PM

    very very thanks for this design i am impressed with your great idea,I think your design will like all's one so please keep posting on paper craft and paper flowers

    ReplyDelete
  45. CamCamMay 7, 2012 at 5:07 PM

    Love these!!

    TIP: I used a little pumpkin hole puncher I got with a cheap pumpkin carving kit to start the "roll". It's about the size of a toothpick and has a little handle on one end (kind of like a mini screwdriver). Works perfectly for rolling the paper and is much faster!

    ReplyDelete
  46. Anne ThereseJune 19, 2012 at 10:04 AM

    I absolutely love these little roses and plan on making them as decor for my birthday some months from now! I'm not entirely sure how I'm gonna incorporate them yet, but they will be used somewhere. I might end up painting some of them a nice apple green to go with the rest of my theme. Maybe seal them up with mod podge to make sure they're durable. I can't wait to try them.

    And on another note, I linked back to this on my blog so others can see it too. ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  47. send flowers pakistanJune 27, 2012 at 11:15 PM

    I love these! What a great tutorial! I like many of your projects and I'm looking forward to seeing more! Happily following you via GFC.

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  48. Lucknow FlowersJanuary 31, 2013 at 4:37 AM

    Beautiful art of paper flowers and easy to learn.

    ReplyDelete
  49. MelodyFebruary 5, 2013 at 12:30 PM

    How big should the square be? I made some out of a 3 x 3 square, and they came out great, but anything larger and they get all funky. Am I doing something wrong?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Krista Sew InspiredJuly 2, 2013 at 3:31 PM

      Sorry for the delay...

      ...I've made them with as big as a 10" square. Without seeing what you're doing I can't tell you what you did wrong....just keep these things in mind.

      *try and keep your work symmetrical....ovals will come out "funky"
      *keep your strips between 1/4" to 1/2"
      *start your roll tight,...you can always let is loosen up

      Hope this helps.

      Delete
  50. HarleeFebruary 9, 2013 at 9:09 AM

    Thanks for the tutorial!I'll probably be making these for my sister's wedding coming in July!

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  51. UnknownAugust 1, 2013 at 11:28 PM

    Are there any pictures of centerpiece ideas with the roses? Thanks for the tutorial!

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  52. AnonymousSeptember 5, 2013 at 11:00 AM

    Using this tutorial for our wedding reception centerpieces. Purchased a vintage bible signed and dated 1933 for the paper. 600 flowers...here we come!

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  53. AnonymousNovember 15, 2013 at 9:48 AM

    thank you for this. first one is a bit scrappy but that's my clumsiness I know. Tried it with old sheet music of Handels' Messiah that's a bit soft... so a bit of a way to go until I can say Hallelujah but am optimistic!

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  54. PastoraJanuary 26, 2014 at 8:50 AM

    They are lovely. I have been keeping an old book to make something similar. Now I know what to do with it.

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  55. AnonymousAugust 30, 2014 at 2:14 PM

    I love these!!!! Are you still willing to make them for a personal order?

    ReplyDelete

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