rel="nofollow" href="http://www.createforless.com">createforless.com is sold in packs of 20 and measures 18 inches (46 cm) in length. A single pack is adequate for the project, although two wouldn’t be a bad idea.
SUPPLIES AND TOOLS
Doublette crepe paper pale/olive green and lavender/pink lilac (castleintheair.biz)
Floral wire #22 green wrapped (budget version - createforless.com; best quality -Sunrise floral wire via amazon.com)
Glue I swear by Crafter’s Pick “The Ultimate!” and transfer it to a fine-tip glue bottle for controlled application. You may use your favorite brand of glue, but from someone who uses glue ten hours a day and counts on it to make a living, go with the Crafter’s Pick.
Scissors I like Fiskars 5” Softouch Spring Action.
Wire cutters
Mini binder clips a dozen or so is adequate
Petal pattern (page 109) photocopy at least 9 patterns onto plain paper for easy snipping
Jenny Jafek-Jones
The gardener for the crimson poppy forgets to water her houseplants, and like her mother, was not born with a green thumb. To compensate, she spends hours tending and trimming ordinary paper until it blooms into delicate petals and leaves. The beauty and attention to detail that hallmark her exquisite paper flowers has been recognized in BRIDES, Paper Runway, and Southern Wedding magazines, as well as numerous wedding and paper-related websites. Paper flowers from the crimson poppy were featured in celebrity gift lounges and swag bags for the 2012 Golden Globes and Academy Awards nominees, presenters, and attendees.
Jenny resides in with her family and eighteen pair of scissors in Dallas, Texas. Her paper flowers enchant recipients around the globe.
Website: thecrimsonpoppy.com
Blog: thecrimsonpoppy.tumblr.com
Why Paper?
The crimson poppy and I have come a long way in the last few years. When I remarried in May of 2009, I decided I’d tackle the flowers myself by using the Internet as a how-to guide. I came across kusudama flowers that bring a lovely, whimsical effect to a wedding, but I preferred more realistic paper flowers. During the next six months I broadened my knowledge through floral punch art and Martha Stewart paper flower kits, and took the advice of friends and family to start selling the cards and decorated items I’d created, thus the crimson poppy. The fire for perfectly realistic paper flowers that wouldn’t droop or wilt was lit. While selling at local craft shows and our small-town crafters’ mall, I searched for patterns, learned more about shaping paper, and took apart fresh flowers to create templates. I still like to play with whimsical flowers for cards and wedding favors, but my passion is handcrafting incredibly realistic paper flowers.
I love making a connection with my customers, whether we’re finding the right flowers for an arrangement to gift or building a work-of-art bridal bouquet that fulfills dreams held since childhood. The current work-in-progress for tcp is “make your own extraordinary paper flower” kits, about which I’m very excited. It’s wonderful to bring a little beauty into someone else’s day! I’m excited to say that I no longer have to balance a “day job” with my passion for paper flowers; a reorganization at the office provided the opportunity to just do it, and I jumped in totally unprepared. I wanted the freedom to be creative and still attend my daughter’s Friday morning school assemblies before the opportunity was gone. Making paper flowers is a dream come true. From the crimson poppy to you, best wishes. May you bloom and grow!
HOW TO MAKE THE CREPE PAPER LILACS
STEP 1a Clip the scalloped strip pattern to the lavender/pink lilac crepe paper. Fold another layer of crepe paper beneath the first, removing and replacing mini binder clips one at a time to secure the pattern to both layers.
STEP 1b Repeat for a total of three layers, which will be cut simultaneously.
STEP 2 Cut a strip of folded crepe paper that is approximately ¼ inch (6 mm) wider than the pattern piece.
Tips!
Crepe paper has too much stretch to cut with scallop scissors, rotary cutters, and cutting machines. Regular scissors and a pattern are all that work.
Gathering the strip at step 4 makes it much easier to gather around the wire later. It’s also a lot faster to gather the entire strip than each individual floret.
STEP 3a Cut out the pattern shape by snipping into the space between the petals from one direction, then come back up the row from the other end, leaving a pointed, triangular tip.
STEP 3b Round off the points; super-fast and easy!
STEP 4 Once the paper strips have been cut, remove the clips. Gently clasp one end of a strip between thumb and forefinger. Starting an inch (2.5 cm) or so from the clasped end, use the other hand to push the paper into a gathered fold. Repeat for the length of the strip, using the thumb and forefinger that are clasping the end to hold the gathered portion of the paper strip.
STEP 5 Lots of little flowers will be needed, so unfurl the strip and snip into it, making straight cuts halfway across the width between the first three rounded tops, then cut all the way through the paper strip after the fourth. Individual petals should look like those in the background of the photo. Repeat until there are at least 120 of the 4-round petals; I typically use 300 per lilac.
STEP 6 Use wire cutters to snip three pieces of wire, each approximately 2 inches (5 cm) in length, and a fourth measuring 3 inches (7.6 cm).
STEP 7a Squeeze a very thin bead of glue along the bottom of a petal; the amount needed as shown in the photo is exaggerated for easier viewing, so go easy!
STEP 7b Place one of the wire pieces in the glue at the far end of the petal. If you’re left-handed, the end
