12/08 Jess's rolled flower tutorial

Today I'm going to show you how to create rolled flower embellishments two different ways.  I love these flowers because they're super easy, you can make them to match your project, and they are about as inexpensive as it gets! 

You'll need a length of crepe paper, scraps of cardstock, brads, and adhesive for the first flower.  I often use white crepe paper because it matches everything and is ink-able and mist-able if you want to color it.  And it's less than $1 a roll! 

- Fold the crepe paper in half width-wise.  Don't worry too much about the length, as it will vary depending on the size flower you want.  Err on the side of too long, rather than too short.

- Tie a loose knot in one end.

- We're going to create the petals by folding the paper over at a 90 degree angle.  Continue folding the paper this way, always in the same direction, as show in the photo... but fold it starting close up to the knot.  I just wanted you to see how the folds look. 

- Continue to fold and wrap in a circular pattern around the knot, loosely holding it with your fingers.  Take care to not smash the petals as you go!

- Here is what the underside looks like:

- When you've folded enough to get the size you want trim the paper and tuck the end under.  It should look like this:

- Punch a hole in the center of a scrap piece of cardstock.  Use a paper piercer or other sharp tool to poke a hole through the center of the flower.  Push a brad through the flower and backing and set the ends. 

- For this flower I first sprayed the crepe paper with pink mist and let it dry.  Pretty!

- The next flower requires the same items as the first, but without a hole in the center of the circle backing.  Instead, cover the entire circle (the size you want your finished flower) with adhesive. 
- Tie one end of the crepe paper in a knot and twist the rest of the paper into a thin rope.

- Stick the knot on the center of your adhesive covered circle and begin to wrap the rope of paper around the knot. 

- Continue until you reach the end of the circle backing, trim and tuck the end to the back.

- Add a brad if you want one.

These flowers also look amazing when they're made from strips of fabric or ribbons!  When I use fabric scraps, like I did for this last flower, I love to use a selvedge edge or tear the strip so there are loose threads showing, giving it a distressed feel. 

Now you have a little garden of homemade blooms to add to your scrapbook pages, gifts, cards, or other crafty projects!