Rose Making Tutorial. Part 2.

Continuing on from part one...

If you use all of the petals from your one section of paper it will be about right. But you might want to use more or less depending on the look you want. There are no rules!

When you feel your rose looks complete wrap your cotton around and secure it well.
Now your florist tape will secure it further and finish it off. This stuff is slightly sticky and stretchy. As you work squish and stretch, squish and stretch. It will hold firm. Begin with several tight rounds first firmly at the base of your rose.

Then stretch and wind to cover all your petals and all the way down the stem.

You are finished! They look lovely massed in a vase, wrapped as a bouquet or on top of a gift or cake.

You will find each rose is unique. No two will ever turn out the same. And imperfections are a good thing.

I do not make leaves. You could just as easily but I have never been happy with my leaves. I use a few fake ones from a stem of fake roses or I use fresh greenery from the garden to mix in.

Here I have used fresh rose leaves from the garden. I like this best. It looks really nice and they last ages. Also mixing real and imitation confuses the eye and makes things more believable!

When you start out on this you really need to treat your first few roses as your practice ones. Soon they become so quick and easy. They are a joy to make as you are taking that original packet of paper and you end up with roses! It is such a transformation!  You can fill your home with beautiful blooms for so little and have a great fun time.

If you wanted to expand on this there are people who sell handmade flowers on Etsy and their own websites and many are quite expensive. They are popular as people love flowers and for parties, weddings etc large quantities are needed. So that is also a possibility.

I hope this tutorial is useful to someone! Half way through it I wondered WHAT am I doing!!? It is not something simple to show! But really after a few this is easy! 

Paper crafts are like baking. You take a few really cheap components and can make amazing and valuable things! This always amazes me.  I have been making about four roses every evening while I watch our favorite cooking show. I never sit there doing nothing, I work on something in the evenings. In this one hour or so a day it is amazing how that adds to my craft time and my Christmas present stash too. 

There is great joy in creating. Allow yourself to learn and experiment and have a lovely time!

xxx