Friday, May 28, 2010

Craft: "Flirty Fiesta" Flower Bouquets

I can't remember when I last made paper flowers, but I had forgotten how much fun it is! Seriously. I fold, fold, fold, fold, cut, pull apart and the beauty it produces is such a joy. Such simple materials and yet aren't they beautiful? Now I understand the tissue pom-pom craze.


I am making these paper bouquets for my upcoming "Flirty Fiesta" party.  They are the centerpieces for the guest tables, so they'll be sitting on top of the oilcloth tablecloths I just made. I am loving these bright colors. I was contemplating filling the glass vases (which I'm reusing from my wedding!) with some brightly wrapped candy but decided it would be too much. There will be plenty of good color with the tablecloths, bouquets and garden setting--at least I hope!

I was inspired to use napkins for these flowers by a recent "wall flower" tutorial I saw on MADE. I used six cocktail-sized napkins for each flower in a bouquet. Total supply list per flower included 6 napkins, one bamboo skewer, and one twist-tie. After making a flower (full pom-pom, rather than wallflower style) I skewered it and used the twist-tie to secure it to the bamboo.

I used five flowers per arrangement:
  • One "full sized" yellow flower with curved petals
  • One "full sized" orange flower with pointed petals
  • One "cut down" green flower with curved petals (I cut about 3/4" off two sides of the stack of napkins to reduce the diameter before folding)
  • One "cut down" turquoise flower with pointed petals
  • One "cut down" fuschia flower with pointed petals 
These vases are made for easy arrangements--the holes in the metal top make for good spacing.  I put the two largest flowers in opposite corners and then filled in with the smaller.

Fun! And pretty. I think paper flowers are perfect for the "Flirty Fiesta." And I have to come up with a another use for them, or someone needs to throw a party like this and use them because they are too pretty to throw away.

19 comments:

Cammy said...

Anneliese, since I can't come to the par-tay I am really enjoying seeing what you are doing for it! Of course you don't want the serapes! This is on a whole other level! Can't wait to see more!xo

mrs. c said...

I think these are the prettiest paper flowers I have seen in a long time! I love the vivid colors and the spikey petals! I have made these flowers many times for decorations but never used napkins and this is so clever!

Courtney Dirks said...

Gorgeous, I can't believe how real some of them look!

Very Shannon said...

These are great and so cheerful!

Jen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Beautiful party! Can you tell me where you purchased the glass vases with the metal holed tops?

Thanks!

Unknown said...

Sorry, forgot to enable my email! This should work-Carrie

Anneliese said...

Carrie, I still can't seem to get your email so I hope you'll check back! These vases were purchased nearly 14 years ago from PotteryBarn!

Auntie Em said...

I love these and they would be perfect for my fiesta themed wedding, where can I learn how to make a paper flower?

Anneliese said...

@ Emily: Check out the link to the tutorial on MADE. She calls them "Wallflowers." It's the same technique. Good luck with your wedding!

Anonymous said...

So did you use tissue paper or napkins? they look great and I'm thinking of making a bunch for my upcoming 40th party.

Anneliese said...

@Anonymous: I did use napkins--they worked just fabulously! Good luck with your 40th project.

NVT said...

These are just gorgeous. Am going to use these for my 2 year old daughters next birthday party. These have inspired me to go for a flowers theme!Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Hi Anneliese, I LOVE these flowers and are planning to make them for my Fiesta Forty. Would you be able to tell me the dimensions of your vase?
Thanks, Michelle

B. Schaefer said...

Hi - LOVE you tutorial - THANK YOU! Sorry for being dense, but I'm unsure how to CUT the edges to create the different shapes. The curved/wavy I get - but how about the spiked? Do you by chance have any photos of what the edges look like for the spiked? Thank you for your help! Again, GREAT idea! I'm going to use this for my son's rehearsal dinner - yay!

B. Schaefer said...

Also - again, this is probably dense - but you OPEN the napkins up all the way, right - so they are single-layer? Thanks!

Anneliese said...

@B. Schaefer: Thanks for your comment. When the napkins are folded accordion style, you either cut the square edge to a point or a curve to get the shape you'd like. I didn't include a detailed tutorial because dana at MADE provides a great one. I've linked there in my post. Fun for a rehearsal dinner!

mj tabush said...

Hi Anneliese, I totally love this flowers, AMAZING! so simple and colorful! I add them as one of my favorite piƱata DIYs inspirational board: http://www.mjtabush.com/blog/piata-party-tutorials

Anonymous said...

Hi! I'm wondering if you make these flowers and sell them? I am looking for this exact flower for centerpieces and I do not have the time or the patience to make them. Please email me julieroughan@yahoo.com
Thanks, Julie

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