Crepe paper flowers
One of the things that is up to date is making paper flowers from crepe paper. I remember my mother making some and putting on the Christmas tree when I was a child more than 45 years ago. They were, however, in a slightly simpler version where a strip of crepe paper was simply wrapped around a piece of steel wire, raised a little at the edges and voila, you had something that looked a bit like a rose (with good intentions) We actually also made them in the magazine last year back then… back then they weren't as popular as they are now. It might be a little hard to explain how to do it, but I promise you it's easy and fun and anyone can figure it out. Regardless of creative abilities.
There are now countless books on the subject and one of them is “ Paper Flowers – Folded Flora” made by the talented Iben, who also teaches at my workshops here at Kærby Mølle. You can register for our cozy workshop HERE . If you have the courage to jump into it yourself at home, one of the important things is that you buy some good crepe paper with lots of stretch. That's what comes from Italy. In the books and at the workshop there are lots of templates to cut out leaves and other parts from. But you can also improvise and make a fantasy flower. Cut out a lot of “leaves” for your flower. Make sure there is an odd number and make sure you cut them so that it is possible to stretch the paper lengthwise, this gives the most beautiful leaves. A “stamen” is made by cutting a lot of small grooves/strips in a piece of crepe paper, where the bottom is intact. Glue the stamen around the stem (a piece of strong steel wire). Now stretch each petal with your thumb. So that it is approximately double the width at the top. Shape the petal by stretching in the middle so that it is round. Repeat this on all petals. Glue the first petal to the bottom edge of the stamen/stem. Use regular school glue here. Glue 3 petals around the stamen so that they are staggered. Glue more petals and continue like this until the flower is formed. If you want petals on the stem, cut them from green paper and place them on the steel wire. You can wrap green floral tape around the stem if you like.