Paper Flower Backdrop - Part 1

I saw a really great Pinterest post for a photo backdrop using faux boxwood plants and silk flowers and thought it would be perfect for my best friends bridal shower and wedding, but decided to go with paper flowers instead of silk. 

I have seen so many posts on Instagram about paper flowers and templates and decided on a template from @thecraftysagitarius that had a variety of sizes. The template also came with how to videos that were great to have for my first time making paper flowers.

For the paper I wanted to go with plain white because it aligned with my friends wedding colors and didn't clash with the green boxwood. I choose 80lb Basis Card Stock - not only because it's on sale this month, but because it has a nice texture to it and the weight was just right.  I researched lots of tutorials and some used lighter weight paper, but because I want this to last from the bridal shower in a few weeks until the wedding at the end of July, I wanted paper that would hold up.  

Here is where you can get the template I used - it's available as an svg, so it's perfect for cutting on Cricut and Silhouette, or since I'm traveling I opted just to print the template out and cut the pieces by hand --- just make sure when you're printing you're not set on 'fit to screen' for the settings. Choose 100% especially for the large and extra large flowers. 

To start I cut out all the pieces - here is the small size flower template pieces all cut out. This included 1 of the larger clovers, 2 of the smaller clovers and 12 of the petals. 

I highly recommend watching the video that comes with the templates because they are so helpful, especially if, like me,  you've never made paper flowers before. 

To get started on the bud you fold in the two opposite sides of the clover shape, wrap one around the other and secure with hot glue.  ***learn from my mistakes,  less is more in the glue department. 

As you wrap each petal around, you start to get a rosebud shape for the center of the flower. Attach the bud to the middle of the second small clover and continue wrapping each petal around. 

One of the things I am struggling with (and will hopefully improve as I make more flowers) is adjusting the tightness of each petal to control the size of the flower overall. 

For the next layer, the larger clover shape, I used a pencil to roll the corners of the petals back - this adds so much dimension to the flower and helps hide any imperfections. 

Speaking of imperfections... I found myself getting caught up in trying to make the petals perfectly symmetrical and it slowed me down. I have to keep reminding myself that the flowers will look more natural if they aren't perfect.   

After the clover shapes, I curled the edges of the petals and started attaching them around the outside of the flower four at a time, alternating where they attached to avoid the flower looking too square.  Here's what the bottom of the completed flower looked like. (The template I followed had a base piece to add to the flowers but since I will be attaching these to a backdrop I opted to keep the back open for now). 

Overall this went pretty smoothly for my first time dabbling in paper flowers.  Stay tuned for my next post where I complete more flowers, create the back drop, and attach the flowers to it. Fingers crossed it goes just as smooth! 

I've rebranded my design business to East Main Designs - check out my updated Etsy shop here.