Tutorial: Recycled Paper Flower Gift Bows
Wow. Can I just say, any of you bloggers out there who have put out a tutorial in the past: THANK YOU. When I set out to write/photograph this little tute, I had no idea just how time consuming it is to do such a thing. But I am VERY excited to be able to share my first (of hopefully many more!) with you.
And now presenting, the inspiration:
This was the cute little embellishment on top of the gift I got for Valentine's Day from Mr. Skooks from Ten Thousand Villages. Like any Crafty McCrafterson would, I marveled at how lovely it was and then almost immediately took it apart to figure out how it was made. Well, not at that moment. I still had to open and marvel at the actual gift! But after I opened the gift, I certainly revisited it. (I know I'm not the only sucker out there for sweet wrapping jobs.)
The good news: it could not be more easy! Give it a try and you'll be making your own for all your gifts before you know it.
STEP ONE: Gather your supplies.
STEP TWO: Fold your paper in half.
STEP THREE: Clip the corners.
STEP FIVE: Repeat with the other pieces of colored paper.
STEP SIX: Repeat all the steps above using the print paper.
STEP: EIGHT: Fold another one going the other direction.
STEP NINE: Arrange like so.
STEP TEN: Pinch the 3 pieces you have together.
And now presenting, the inspiration:
The good news: it could not be more easy! Give it a try and you'll be making your own for all your gifts before you know it.
STEP ONE: Gather your supplies.
- You're going to need 3 squares of colored/patterned paper (I cut my pieces out of a magazine that was on its way to the recycle bin, but you could use construction paper, origami paper, or whatever you have on hand). I cut mine to about 3 1/2" square, but you could easily vary this if you want a larger or smaller flower.
- You're also going to cut 3 squares of print paper (again, mine were from a mag, but you could use newsprint like the inspiration, or whatever else strikes your fancy) to about 2" (or ~1 1/2" smaller than your colored squares). Eyeball it if you want. This does not have to be terribly exact.
- A bit of thread
- Scissors
STEP TWO: Fold your paper in half.
STEP THREE: Clip the corners.
Here's what it should look like when it's opened up:
STEP FOUR: Fold it back and forth accordion style.STEP FIVE: Repeat with the other pieces of colored paper.
STEP SIX: Repeat all the steps above using the print paper.
Here's what you should now have:
STEP SEVEN: Fold one of your colored pieces.STEP: EIGHT: Fold another one going the other direction.
STEP NINE: Arrange like so.
STEP TEN: Pinch the 3 pieces you have together.
You can tie them with a bit of thread at this point if you wish, but it's not necessary. I'm more showing you this so you can see approximately what we're going to do with it in a minute.
STEP ELEVEN: Repeat the above steps for the print paper.
STEP TWELVE: Pinch the print paper trio together.
STEP THIRTEEN: Wrap the center with thread until it is secure.
STEP FOURTEEN: Fan it out. You're almost done!
STEP FIFTEEN: Layer the print cluster on top of the colored cluster. Pinch and wrap the thread around until it's secure. Tie a knot on the bottom.
STEP SIXTEEN: Separate the petals a bit.
STEP SEVENTEEN: Fan the paper out. You did it!
Well, aren't you just so clever. ;)

30 Comments:
I am impressed - awesome!
Cool idea! I also like how you speak "mc"ish...I speak that too-I called one of my twins Runny McRunnerson this very morning! I am going to try your project out and maybe if I'm successful...hang for the twins' bday tuesday. :)
Wow, that is soooo cool! And perfect timing, my boss's birthday celebration is next Tuesday and I just got the gift -- will have to try this out.
Thanks for the wonderful tutorial! What a classy looking flower.
Thanks for joining the linky party with your great post.
~Kim
These are great!
Thanks everyone! I really had a good time putting this together. :)
Thank you for taking the time for this tute! It is wonderful!
Great tutorial! I'm wrapping a birthday present tomorrow and am going to put aside some extra time to make one of these flowers. I LOVE having ideas for using magazines headed for recycling.
Ooo~~~ I love this! I gotta try to make this! Thanks for the great tutorial! I love this step-by-step instruction with lots of photos. THANK YOU!
Thanks for this tutorial - lovely and clear and easy to follow - I had go, and I'm super pleased with it!
http://ultraviolet-baby.blogspot.com/2010/02/super-quick-little-post.html
Thanks for shaing this...its wonderful. Look forward to making these.
That is so neat!! What a very cool and unique idea. I love making presents look unique and beautiful when I wrap them. Thanks!
That is such a fun idea! I would have never thought of doing this, so thanks for the idea!
Kaysi
Keeping It Simple
Love it! Aren't tutorials the best! :) It takes me 5 times as long to do everything now! hee hee! Thanks for sharing it is super fun!
The drawn out process of taking the photos of each step is kinda crazy. Still fun though! Hmm . . . what to tutorial-ize next? ;)
I love the upcycling of it all! Thanks for the lesson!
My very first thought was "That would make an awesome choker necklace!"
It might be scratchy with paper though... I wonder how it would turn out if I used fabric stiffened with interfacing...
Hmmm.... **wanders off to the scrap-pile**
Totally Cool! It's simple and cheap!
YOU ROCK!
wow that is soooo cool can't wait to try it out!
Happy Sits Saturday from N Ireland
Love this tutorial and your photos and instructions were really easy to follow - I may get my daughters to give this a go.
Have a lovely weekend.
Came to you from SITS. Neat idea. Great use for all those unused magazines sitting in the recycle bin.
Very cute paper flowers! Creative mind i should say!
Thanks for posting!
www.priya123.etsy.com
I LOVE IT!!!
This is real cute. kinda reminds me of the paper snowflakes we used to make when we were kids.
This flower is very cool! Thanks for your comment on my blog. Sorry, it's only in Swedish but there are lot of links to other sites...even your.
Have a nice day!
Love
Hi, came to you kinda roundabout. May decide to stick around. Good good tut .. painstakeing on your part. Think I can remember and will be able to use over and over again. Aint found art fun. TFS
~ Thats so nice and easy. Thanks for takin' the time to show us all how.~
You can even teach kids how to make this one. Easier but better.
Thanks for the step by step process. I really really like it :) I hope I can do it successfully!
TOTALLY AWESOME! Thanks a bunch :)
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