I hope you’re in the mood for DIY! You will be once you try out this simple and elegant paper project. This project will be available at MADE’s make-and-take station at Craft-O-Matic on Saturday.
I will be demo-ing this project live on KMOV Channel 4′s Great Day St. Louis Wednesday afternoon at 10am – tune in to see how it’s done! This is the coffee filter version of the Upcycled Paper Flower Bouquet. You can adapt this project and use any paper you like – discarded and vintage books, newspapers, magazines, junk mail, coffee filters, etc. The more eco-friendly the better! This project is suitable for any age and skill level – if you can hold a pair of scissors, you can make these flowers. So, let’s get to it!
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
Coffee Filters, White glue, Scissors, Pipe cleaners (you can get these at any craft store)
Coffee filters don’t need much cutting – simply fold each filter in half diagonally three times.
Cut a curved petal shape across the top.
Open up the flower. See how easy that was? You can make lots of different sizes simply by cutting a smaller petal shape.
Stack different sizes and textures together to create a more dimensional flower.
Glue the layers together with a fat dot of glue in the center. Let the glue set about 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, the center of the flower will still be slightly damp but the glue will have set a little. Push a pipe cleaner through the center of the flower from the back side. Push the pipe cleaner through about 1 inch.
Make a loop in the top of the pipe cleaner and gently push it back through the center of the flower just a little bit. This creates a sort of “stopper” to keep the flowers from sliding off the pipe cleaner.
Turn the flower over and squeeze a little glue around the base of the flower, where the pipe cleaner goes through. Let it sit, flower-head-down, until completely dry.
Holy cats! Look what you made!
You can come get a tutorial in person at Craft-O-Matic this Saturday at the Regional Arts Commission. We’ll have some really beautiful and striking paper flowers already made from vintage magazine pages and books; you can buy them at the craft show or you can make your own with help from a crafty volunteer – a small donation to MADE would be appreciated 
The book version of this craft will be posted this week!
Happy flower-making!
