Hey bees! After all of the input last time on my first paper flower topiary mock up, I totally redid the topiary and have come up with a new mock-up. what do you think?
Okay I'll try to break it down. All flowers are made out of scrapbooking paper found at hobby lobby, michaels, and archives (a scrapbooking store in Austin, not sure if its a chain) and tacky glue. Also I use chalk ink pads, also from the scrapbooking store or section, to finish the cut edges of all of my paper before I assemble the flowers. This way there is a more finished look to the flowers (no white edges) and it gives me a chance to use my accent color
I made several of these accordian type flowers using my heart punch both as petals and as the base (I didn't think the round was necessary) and then attached them to a 5" styrofoam ball with pearl pins from hancock fabrics. I then filled in the gaps between the flowers with the tiny flower punches.
MIDDLE TOPIARY:
This one is going to be a huge time saver for me, since I have decided to do 3 topiaries per table like this rather than the planned 1. For this one I used that large flower punch.
I punch out 3-4 flowers of one paper (double sided looks great in this case but isn't necessary, however I'd recommend using the chalk ink pads to color the white side if your paper is single sided) I then bend the petals with my fingers so that they sort of cup upwards. Then for the top flower I take a bamboo stick and bend them upwards, similar to this topiary only less jagged:
This adds more demontion to the flowers. Then simply glue the punches on top of one another, alternating the petals, and add a small punched flower to the top. I pinned them onto a 4" ball, but will probably switch to using a 5" next time. Add small punch flowers to the gaps.
RIGHT TOPIARY:
For this one I used the basic spiral roses that are demonstrated all over the place if you search paper flowers. It took some practice to get them how I like them, but I use a smaller starting circle than most recommend (about 5 inches in diameter, I actually trace a plastic pitcher lid) I made sure to use the chalk ink on the spirals before rolling them into the flowers. Then I pinned them onto a 4" ball. This one is the most time consuming, as it took about 25 of my roses to fill the ball up. You can make roses faster by cutting out circles of the same size and layering them on top of each other to cut the spiral, though I'd recommend only layering 2-3 at a time. Again I filled in the gaps with the small punch roses. double sided paper looks awesome for these flowers, but if you can't do that at least color the white sides and maybe use a stamp to add a new pattern. I can't say how long one topiary took me, because I make 5-15 of these flowers a night and just put them in a large box until I am ready to start assembling everything.
For the bases, I used candlestick holders I found at Ikea for $15 (for the pack of 3, different heights). I haven't glued them on yet, but plan to use superglue or something else strong to do so.
Annnd I think thats pretty much it!! Any more questions or suggestions are welcome!!
another note (sorry, I know I already just posted a novel lol) is that I know styrofoam balls can add up at $5 each, so I am patiently awaiting the dollar store to get in their christmas ornaments. Online they have 4.5" ornaments at 4 for $1, so I will be attempting to use those instead. I'll update later on whether or not I am successful with that.
Hey bees! After all of the input last time on my first paper flower topiary mock up, I totally redid the topiary and have come up with a new mock-up. what do you think?
posted by MissNerdy 8 months agolove it!
posted by nickygettingmarried 8 months agogorgeous!!!!!!! my fave is the one on the far right!!
posted by thenj9said 8 months agolove! the left one is amazing =)
posted by blondie_bride 8 months agolove! the left one is amazing =)
posted by blondie_bride 8 months agoThey are beautiful! Tell us how you did it! How long did they take to make?
posted by Bearsmomma 8 months agolove, love, love the rose looking one!! WOW!! You did a great job!!
posted by zarriah 8 months agoloooove them! I hope you post lots of pictures of your wedding details!
posted by hisbahamamama 8 months agoOkay I'll try to break it down. All flowers are made out of scrapbooking paper found at hobby lobby, michaels, and archives (a scrapbooking store in Austin, not sure if its a chain) and tacky glue. Also I use chalk ink pads, also from the scrapbooking store or section, to finish the cut edges of all of my paper before I assemble the flowers. This way there is a more finished look to the flowers (no white edges) and it gives me a chance to use my accent color
Total i used these three punches:
http://shop.hobbylobby.com/store/item.aspx?ItemId=146944&F_All=Y&paperstudio=y&DepartmentId=4277
http://shop.hobbylobby.com/store/item.aspx?ItemId=146951&F_All=Y&paperstudio=y&DepartmentId=4277
http://www.amazon.com/Ek-Success-PSPXL005-X-Large-Flower/dp/B001CEAOC2
(the last one isn't my exact punch, mine is from fiskars but I can't find it online)
The money for these punches was 100% worth it, as they save sooo much time and effort on projects like this.
LEFT TOPIARY
For this one, i created several flowers using the method I found here:
http://jannawilson.typepad.com/inspiredby/3d-flowers-tutorial.html
I made several of these accordian type flowers using my heart punch both as petals and as the base (I didn't think the round was necessary) and then attached them to a 5" styrofoam ball with pearl pins from hancock fabrics. I then filled in the gaps between the flowers with the tiny flower punches.
MIDDLE TOPIARY:
This one is going to be a huge time saver for me, since I have decided to do 3 topiaries per table like this rather than the planned 1. For this one I used that large flower punch.
I punch out 3-4 flowers of one paper (double sided looks great in this case but isn't necessary, however I'd recommend using the chalk ink pads to color the white side if your paper is single sided) I then bend the petals with my fingers so that they sort of cup upwards. Then for the top flower I take a bamboo stick and bend them upwards, similar to this topiary only less jagged:
http://www.thehybridchick.com/2010/08/topiary-flower-plant/
This adds more demontion to the flowers. Then simply glue the punches on top of one another, alternating the petals, and add a small punched flower to the top. I pinned them onto a 4" ball, but will probably switch to using a 5" next time. Add small punch flowers to the gaps.
RIGHT TOPIARY:
For this one I used the basic spiral roses that are demonstrated all over the place if you search paper flowers. It took some practice to get them how I like them, but I use a smaller starting circle than most recommend (about 5 inches in diameter, I actually trace a plastic pitcher lid) I made sure to use the chalk ink on the spirals before rolling them into the flowers. Then I pinned them onto a 4" ball. This one is the most time consuming, as it took about 25 of my roses to fill the ball up. You can make roses faster by cutting out circles of the same size and layering them on top of each other to cut the spiral, though I'd recommend only layering 2-3 at a time. Again I filled in the gaps with the small punch roses. double sided paper looks awesome for these flowers, but if you can't do that at least color the white sides and maybe use a stamp to add a new pattern. I can't say how long one topiary took me, because I make 5-15 of these flowers a night and just put them in a large box until I am ready to start assembling everything.
For the bases, I used candlestick holders I found at Ikea for $15 (for the pack of 3, different heights). I haven't glued them on yet, but plan to use superglue or something else strong to do so.
Annnd I think thats pretty much it!! Any more questions or suggestions are welcome!!
posted by MissNerdy 8 months agoanother note (sorry, I know I already just posted a novel lol) is that I know styrofoam balls can add up at $5 each, so I am patiently awaiting the dollar store to get in their christmas ornaments. Online they have 4.5" ornaments at 4 for $1, so I will be attempting to use those instead. I'll update later on whether or not I am successful with that.
posted by MissNerdy 8 months agoThese are amazing! I love them!
posted by Flower Fairy 8 months agoThat is awesome. It looks great!
posted by chemere 8 months ago