Paper Flower Bouquet DIY

Jesse and I deliberately tried to avoid getting bogged down in crazy wedding details. We didn't hem and haw over silverware and plates (the fancy plastic kind), nor did it take too much effort to choose the color for the table linens (burgundy ended up looking great).

There were a few things, though, that we did put a little bit of extra effort into. One of these things was the bouquets.

Photo by Amanda Green

Photo by Sarah Hannon/Bryon Triglianos

The best part of my bouquet was the two craft nights my friends participated in to help me make them. At times it felt like a sweatshop, but it was much better because there was wine and food.

We impressed ourselves with how well the bouquets turned out. It took some time, but the actual construction is pretty straight forward.

To make the bouquets you will need:

• Origami paper
• Scrapbook or other printed paper (we used maps, too)
• Scissors, pinking shears, and/or paper cutter
• Floral wire
• Coflex
• Ribbon
• Buttons
• Hot glue

To make the 5-petal flowers:

1. Using the origami paper or other paper cut to the same size, make five petals using these origami instructions.
2. Gently fold, but do not crease, the petals inward and glue. Let sit for a moment as glue cools.
3. Glue the petals to each other, leaving a small space in the center. Take your time with this step, as moving too quickly will cause the petals to pull away from each other.
4. Glue button over the top of the gap in the center of the flower and let sit for a minute.
5. Turn flower over and apply a small drop of glue to the gap at the base of the flower. Insert one end of the floral wire gently while the glue is still warm. Do not go too far, as you may dislodge the button. Let cool.

To make the rosettes:

1. Using scissors or pinking shears, cut a standard sheet of scrapbook paper into a large circle.
2. Starting from the outside edge, cut the paper into a spiral. The width of the strip of paper should slightly increase as you near the center. Leave a half-dollar sized circle at the end of the paper.
3. Tightly roll the strip starting with the outside end.
4. Once rolled, allow the rosette to unravel slightly in your hands, until it is a size and shape you like. 
5. Apply glue to the end circle and gently press the cut ends of the bottom of the rosette into the glue.

To make the bouquet:

1. Choose 9-12 5-petal flowers for your bouquet.
2. Arrange them together, holding the stems. You can carefully bend the wire to position the flowers.
3. Once you are satisfied with the arrangement, bend the bottom half of the wires up, twisting them slightly to secure the arrangement.
4. Wrap the stem/wire in Coflex.
5. Find areas in your bouquet that have slightly larger gaps and gently widen these spaces.
6. Spread glue along the outside of a rosette and carefully place between the existing flowers, pressing the glue against the exterior of the petals. Repeat until the bouquet looks full.
7. Wrap the stem in ribbon, securing with hot glue as you go. Wrap until the ribbon is about a half inch past the end of the stem. Fold the end of the ribbon into itself before you glue the end.
8. Glue the bottom of the ribbon inward as though your wrapping the end of a present or package. Cover with a button.

I am so glad I chose to use this as my bouquet. Thank you, again, to my friends who helped.