Time for some sharing about crafts. I was recently asked to give a hand in pulling together a get-together for my cousin's George's grandson Justin and his new bride Shoko. They were married in Japan and she was finally able to come to the US to meet our family. I hope we didn't scary her to much! LOL
Since they are moving to Maine from Washington, Grampa George thought it would good to have a money tree, then they wouldn't have to "move" gifts that far and could buy what they need to create their new home when they get to Maine. Of course I have a money tree, but I thought they could use a personalized card box to hold cards, pictures and any other mementos they wished to put in.
So I set out to create this box. I've been making the tissue roses for years and I thought they would represent a "bouquet" but also nature and sweetness. I hope Justin and Shoko liked the box and use it to keep their treasure in for years to come.
As I've stated before I suck at taking pictures but I hope with my directions you'll understand how to create these simple tissue roses. They really are simple to do and can be adapted for so many uses and be done in any color combination.
To make this card box you will need: box of choice (I found this all white paper mache' box at Michael's Craft Store for only $2.49), gift wrap of choice, glue stick, gift wrap tissue in your choice of color for roses and green for leaves, #9 width (about 1 1/2 inch wide) satin ribbon in choice of color, small gauge floral/craft wire, hot glue gun and glue sticks, green floral tape, pencil, scissors and wire cutters.
Step 1: wrap your box with your choice of gift wrap. I allowed about 1 inch to wrap over the top open side of the box. Using a glue stick to adhere the paper, wrap the box and it's lid.
Make sure to adhere the paper to the inside of the box and lid.
Add the satin ribbon, making a criss-cross on both the lid and box. Centering the ribbon on each side, overlap the ribbon and adhere to the inside of the lid and box, press down well, making sure ribbon is taught.
Step 2: Creating the roses. For each rose, cut a rectangle approximately 2 inches wide by 5 inches long. Loosely wrap this strip around the pencil.
Using both hands, gently "squish" the tissue together, crinkling it. Gently pull back out and unwrap from pencil.
Cut a length of floral/craft wire to desired length. For this project I used about a 5 inch length of wire. On 1 end bend over about a 1/2 inch length, creating a "hook". Fold the "crinkled" tissue in half lengthwise.
Place the "hook" of wire over one end of folded tissue. Press the hook closed on the tissue for better hold.
Start wrapping the tissue around the hook portion to form the bud of the rose.
Continue wrapping till the end of the tissue. I kind of "poof" the end by slightly pushing up on the tissue and angling the end down.
Once you have the shape of a bud, Begin wrapping with the floral tape, stretching the tape to release the glue in it. Continue wrapping with the floral tape until all wire is covered. I made 3 "just" buds for my design arrangement and then more buds to make 1 slightly open rose and 2 fully opened roses.
To make the petals: Accordion fold a strip of paper for the size of petals you want to make. You will make 2 sizes of petals - for this project I cut about a 2 in x 2 in wide petal for the smaller and about a 3 in x 3 in one for the larger petals.
I fold the folded strip in half and cut a flat bottomed heart shape from it.
After cutting the petals out I wrap a few layers at a time around the pencil and squish it together and then unwrap and separate the layers or petals into individual pieces.
Then place a petal around a bud, note how the edges are curled and I have placed the petal so the curl is on the outside -- just as a rose would unfurl as it blooms.
using the floral tape, wrap the tape around the petal, securing it to the wired bud.
continue adding the petals. I used 5 of the smaller petals, alternating them so the seems aren't lined up.
continue adding the larger petals to get the desired size.
I added leaves by cutting a leaf shape about 3 inches tall by 1 1/2 inches wide, wrapping it on the pencil and "squishing" it. I placed 1 leaf close to the top of the rose and another about 1 inch below this one. For both I slightly pinch the bottom together to give the leaf some shape, with the curl to the outside I then wrapped with the floral tape to secure to the wire.
Once you have all your buds and roses created do a dry run and place them in a bouquet shape on the top of the box lid. When you have your desired arrangement, hot glue the flowers in place. Add a bow. You can make a floral bow, tie a simple double loop bow or use a purchased gift bow that matches your ribbon used on the box.
After bow is placed add a few extra leaves for some added color and dimension. To finish off the box and personalize it I added a little tag with the couple's name and wedding date on it. Below is a full view of the finished box, I think it turned out really cute. I hope you try this easy to make project or even just the roses for another project -- so many possibilities! I think it took longer to write this blog post than it did to do the project!!! LOL
