A few weeks ago I was charged with the task of decorating a ballroom for my daughter's school auction. The theme was cherry blossoms, and the result was magical…and budget friendly too!
MATERIALS
• Tree branches (branches with multiple off-shoots are best)
• Tissue paper (A few sheets goes a long way. We used around 50 sheets for a huge room full of blossoms.)
• Scissors
• Scotch Tape (florist wire or glue can also be used, but tape is probably the least labor intensive)
• Fishing line (optional depending on how you'd like to display the branches. We suspended ours from the ceiling)
INSTRUCTIONS:
• (picture 2) cut tissue paper into squares (mine were about 2-3 inches on each side) and overlap them in a star of David type shape.
• (picture 3) pinch them in the middle to form a light crease, then pinch in the other direction
• (picture 4)twist the pinched parts to form a "stem"
• (picture 5)attach a small piece of scotch tape to the edge of the stem (once all the blossoms are attached you don't even notice the tape).
• (picture 6)wrap the tape around an offshoot of the branch to secure the blossom
• (picture 7) repeat…and repeat…and repeat!
Typically I'm not a huge fan of faux flowers, but these are so fun to make and so sweet that I've happily made an exception for them in my home. For the auction I had made a few green blossoms in addition to the thousands of pink ones, but at the last minute I decided not to use them for the auction, so now they're gracing my daughters' ceiling (picture 10). The room is surrounded by trees outside, and we often refer to it as the tree house room, so the suspended handmade blossoms are a fun extension of that idea.
Images: Leah Moss
Originally published 6.24.10 - JL
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Oh my, take me back to elementary school! This was a Mother's Day gift at least one year back in the 60's.
I think they are so delicate and lovely. I would like to try this, thanks for the post.
Adorable! Great baby shower decor, as well.
HEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeLLlllOOoooooooooooo dust!
meaning that it's an extra small thing to gather dust :(
As decoration for a party is absolutely stunning. That and tiny lights would be magic for outdoor entertaining....
Yeah, these would get dusty really quickly. I may try them in my little girls room, though. She wants a new room for her 5th bday, and she'd probably get a kick out of making these.
So pretty but my cat would murderize them. Sigh.
My first thought before jumping was "One more thing to dust..." I see I actually agree with a few others. :)
If you're making them for an occasion - the dust doesn't matter. It's an inexpensive decorating idea. I like it!
I love these!! I made some after finding the perfect branches on a hike with my sister. I used a hot glue gun and some thread to fasten the flowers. Quick, and really pretty!
I'm doing this. Absolutely amazing!
Love it - Love it - I always have clients looking for inexpensive wedding centerpieces...
Nice! This is something I might actually make!
http://notyourgoddess.blogspot.com/
I think they are adorable, and if they get too dusty, they seem easy enough to just start over and make more. We'll see!
I learned to make these when I was in jr. high---a long time ago. We used them as party or holiday decorations. Also, we occasionally made them out of crepe paper, then gently pulled on the outer edges to add curl and dimension to the flower. If you add a sheet of green paper on the back side, cut a bit smaller, it adds contrast.
My neighbor paid me 10 cents for each flower I made, to decorate for her Christmas party. I made a lot of them in red, and we wrapped them around the trunk of her Christmas tree (a huge Norfolk Pine) and then strung them on garlands to drape around the tree. THEN, I strung them on thread, with cut up straws as spacers, to make leis (in red and white) for her Hawaiian Christmas party guests to wear. It made quite an impression on my 12 y.o. brain.
It is tempting to make them in a lot of colors, but all one color is simply stunning. The pink ones are just gorgeous. And in deep midwinter, when snow is all about, a few branches sprayed in silver, with white flowers is a lovely (if temporary) bit a prettiness in the house or your front door.
P.S. A "Tiny Tot" stapler makes the super-easy to do.
can I suggest, an eyedropper of magenta ink thinned with water - just a drop on the center of each would do wonders for the blossomy (vs scrunched up tissue) effect <3
I don't know what the big deal is about dust, just give the branch a gentle shake when you're vacuming beneath it, no biggie!
We made them out of yellow, for forsythia, back in elementary school...very fun. As for dusting, who keeps a floral arrangement long enough for it to gather dust? Even stuff that doesn't wilt on it's own, such as silks, dried flowers, etc needs to be changed out every couple of weeks. Other wise, you end up looking like you stole the display from a HoJos.
My husband, voice of reason: "those look like you kept all the used tissues from your last cold and tried to decorate with them" -- hehe
I remember this article from before but appreciate the re-post. These branches are really lovely; and now that it's gray, rainy, dark, and cold, I do think they'll help the mood in my house!
oh, cute. i want to do this with my niece. cheap (or free!) and very sweet.
Could we please see pictures of the ballroom?
I love this project.