Friday, February 4, 2011

Friday flowers (crafty edition)

At approximately 11:35 pm last Thursday, I got this image in my head of a carpet of paper flowers. But not tissue paper ones - they were flowers with heft, tinted with watercolors. Structural, if you will. And they could be clustered thickly, thus the carpet image, and they would be so easy to toss on tables as wedding centerpieces, without fear of wilting. I tried to explain this to D and he told me to go to sleep. So I did.

But the next evening ...

paper flowers
{paper flowers}

$5 worth of supplies + nearly 8 hours of hard labor. Totally do-able, right? D is still not completely sold - he is kind of attached to succulents, which are also easy to set out and unlikely to wilt and require far less time.

Still and all ....

paper flowers
{paper flowers}

I'm hoping that our current household wedding obsession will calm down once we have our design finalized. Otherwise, you guys might be in for several months of half started projects and wedding babble. We should never have opened these floodgates.

50 comments:

  1. Holy cow, these are completely gorgeous. They'd look so happy in the middle of wedding table.

    ReplyDelete
  2. They are beautiful! Radiant! What a brilliant idea :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. These are gorgeous. I had a similar pre wedding experience with paper flowers. My husband was skeptical too but once he saw a few made and I explained the cost difference he was sold. He even helped do the cutting. Plus we kept a bunch and they have held up well. Even my mom has a bouquet at her house. So nice to see them even 2 years later.

    ReplyDelete
  4. i really like them, but 8 hours of hard labor? you don't want to make yourself crazy with projects..

    ReplyDelete
  5. Look at what your nimble fingers have DONE!

    ReplyDelete
  6. wow! They're beautiful. Could totally see these as centrepieces for a wedding.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You are BRILLIANT. These are so spectacular! You MUST do a tutorial on them. They would look so good as wall art.

    ReplyDelete
  8. they are gorgeous, but I think D is right. you'd drive yourself insane. I say go for the succulents

    ReplyDelete
  9. they are lovely... and i think they'd play well as accents on succulents :) compromise yay!

    ReplyDelete
  10. You know what picture I have saved away for my center pieces if/when I ever get married...
    http://heart-of-light.blogspot.com/2010/01/friday-flowers.html
    It's simple, charming & it glows (but but the time I do get married my tastes may change, who knows!)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Gorgeous! Maybe a combo of paper + succulents...or have a giant "making" party well ahead of time?

    ReplyDelete
  12. I made paper flowers for my wedding center pieces and as a take away for my guests. Let me warn you, you need lots of very good friends/bridesmaids and patience. Plus there is not a whole lot to do with them after the wedding.

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=789517244158&set=a.789514749158.2405325.20723728

    ReplyDelete
  13. I want to fill my house with these!

    $100 APART Style Giveaway:
    http://tinyurl.com/49rf8lk

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm getting married in 5 months and am "crafty," however I also like "sanity," which is why I don't think I'll be doing too many wedding crafts.

    ReplyDelete
  15. LOVE them! I like the different scales of your grouping and I love the pointed petals, it seems to add a touch of "Moroccan" influence!

    I think succulents would be lovely nestled in with the flowers . . .maybe float the succulents in a glass bowl?

    ReplyDelete
  16. they are beautiful! did you make up the pattern or find it somewhere? I would love to learn how to make them!

    I think either would be wonderful for your wedding! Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  17. You guys are probably right - I think the only way I could consider this was if I threw a couple of little crafting parties so that friends and family could help craft the flowers. Only people who might actually enjoy it, of course!

    Part of the reason I love them is that I can just save a few and then recycle the rest afterwards. Easy disposal.

    And, I am loving the compromise idea more and more. I might play around and see how easily I could incorporate some really simple succulent arrangements with the flowers. Will possibly report back on this next week, depending on how motivated I get.

    re: the pattern - there isn't one, and I can't post a tutorial until I get a better grasp on them. Right now I'm freehanding as I go along, which creates lovely flowers but isn't easy to explain. Hopefully I'll develop a more concrete technique that I can share later.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Rachel, you could ask the crafty folk who read your blog to send you a whole bunch?? The nice thing about these flower, though, is that they are slightly pointy and angular. They almost remind me of succulents, so I'm sure they'd integrate well.

    ReplyDelete
  19. These are gorgeous! You must post a tutorial!

    I'm getting married in November and am the only person I know who likes paper flowers. My fiance and family think I'm crazy.

    http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/paper-flowers?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/to-have-and-to-fold#slide_21

    I made these for a friend's baby shower for guests to take as favors and really the longest part was cutting the paper. I made about 80 or so in three days, only working on them in the evening time after work.

    I wanted to do a version of these for my bouquet, but we'll see how I fare.

    ReplyDelete
  20. oooh, thanks for that link, s.abeverly! that technique is sort of similar to what i've been doing, but it will give me a slightly different type of flower - i'm going to have to try it!

    ReplyDelete
  21. this is gorgeous! love that beautiful coral color!

    ReplyDelete
  22. These are brilliant! If only it weren't for that time factor. Maybe host a flower-making party ... er, your friends will see right through it, but I'm sure they would still love you and your paper wedding flowers. :) They are stunning.

    ReplyDelete
  23. They're really beautiful, but baby, the time! Maybe consider doing a paper bouquet with succulent accents, and succulent tables with a few paper flower accents. Ha, That is, if you don't change your mind between now and then, which you still could!

    ReplyDelete
  24. So pretty! I'm sure with practice, making them won't take as long, right?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Those are so pretty! Can you post directions?

    http://brittanyparrish.com

    ReplyDelete
  26. these are beautiful! but lady :) don't over do yourself.. though, i'm sure if you DO have these at your wedding.. you will get endless compliments.. and could even incorporate them as favors so others can enjoy them as well!!

    ReplyDelete
  27. They look awesome. Go with these, for sure - and tutorial please!

    ReplyDelete
  28. These are amazing!! Have a great weekend Rachel!

    ReplyDelete
  29. These are sooo cute!!! Please do a tutorial!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. i think that probably people who've been married for a few years but still fantasize about wedding crafts and never really get utilized as much as they wish they would when local friends and family get hitched would probably volunteer themselves to be your sweatshop for a boss craft like this. if, you know, you knew any of those people.

    ReplyDelete
  31. a little off topic...but what sort of camera do you use for your shots?

    ReplyDelete
  32. Those are pretty! I'm planning to do succulents in thrifted/recycled jars and bottles, so I'm partial to that centerpiece, however :-)

    ReplyDelete
  33. Those are GORGEOUS! I'm planning a wedding for october and we are totally just copying those huge paper flowers that have been on the wedding blogs lately from that wedding in sweden (you know what i'm talking about right?). These are just so amazing and sweet. I say go for it!! Depending on how many tables you're having....

    ReplyDelete
  34. You (and every other blog) are gonna make me rethink this whole eloping thing! Decisions, decisions...

    ReplyDelete
  35. They are gorgeous! can you post the steps on how to do this?

    Thanks heaps!

    ReplyDelete
  36. @ anon 11:05 PM - Don't let crafty stuff discourage you from eloping if that's what you really want to do! You can always throw a really awesome party at some point in your life, no need for it to be a wedding necessarily.

    @ Rach - I probably will post a tutorial once I have actual steps. Currently I'm freehanding and each flower is a little bit different, so there's no easy process to describe.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Please do make a tutorial when you have actual steps! These flowers are amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  38. These are beautiful! I love paper flowers and succulents so I definitely think a compromise would be ideal (and lovely). Martha Stewart flowers are easy to do, if time consuming. You should definitely have friends and family help with the fun DIY and crafts.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Those are beautiful :) If you care to share, I would love to know how you made them.

    ReplyDelete
  40. what a pretty little blog you have here! clicked through from marta. just wanted to say hello :)

    ReplyDelete
  41. Wow those are great - I echo everyone else here - please put together a tutorial on how to make them!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Those are so beautiful. They look so delicate and each one looks unique from another. Whenever I get married I wanted to be able to do some sort of fake flower so not to kill real ones and the wilting thing. Those are just so gorgeous, I love them. Any chance of you doing a tutorial for them?

    ReplyDelete
  43. Aah! That's amazing! It reminds me of a table runner of paper flowers I saw on Ruffled blog: http://ruffledblog.com/eco-chic-tablescape/ (I'm a wedding blog addict as well) It looks amazing, wonderful job!

    ReplyDelete
  44. I know you just said you were going to enjoy some quiet time, so no pressure -- I just thought I'd check in to see if you had a tutorial set for these gorgeous flowers yet :) My friend is getting married in October, so there's loads of time for us to figure this out too -- yours are just so gorgeous! Enjoy the quiet.

    ReplyDelete
  45. how the heck do cou do thesesß The ya re sooo soo beatiful I looked thorugh your entire blog until this post becaise I saw them on another post! You HAVE to do a DIY or have you already done one? The y are sooo amazing I cant take my eyes of them and wanna make them myself!! Would be so nice if you could tell me how you make those :)

    All the best from germany,
    Luisa

    ReplyDelete

Trying captchas this time - better or worse than having to log in to comment? Let me know! Sorry for all the hoops but the spam has been terrible lately!