How to Make a Vintage Paper Flower Bouquet

Turn your love letters into paper flowers for your bouquet.

For good fortune, a bride needs “something old” to wear or carry as she gets married. Instead of carrying grandma’s handkerchief, turn vintage paper items such as favorite childhood books, love letters or cards from your great-grandmother into paper flowers for your wedding bouquet. When selecting vintage paper items, choose only those items that do not crumble or have worn creases. Yellowed paper will add to the vintage look, but do not use paper that has mold or mildew.

Things You'll Need

• Vintage paper
• Scissors
• Paper-cutting dye
• Cookie cutter
• Glue
• Floral wire
• Wire cutters
• Floral tape
• Wooden skewers

Instructions

Cut and Paste Flowers

1. Cut out three six-petal flowers. Purchase paper-cutting dyes at your local craft store, use a cookie cutter as a template and cut the flowers out by hand.

2. Line the three flowers up on your work surface. Cut the first flower between two petal from the outside to the center of the flower. Cut the second flower the same way and on the opposite side of the same petal, removing a single petal. Cut the third flower the same way as the first and two petals away, removing two petals.

3. Lay the first flower in front of you and cover the petal to the right side of the incision with glue.

4. Lift the petal to the left side of the incision up and over until it aligns with the petal covered in glue. The flower now resembles a cone.

5. Cover the two petals with a paperclip to hold them in place while the glue dries.

6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 for the other two flowers.

7. Place a line of glue on the left edge of the two free petals cut from the third flower.

8. Roll the right edge toward the left and hold them in place until the glue dries.

Assembly

1. Cut off the tip of each flower cone but not the two-petal cone you rolled in step 8 above.

2. Fill the center of the first flower with glue and stack the second flower inside. Repeat for the second and third flowers.

3. Poke a hole through the bottom of the two-petal cone with a needle.

4. Cut a 12-inch piece of floral wire, thread it through the hole you just created, and bend the wire in half. Twist the wire to secure.

5. Fill the center for the stacked flowers with adhesive and thread the wire through the hole in the center. Hold the two-petal cone in place until the adhesive is secure.

6. Wrap the wire in floral tape and add an additional length of wire or wooden skewer to the end to create a longer stem, if desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Insert a jewel-headed pin or glue a rhinestone into the center of the flower to add a touch of glamour to your vintage flowers. To continue the vintage feel, use old buttons instead.

References

• Splitcoaststampers; Dimensional Flowers; Beate Johns