How to Fold a Paper Rose
Paper roses and other paper flowers can be used to decorate when real flowers are not available or desirable. Learning to create your own paper bouquets will enable you to provide your own unique look for pennies. Follow these steps to fold a paper rose.
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Instructions
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Cut a strip of crepe paper about 2 inches wide and 15 inches long. Any paper will work as long as the paper is not too thick, which is why crepe paper works so well. For future flowers, you can change these dimensions to create flowers of different sizes.
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Fold the paper in half lengthwise and then fold it in half lengthwise again. The paper should now be approximately 2 inches wide and three to four inches long. The dimensions don't have to be exact, but they should be close.
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Make a series of 1-inch cuts with your scissors parallel to the short side of the paper. Start about 1 inch from the end and make the cuts 1 inch apart along one of the longer sides. Leave the other sides of the paper uncut.
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Unfold the paper. You should now have a series of 1-inch tabs along one side of the paper. If you have any double-wide tabs where the paper was folded, use the scissors to cut them into separate tabs.
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Run a table knife at a 45-degree angle from the top center of each tab toward the outside edge of the tab. This should be done in the same direction on each tab and will curl the edges like rose petals.
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Roll the paper from one end so that the curls are facing outward. Roll the first few inches tightly. As you continue to roll the rest of the paper, gather small folds at the bottom of the paper about every other inch to stagger the petals.
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Apply clear glue to width of the bottom of the last tab and to the outside edge of the tab while holding the rose together tightly. Press the last tab into place and allow it to dry.
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Poke a length of green wire into the bottom of the rose once it is dry. You may wish to curl the bottom of the wire to protect sharp ends. You can also add green paper in the shape of leaves to give the paper rose an even more realistic feel.
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Tips & Warnings
Start small; use narrower paper to create smaller roses to perfect your technique and then move on to wider strips and larger roses.
Crepe paper is very light weight and glue can easily soak through, which can make the color bleed onto your hands.
