Crepe Paper Peony Bouquet

Summer blooms are finally here and just so happen to be my favorite item to decorate with at home. In particular it is peony season and with the release of our new crepe papers and the Wild Peony Thinlits die, there is no better time to create an everlasting bouquet to gift to a friend or style for your own personalized home decor. See step by step below how I created this Crepe Paper Peony Bouquet.

What you will need:

• Sizzix^® Big Shot^® Machine (660200)
• Sizzix^® Thinlits^® Die Set 5PK – Wild Peony (664926)
• Sizzix^™ Accessory – Glue Gun 
• Sizzix^™ Accessory – Glue Gun Sticks, 6", Clear, 20PK (664821)
• Sizzix^™ Making Essential – Permanent Pens, Assorted Colors, 12 Pack (664056)
• Sizzix^™ Making Tool – Scissors, Small (664818)
• Sizzix Surfacez^™ – Crepe Paper, 12" x 24", Color Splash, 10 Sheets (664668)
• Floral Tape
• Floral Wire
• Vessel for flowers
• Wire Cutters
• Wood Beads or Styrofoam Balls

How to make:

1. Die-cut out of desired crepe paper colors at least 5 large petals, 5 medium petals, 4 double-sided petals, 2 leaves and 2 flower stamens from the Wild Peony die set. Above I have cut enough elements to create either one large, full bloom or two medium-sized open-style blooms.

2. To create realistic flower shading, use permanent pens to add shading effects to both sides of all the petal and stamen elements. Lightly brushing the color on to the crepe paper with the broad, chiseled side of the permanent pens. You could also add color variation on the petals with chalks, acrylic paints or pan pastels.

3. Hot glue a wooden bead or a small styrofoam ball to one end of a floral wire stem with hot glue.

4. With a pair of scissors cut a matching piece of crepe paper into an oval sized to fit over the wooden bead. Stretch the crepe paper out to cover the entire bead.

5. Adhere the stretched crepe around the wooden bead.

6. Attach one of the die cut stamen elements along the bottom half of the wooden bead, adhering each additional stamen piece on top of the last until you achieve a desired flower center.

7. Use both thumbs to stretch the middle of each petal to create a curved, dome like effect on all die cut floral petal elements. Depending on how open or closed you prefer your final flower to appear, adjust how far you stretch the crepe paper material to achieve the desired outcome. For a larger open bloom, stretch the crepe paper quite far, but for a smaller closed bloom manipulate the rounded curve in the center to be tighter.

8. Poke the floral wire stem through the center of one double-sided petal and mold the petals up around the flower center, adhering the bottom portion of each petal to the flower center with hot glue.

9. Add the additional double-sided petals in the same manner, alternating the placement each time to create a complete, rounded inner bloom.

10. Begin placing and adhering the medium petals around the base of the floral wire and the double-sided petals. It's best to only add adhesive to the bottom tab of each petal so that you have more flexibility to manipulate your bloom as you add each layer. Arrange the petals in a desired pattern to create unique, organically-shaped blooms.

11. Layer and adhere the large petals in the same manner as the medium petals. Once all petals are attached stretch the crepe paper petals in various areas as desired to create additional texture. You can also peel the petals away from each other to create a

12. Stretch out two leaves and adhere them to the bottom of the bloom with hot glue. To finish off the Crepe Paper Peony Bouquet, attach floral tape at the base of the bloom and activate the sticky effect of the tape, by twisting the tape down the length of the floral wire.

Make a variety of blooms from other crepe paper colors to create a full summer flower bouquet. With wire cutters, trim the floral wire on each bloom to a desired size for a chosen vessel.

I hope this tutorial inspired you to create your own everlasting blooms this summer season! Crepe paper is the perfect way to achieve organic texture and shape. Be sure to check out the other new crepe paper color packs and the additional flower dies we released! You can easily make a bouquet with varying flower options or create an entire bouquet from a single bloom, as I have done above.

Until next time...Happy crafting!

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