Springtime Paper Rose Garland

Guys! Is everyone ready for spring? I think I just heard a resounding “yes” from all parts of the country. I really can’t complain, because it’s been spring here in the desert since, I don’t know, January 1st. Easter is next weekend, the flowers are starting to bloom and I’m ready to plunge head first into spring.

So I’m hellbent on using up some of my craft supply stash. It’s starting to get out of control. I used to wander around my good friend Michael’s or JoAnn’s place to get inspiration and supplies for projects, now I just wander to my back room, dig a little and find something to work with.  The Mr. calls it my crap room instead of craft room. That’s how bad it is.

At some point I was given some coffee filters. Now I’m a professional caffeine addict, and I have a gold filter, so paper filters are of no use to me. Why did I take them? I guess I have a hard time saying no. But I’m glad I did. Coffee filter crafts are all over Pinterest now.

So this garland is perfect for spring. Or a wedding. Yes, it’s perfect for a spring wedding. But right now it’s brightening up my dining area on my hanging chalkboard.

Supplies:

• acrylic paint ( I used DecoArt Americana in Tuscan Red, Peony Pink, Spiced Pumpkin, Orange Twist and Cadmium Yellow )
• a foam brush and plastic container
• 4-cup white coffee filters
• stapler and staples (this one rocks)
• scissors
• 12 sheets of white card stock
• 1 spool of apple colored ribbon (1 inch wide) you’ll need about 12 feet
• hot glue gun and glue sticks

So the paint in the pictures below is green. I was going to make green leaves, but then I changed my mind. So now I have a giant pile of green coffee filters. Anywho, so pretend the pictures are pink or orange, since I used the exact same process to color all the coffee filters.

To color the filters put your paint into a container, then add a little bit of water and mix it in with a foam brush, making sure the paint dilutes evenly. I’m a blender. One color isn’t good enough so I usually mix two or sometimes three colors together to make the perfect one. Grab a few coffee filters, maybe ten at a time, and let them soak up the colored water. Once the filters are colored, let them dry. I speeded up the drying process by putting them in the oven on a low temperature for seven minutes. ←If you choose to do this, watch the filters closely! I don’t want to hear about any coffee filter related fires!

Each rose takes two coffee filters to make. Start by curling the edges in just a little. Maybe it should be called crunching in the the edges. Just look at the photo above.

The next step is to fold the coffee filter in have, like a taco. I had the crunched edges facing out.

Start by rolling one corner of the folded coffee filter. I like to make it so that the beginning is rolled tight, and loosened up as the rose gets bigger. When you finish rolling the first coffee filter, add on the second and continue rolling.

Staple the rose at the bottom to keep it together. Now just repeat this process. I made 35 roses to put on my 8 foot garland.

Love those colors!

Now that the roses are finished, lay out your length of ribbon. My ribbon is about 10 feet long, and I have about 2 feet of empty ribbon on each side, for tying. Evenly space half the roses one side of the ribbon and glue them on with your hot glue gun. Flip the ribbon over and glue the rest of the roses on the other side. (I neglected to take a photo of this part, but you get the idea.)

Next grab your scissors and your white card stock. I cut out the leaves completely freehand, since I wanted them to be different shapes and sizes.

Slightly crease the leaves in the middle before gluing them on to the ribbon, in between the roses. On one side of the ribbon, I had the leaves all pointing towards one direction, and on the other side of the ribbon, the leaves point the opposite way.

This project takes a little time, but it makes such a springtime statement!

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