Pretty Pretty Paper Roses

We are taking a break from the house tour to do a traditional how to post, just to keep ya'll on your toes.
This is an oldie but a goodie of a crafty treat.  So simple & sweet & so many uses.  If you take a quick peek at ScoutMob or Etsy or any other craft boutique, you can find dozens of artists who utilize paper roses in the most fantastic ways.

Paper Garland by Lillie Syster; Paper Wreath by 7 Silver Keys ; Map Roses Bouquet by Dragon Flies

You'll need paper of any sort, though it is best if both the front and the back are colored/printed or at least interesting to you, since both sides will be visible.  I used simple scrapbooking paper with a gingham print on one side & a cardboard/craft paper brown on the other.  Old book pages make a wonderful paper rose, as do maps, magazines or newspaper.

Now draw a spiral shape on one side of your paper.  Once you get  the hang of it, you won't need to draw the spiral, you can just free-cut.
People who sell these roses use a adjustable circle cutter to give the roses a uniform appearance.  If you were going to do a lot of flowers, either for a long garland, paper roses wreath or other undertaking, I'd recommend plopping down the dough to pick one up.  For small scale projects, I prefer the hand drawn/hand cut method-- it gives a lovely variation to the blooms and feels more "natural."

Cut around the spiral, squaring off the hanging end.

Start on the outside and roll towards the center.  The paper will naturally "lean" toward the inside of the spiral, just let it do its thing!

When you get to the end of the spiral, fold the last bit of paper under to form a "table" for the rose to set on. Allow the curled paper to loosen up a tad, apply some hot glue to the "table" and press down to adhere.

Depending on what you are going to do with the roses, you can cut a stack of paper at a time.  The rolling of the spirals can be done by children & even craft-challenged husbands~*

Once you've got the roses rolled, you can do whatever you want with them-- bouquets, wreaths, garlands, card embellishments, shoe box decoration-- the possibilities are endless .  

If you do make a bouquet, might I suggest spritzing the finished stems with a little rose water.  Thus they would. by any name, smell as sweet~*

My little garden is going to be used on the lids of some Papier-mâché boxes-- look for the finished project in a post to come!

This post can also be found as an article in the blog magazine Man Cave Mum.  Please come by, show your support for a great starter mag & check it out!