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1 A How-To by FEATURED BY SWEET PAUL MAGAZINE DOTTED DOGWOOD thussfarrell.com papertopetal.com marriedtocraft.com

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4 HOW-TO MATERIALS: Single-ply crepe paper in pink and orchid. Florist/Italian crepe paper in chocolate and gold. Floral tape stem wrap in brown. www. save-on-crafts.com Craft paint by Martha Stewart in shades of purple, pink, and pale blue. Striping brush by Martha Stewart. Fringing scissors by Martha Stewart. Hot glue gun Scissors Found branches TEMPLATE #215 ADD COLOR Cut an 8" wide fold of the single-ply crepe in orchid. Dilute a shade of purple craft paint with a small amount of water in a wide mouthed container. Test a small strip first and let dry before painting the entire sheet. Lay the crepe paper on a flat trash bag to protect your work surface and using the tips of the striping brush dipped in paint, create a dot pattern. Set aside to dry. CUT Crepe paper grain (the vertical ridges in the paper) runs with height; all dimensions are given as H W. Cut a 1 ¾" x 4" piece of chocolate florist crepe paper. Fold in half width wise, and using fringing scissors, fringe the folded edge halfway down. Petal #215: Cut 4 from painted orchid crepe paper by cutting a strip of the dotted crepe paper a bit taller than the height of the template and accordion fold it 4 times to fit the shape. Leave them stacked together. BUILD 1. Cut a pile of 3-4" lengths of floral tape. Roll the chocolate piece of crepe paper tightly with the fringed side up to create a center. Secure the base tightly with a piece of floral tape (see Using Floral Tape skill). 2. Gently brush the top of the fringe with a thin smear of pale blue paint and set aside to dry. 3. Stack the 4 Petals #215, and gently flute the center top of the petal with your finger by gently stretching the crepe pieces. Scrunch Pleat (see Scrunch Pleat skill below) the base of each petal, and attach one or two at a time with floral tape, evenly around the center. Crease the floral tape close to the base of the petals with your fingernail to help keep the tape from unraveling. 4. Trim the base off with sharp scissors leaving a stem" of about ¼-3/8". Adjust the petals as desired. You can leave some petals styled flat, curled in, and you can also gently Cup them (see Cupping skill below) for variety. PROJECT NOTE Using a hot glue gun, place a drop of glue on the base of the flower and quickly hold it to a desired point on the branch, hold in place until the glue sets. We also made small buds and smaller flowers by hand-cutting small petal shapes and following the same build steps. Additionally we crafted branches with pink and gold crepe papers. SKILLS Using Floral Tape: Holding a stem with one hand, place a petal, leaf, or shape at the back of the stem, holding both between your thumb and index finger. Place the tape on the front of the stem and begin wrapping it around the stem, continuing to hold the petal in place and catching the base in the tape while spinning the stem, (not moving the tape around the stem) Wrap the tape around the base of the flower a few times. Continue wrapping down onto the wire at a slight diagonal, making sure to continually and gently pull the tape as you progress. Tape beyond the center, petal, or leaf and down onto the stem to secure. Helpful Hints: With some practice, floral tape is simple to use. Firmly but gently stretching the tape as you wrap is crucial to release the adhesive that makes it stick to itself. With one hand, hold and slowly twist the stem while applying pressure to the tape. The opposite hand stretches the tape as you work. Overlap the tape as you wrap, adding pressure with your fingers to prevent unraveling. Make a few fingernail scores at the end of each length of tape to help it adhere. When building a flower, keep a small pile of precut 3" 4" (7.5cm 10cm) strips of tape at the ready to use for attaching each petal. Scrunch Pleat: Begin Scrunch Pleat by holding one side of the base of a petal or leaf between your thumb and index finger, and the opposite side of the base between your other thumb and index finger. Scrunch the sides toward each other, creating multiple gathers. Press a bit to crease. This technique adds dimension, creates a thinner base, and a slightly rounded petal. You can pre-scrunch your petals to condition the paper, and then Scrunch Pleat again as you attach each one to a stem. Cupping: To Cup, lightly grasp the center of a petal or leaf at its widest point between the thumbs and index fingers of both hands. Gently slide your thumbs and index fingers away from one another, gently pulling from the center out, coaxing the folds of the paper apart. Leave a border to maintain the petal s structure. The number of strokes depends on the weight of the crepe and how cupped you want the shape to be. Cupping is one of the most important skills when working with crepe, so practice is recommended before using this technique on an assembled flower. 4

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A How-To From CHRYSANTHEMUMS

A How-To From CHRYSANTHEMUMS A How-To From DIPPED-Tip CHRYSANTHEMUMS How-to Materials Adding Color For personal use only / Copyright THUSSFARRELL, LLC. All rights reserved. 5 - Paper to Petal How-to How-to Materials Double-sided