Hello All!
Wedding season is just around the corner, and I am pleased to say I am part of those who are planning like mad to pull off a beautiful wedding!
One thing I have discovered in the planning endeavors so far is that weddings are IRRATIONALLY expensive! When did it become okay for simple carnations to cost $1 a piece? At that rate, my entire wedding budget would be consumed by flowers, so I started my search for a cheaper alternative.
Coffee filters! You heard me, plain coffee filters can provide beautiful, lifelike flowers for a fraction of the price.
Everything in this photo cost me under $4 and it will make 13 flowers, plus left over materials. You really can't beat that! So here is how I made them:
For each flower you will need: 8 coffee filters, 1 wooden skewer, 1 floral wire, and a roll of floral tape
Take all the filters stacked together and poke three small holes in the middle. I used a paperclip, but the skewer would also work.
Take the wire and fold it in half in a big loop, like this
Now squish the loop together so the loop is small like think.
Put the wire through the two outside holes of the filters and insert the skewer through the middle hole and a half of an inch, coming up through the bottom.
Pull your wire so the loop is flush with the coffee filter. This is going to give your flower base structural integrity.
. Wrap both wire ends tightly around the skewer. This will be your stem. ( There is so specific way you need to wrap the wire, just as long as it is around.)
Now this is the fun part! Time to get squishing! Starting with the inner most filter and pull it up and around the skewer and crumple it as much as you would like. Remember, it is a coffee filter is it can take a lot of abuse. As long as you don't ripe it off the wire, you're perfect! Continue to do the same thing with every layer of filter.
You'll end up with something that will resemble this. If you guessed it would look like crumpled coffee filters, you win!
Here is where the floral tape comes in. Starting from the top where the wire comes out of the filters and wrap that around a few times, then continue all the way down the stem of your flower. (Helpful tips for this: Stretch the tape as you go! It will stick better that way. Also, twist the flower NOT the tape! That will help the tape stretching and will keep it from tangling.)
Here is your completely taped stem. Seeing the outline of the wires under the tape is TOTALLY fine!
You're to the final step!! Yay! Now all you have to do is pull your filters apart to your liking. I like to ruffle my fingers through them first just to help get them separated without getting too much space in between them. If you do pull them apart more than you intended, don't fear! The world is NOT over! Just crunch a few filters back together in that spot and re-ruffle.
Here is a grouping of them that I put together to see what it looks like and I am in love! I have found my wedding flowers! These don't have to be for weddings, though. They would be beautiful as centerpieces for dinner tables, or even a few in a vase on a nightstand.
Happy crafting!
Mom and Sock
