...because home doesn't happen overnight.

I don’t have a green thumb.  But I love orchids.  I’ve had a potted orchid on my mantle for the last 7 months but it isn’t blooming anymore.  The stem is still healthy, green and sturdy.  I read about possibly cutting the stem back and hoping for a re-bloom but, like I said, I don’t have a green thumb.  I decided to try something a little different…tissue paper flowers.

{images courtesy of Martha Stewart although they seem to be so old that I can’t find a direct link to the original ones}

After studying a few how-to’s, this is how I went about making my faux flowers:  I got my supplies together.  This included tissue paper, scissors, wire {you could use pipe cleaners or string also} and a wire cutter.


I cut the tissue paper into squares.  {For my bigger flower I cut  7 ~6″x6″ squares and for the smaller flowers I cut 5 ~3″x3″ squares.}

Keeping the squares stacked, I folded them accordion-style, back and forth onto themselves.

I cut and secured a piece of wire around the middle of my folded tissue paper.  I left the wire ends long enough to allow for attachment to my orchid stem later.

I used my scissors to round off each end of the accordioned squares.  You can cut the ends rounder or pointier, depending on what you want your flower to look like.

I gently fanned and pulled up each individual sheet of paper.  I did this on each end.

I finished the flower by shaping it into a round bloom.

Then I simply attached it to my bare stem using the wire that held the middle of the tissue paper squares together.  I just twisted the wire securely {but not tight enough to cause damage} around the stem.

I followed the same steps to make 2 smaller blooms for the top of the stem.  Here’s my final product up on the mantle…



Violà!  Super-duper cheap and easy.  And I can’t kill them.  I’m still adding 3 ice cubes weekly to my pot to keep the stem alive.  Does anyone have experience with keeping an orchid blooming indoors longer than 6-7 months?  If so, your advice is appreciated!

11 Comments

18.October.2010

I love these! Somehow I want to incorporate these into a centerpiece or maybe just a wedding favor Megan’s wedding. So pretty!

18.October.2010

My mom and I have dozens of orchids and the key to getting them to rebloom is to cut the stem at the base and then water with a specialized orchid “bloom” fertilizer. But this option is a super cute way to keep them looking fabulous forever!

18.October.2010

Felicity – I’m so happy to have a fellow orchid-lover who actually knows how to keep these things alive! Thank you so much for the info. Where do you get your fertilizer from? Maybe I’ll try that when I get tired of the tissue flowers…or I could always transplant the tissue paper flowers somewhere else.

18.October.2010

Rihana – I’ve been thinking about Megan’s wedding. There are a lot of great tissue paper ideas for wedding decorations on Martha Stewart’s website. Super cheap, too!

19.October.2010

so, so, pretty! we used to make tissue paper flowers as kids (or if we were out of tissue paper, three-ply Kleenex!) I don’t think we rounded the ends like that, but it certainly adds a more polished touch.

what a fun way of dressing up your orchid while you wait for a new bloom!

Paper Source has all sorts of great paper flower kits, but they’re a little expensive–I bet you could get lots of DIY ideas here:

http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/kits/flower-kits.html

19.October.2010

We have big pink ones hanging over my daughters’ beds and get such comments on them! They’re gorgeous!

19.October.2010

I spotted this post of yours yesterday and wanted to let you know that I linked up to it from a blog I contribute to, Style Lush (www.stylelushblog.com). This is a brilliant way to use the tissue paper flowers and adorable as well. Thanks for the inspiration!

19.October.2010

Love. Love. These. I helped with a wedding a couple months ago where we made a GAZILLION of these. http://janieeisenhart.blogspot.com/2010/09/wedding-and-wall.html
It turned out beautiful. Love your blog and can’t wait to see the finished product of the quote sign in your room :)

27.October.2010

this is such a good idea! i’m always looking for ways to make my house a little bit more beautiful :)

19.November.2010

Dana,
I linked to your blog through AP and I’ve been absolutely hooked since! My friends have been pushing me to get into interior desing as, like you, I have a nack, but no formal training. However, I’ve had an epiphany! I LOVE your blog because it’s REAL and ACHIEVABLE, which is really my design philosophy. If you feel like you’ve been hugged when you walk into a space, then it’s perfect! Thank you for all the great posts and ideas! I’ll stick to my “unproffesional ” eye…I think it might take me further!

[…] incredible do those blossoms look? And the tutorial, from House Tweaking, looks super easy. I think this method would work well for the flowers on the tables…big […]