Coffee Filter Flowers

Believe it or not these flowers are not real. They are actually made out of cone shaped coffee filters! I found the template here. They are a bit time consuming but they are so beautiful and lifelike that I almost wish I could get married again just so I can fill the reception hall with beautiful flowers like these! Supplies needed for these flowers were:

-coffee filters

-floral tape

-template

-scissors

-floral wire

-a bowl of water

-food coloring

-a chopstick or pencil

After tracing the templates onto the filters, cut them out. Next, roll and tape the petals onto the wire as tightly as possible; starting from petals 1 working your way up to petals 7 & 8. I don't use the leaves. When you are done adding all the petals it should look something like this.

Next I dip the flowers in some water that has been colored with food coloring. Then I hang them upside down from their stems and let them dry overnight. Be careful not to let the flowers touch each other while they are drying or the color will not dry evenly. The effect from allowing them to dry upside down will be that the tips of the petals will be slightly darker just like on real flowers.

Once your flower has dried pull the petals out and away from the center like so:

Then comes the fun part! Shape and adjust your petals to make them look more lifelike. I like to take a Japanese style chopstick and roll the tips of the petals in different directions. Remember the petals on real flowers never look exactly alike so make the petals curl in different areas. And there you have your finished product!

Since I will not be getting married again, I may just have to throw an garden themed party! These flowers also make a great gift, and are much more affordable than the real thing. I was able to make 20 flowers for under $10. Plus these will never die!