Paper Poppies and Peonies

Delicate paper flowers may not have the sweet-smelling fragrance of their living counterparts, but they'll certainly last a lot longer. Try crafting a paper peony or poppy -- or both! -- for someone special in your life. Tools and Materials Rotary cutter Tissue paper Ruler Bleach Water Drying rack Scissors 18-gauge floral wire Safety cotton swab Floral tape Crepe paper Fringe scissors Scallop-edged scissors Leaf templates Cardstock Heavyweight craft paper Bone folder 20-gauge floral wire Paper Poppy How-To1. With a rotary cutter, cut four 3-inch by 20-inch strips of tissue paper. Fold strips using a 1 1/2 -inch accordion fold. 2. Mix a one to one solution of bleach and water. Along one folded edge, submerge half of folded tissue paper into solution. Once desired shade is reached, remove paper from solution, unfold, and hang to dry. 3. To create flower stamen, cut off one end of a safety swab and slide onto end of a 10-inch length of 18-gauge floral wire. Secure swab to wire with floral tape and continue wrapping down length of floral wire, covering entire stem. 4. With scissors, cut out two 1-inch by 1-inch squares of yellow tissue paper. Stack squares together and wrap over cotton-tipped swab. Secure with floral tape. 5. Cut a 1-inch by 4-inch strip of yellow crepe paper and fringe long edge with fringe scissors. Wrap fringed strip around covered swab and secure with floral tape. 6. Once bleached tissue is dry, crush each strip into a ball in the palm of your hand and then unfurl. On a smooth surface, use fingers to crinkle each strip into a small uneven accordion fold. 7. Crimp one edge of each crinkled strip to create a fan-shaped petal. Using floral tape, attach petals around the prepared stamen, overlapping slightly to create flower. Fluff petals as desired. 8. To create leaf, print and cut poppy leaf template from cardstock and trace on to heavyweight craft paper. Cut leaf from paper with scissors, score as indicated by dotted lines on template and fold to create veins. Cover a 4-inch piece of 20-gauge floral wire with floral tape and attach to back of leaf with hot glue. Cover glue with 3/4-inch by 1 1/2 -inch strip of green tissue paper. Attach leaf to flower stem with floral tape. Paper Peony How-To 1. With rotary cutter, cut four 4-inch by 20-inch strips of tissue paper. Stack strips on top of one another and loosely roll. 2. Using the same bleach solution as for the poppy, submerge half of roll in solution. Once desired shade is reached, remove paper from solution, unroll strips,000o9 and hang to dry. 3. With scissors, cut dried tissue paper into 3-inch by 4-inch pieces and create 12 stacks of two pieces each. With scissors, taper and round bleached ends of each stack to resemble flower petals. Finish end of each petal with scalloped-edged scissors. 4. Keeping pieces stacked together, offset top piece by 1/4 inch and pleat vertically from bottom edge to create the cupped look of a petal. Repeat for each set. 5. To create flower stamen, cut a 1-inch by 4-inch strip of yellow crepe paper and fringe with fringe scissors. Wrap fringed strip around one end of a 10-inch piece of 18-gauge floral wire and secure with floral tape. Cover entire length of stem with floral tape; trim stamen fringe to desired length. 6. Using floral tape, attach petals to stem around crepe paper stamen, overlapping petals slightly. Continue attaching petal stacks until all 12 are used. Fluff petals as desired. 7. To create leaf, follow instructions in step 8 of poppy how-to, using the peony leaf templates.