{crafts} Seed Paper Roses

With Valentine’s Day just a few days away, we were looking for a simple, creative, DIY way to celebrate and decorate. We wondered, how we could use seed paper to create beautiful and unique Valentine’s Day decorations? Since roses and Valentine’s Day go together so perfectly, and paper flowers are a long-time staple of the crafting world, we decided to make seed paper roses!

Eco-friendly and practically waste-free, these seed paper roses are a fun and unique Valentine’s Day craft to make for someone special.

They can also be used for other events as centerpieces and are more fun than real flowers because these won’t die on you. Plus, they are made from recycled material, and the paper will biodegrade, leaving only wildflowers behind.

As a guide, we used this amazing paper flower tutorial.

Follow this simple tutorial to make your own 3D seed paper flowers – with nearly zero waste left behind.

Here’s what you need:

• Seed paper sheets in the color of your choice.  (We used hot pink)
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue gun
• Optional stems: emerald green seed paper and wooden skewers

TIP: When ordering seed paper for crafts, you may wish to request paper that isn’t as thick as what is typically sold in the shop. Simply add a note to the special instructions box on the final step of the checkout process to request single-thick paper. This paper will fold and bend more easily than our traditional double-thick paper which is more similar to card stock.

Step 1: Measure and cut out four 5-inch by 5-inch squares.

Step 2: Fold one of the squares into a large triangle, and then fold it again twice more to create a smaller triangle.

Step 3: Use your pencil to draw a semi-circle onto your small, folded triangle. This will be your petal shape. Ensure the semi-circle is near the “open” edge of the triangle, creating half of a heart shape, with the pointed end on the folded point.

Step 4: Cut along the line, and also cut a small piece off the bottom. Unfolding the paper should show a simple, 2D flower.

Note: Seed paper is thicker than most crafting papers so it may be difficult to cut through when folded up. Make sure you use large, sharp, strong scissors.

Repeat steps 2 to 4 for the rest of your squares. You should end up with 4 flower shapes.

Step 5: Take one flower shape and cut out one of the petals.

Step 6: Taking another flower, cut 2 petals (side-by-side, adjacent petals) off.

Step 7: On another flower, cut 3 (adjacent, side-by-side) petals off.

Step 8: Cut 4 petals off the next flower. Discard one of the 4-petal pieces.

You should now have 7 pieces of flowers, ranging from 1 to 7 petals in size.

Step 9: Holding your 3-petal piece with the petals facing away from you, apply glue to the right-most petal. Fold the left-most petal over and onto the glue, creating a cone shape.

Repeat this for the 4-,5-,6- and 7-petal pieces. You will end up with 5 cone-shapes resembling flowers.

Step 10: Use a pencil or bone fold to roll the edges of each flower cone outward, creating an “opening” effect on the petals.

Step 11: Use your pencil to roll the 1-petal piece into a small cone, gluing the edges to keep it rolled up.

Step 12: Roll the 2-petal piece around the 1-petal cone, using glue to keep it rolled tight.

Step 13: Apply glue to the outside of this cone, and place it inside the next-largest cone. Continue gluing the petal pieces together, layering them inside larger cones, until you have a complete rose!

Step 14 (Optional): We added a seed paper stem and leaf: wrap green seed paper around a skewer to make a thin stem.  Apply glue to keep your stem sealed.  Cut out a leaf shape and glue it to the stem; then use glue to attach the stem to the base of your rose.

No need to throw away your excess seed paper trimmings – you can cut them into smaller pieces and use them as biodegradable eco confetti at your Valentine’s Day event! We hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Happy crafting!

Want to start a craft project with seed paper?

You can buy seed paper by the sheet for your eco-friendly paper projects from Botanical PaperWorks. We have a variety of seed options including wildflower, herb and veggie, and over 25 seed paper colors. You can also buy seed confetti for eco-friendly events and occasions.

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