How to Make Paper Roses

Paper crafts have been around for many decades and although the art of crafting with paper steadily declined in the 90's, the new scrap-booking craze resurrected this all time favorite and put life back into it.

This how to article focuses on how to make your very own paper roses out of construction paper, some glue and chenille stems.

This project is not recommended for younger children as some of the steps can be tricky for small hands, however it is perfectly suited to pre-teens with adult supervision.

P.S. There's a video at the bottom of a woman showing you how to make paper roses out of toilet paper. Just goes to show that crafts are as close as your bathroom!

The paper roses to your right are the finished product and would make a great teacher gift for valentines or any other special holiday.

Try it today!

In order to create paper roses, you will first need a template. A template is just an original copy of your design that can be used over and over to create multiples.

This template will save you tons of time and can be stored away for future reference.

Below you will see step by step instructions and pictures that will help you visualize the process of making paper roses.

Don't be intimidated by the complex design, once you see how the whole thing comes together in the end, you'll be creating many paper roses in no time flat.

Step 1

The first thing to do is grab your old coffee can, set it on your card-stock and draw around it to form a large circle.

Note: A coffee can works well for this project, however, you can use whatever you can find around the house, although preferably with about the same circumference size.

Step 2

Find another round object that is about an inch and a half smaller in diameter than your first circle. Line it up to the left edge of the first one and draw around it again. Now you will have one circle inside another.

Step 3

Again, find another round object about an inch and a half smaller than the second circle. Line this one against the right edge of the second circle and draw around it to form a total of three circles.

Step 4

This is where it might start to look confusing, but if you follow the diagram carefully, you should not have any problems. Starting where the first and second circle meet, draw half circles (2 inches wide) working your way counter-clockwise all around and stopping about 3 inches away from where you first began. These do not have to be perfect.

Step 5

Draw more half circles again, except this time, begin from where you started the first ones and continue on to the second circle. Again, look at the picture to see how it's done.

Step 6

Repeat step 5 until you get to the end. Stop at about an inch and a half away from where the second and last circle meet. Continue like the picture on the right and end with a small circle.

Step 7

Create a tail about 4 inches long and 11/2 inches wide. These measures are approximate. This will form the inner part of the rose, while the inside part of the design will form the outside petals.

Step 8

Your design is now finished. Next you will need to cut along the petals and the tail you've drawn.

Step 9

Now that you've cut the outside, you need to continue cutting along the petals inside until you reach the end. The small circle marked X is just a guide. It forms a small tail that you can easily slip around your finished rose.

Step 10

Next, you want to cut around the inside again just slightly so that you have a traceable pattern. You're done. Now you can use this template over and over to create multiple roses.

I know there are many steps to making this paper rose template, but I really wanted every detail explained so there's no confusion. I personally hate getting instructions on a project that leaves you wondering.

Once you've created your template you can move on to the next phase- Building your paper rose.

Now that you've created your template, how do you make paper roses? Just follow the next step. In order to save room on this page, I've created a slide-show on how to assemble your flower. Just follow the steps and pictures.

Materials

• Colored paper of your choice
• Chenille stems (pipe cleaners)
• Glue Gun and glue sticks
• Floral tape or green masking tape

Simply trace your pattern on the colored paper of your choice and cut it exactly the way you did for the template.

Next, slide the cut design between a ruler and your thumb to curl the paper slightly. You've probably done this technique before using scissors. You'll end up with a puffed up design like the picture shown in step 3.

This is the fun part! Glue a chenille stem to the beginning of the tail (I used a red one because that's all I had, oops!) Then roll it along the design. Glue the petals down every now and then, just remember this will determine how tight the rose will be.

Once you're done rolling up the whole flower, tuck the small tail around the stem and glue in place. Use florist tape or do like I did and wrap the stem in green masking tape. It's much cheaper and just as good.

Next, draw and cut some leaves, how many you do is up to you. I just drew a heart, glued it to chenille stem and wrapped it in masking tape (of course!). Then I put the two stems together. Voila! A paper rose.

Finally, if you feel really creative, put all the paper roses in a paper cone to finish off the look. P.S. I painted the roses a bright red to make them pop out. This is optional.

Happy Crafting!