
DIY Tutorial: Eco-Chic Bouquet Alternative
This fabulous new DIY Tutorial comes from the ultra-creative Jesi of Jesi Haack Weddings and features clever “paper bag flowers” crafted from brown Trader Joe’s grocery bags.
While the paper flowers are cool on their own, they also look fabulous when mixed with a few tissue flowers and fresh flowers for an eco-chic wedding bouquet or party centerpiece. Read on for all the step-by-step details (with gorgeous images!), as told by Jesi…
1. Start off with a grocery bag. (I love Trader Joe’s, but Whole Foods or Henry’s will suffice too.)
2. Draw a circle (the larger the circle, the leafier the flower) and slowly taper it in to the center like a spiral keeping the lines about 1/2 inch away from each other.
3. Take your scissors and begin cutting along the line you just drew, furthest away from the center.
4. Continue cutting, following on the drawn line until you reach the center of your spiral.
5. Snip off the end of your spiral at the point that it begins to turn back into the bag.
6. Beginning at the end of the spiral, start to roll up the paper until you reach the center of your spiral.
7. When you are finished rolling it, it should look like a tightly rolled up piece of paper.
8. Place the rolled up paper in the palm of your hand and let it fall loosely apart. You may have to gently “help” it by turning the center of the flower to open it up a bit more.
9. For the stem, I chose a green pipe cleaner, but you could use your imagination and come up with something different or funky depending on your project. Flip the flower upside down, and tape the pipe cleaner to the base of the flower.
10. And here is the finished product…
11. Add a few paper flowers and it becomes a unique bouquet!
12. And to step it up a notch, we added a few tulips and a hydrangea…DONE! =)
Thanks again to Jesi for the fabulous inspiration!
P.S. Love this look? Check out Jesi’s Owl Drink Stir Sticks video tutorial too!
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I love it! It is so easy to get caught up with events and forget the environmental impact of every goody bag and balloon. This is great.
Great way to “upcycle”! I just made 3-D stars and a birthday banner from TJ bags. I’m trying this next.
This is gorgeous! My best friend is having an eco-themed wedding in DC next October and this would be perfect for her bouquet.
awwww, thanks so much Jenn!!!!!
I love that Trader Joe’s bag {happen to have a few I can’t part with}. Such a neat idea, makes me want to make a few brown flowers for my house!
Love this! Jesi is the best!!! :)
Wow, I love this! I’ll be linking in my next Wedding Roundup. I’m off to check out Jesi’s site!
This is so creative! I have a bit of a tree-theme in my wedding, so the idea of re-using paper bags kind of plays into the theme.
This is fantastic! I made some like this before with construction paper but I love the natural look of the paper bags.
Thats it! I’m making some of these to take to school next week. When the fresh flowers wilt, I’ll still have my homemade varieties! Thank you.
I LOVE THIS!!! I’m so making this!
I love this project – really like the look of mixing paper flowers in with real blooms.
WOW, those are phenomenal! Great job and I love the tutorial.
http://www.amodernproposal.com
Hmmmm…..possibly one of these Kraft Bag Flowers glued to the top of a Kraft Brown favor or gift box, with additional strips cut from the brown paper bag of choice, and used like ribbon around the box. You have my mind thinking in a new direction!!! Thank you.
Beautiful. I love this tutorial. Very creative..
great idea! thanks so much
Very Creative.. Nice way to make such good flower..
Oh man this is great. Ur the man! Ur such a genius, i salute you. more info about bouquet and flowers. Flowers
Its really beautiful! so many ways to do things the eco-friendly way.
Some great ideas, check our website/s and Blogs:
http://www.ecofriendlymarket.net
http://www.ecofriendlypackaging.net
http://www.pandancollection.com
GREEN WEDDING IDEAS:
http://www.ecofriendlymarket.blogspot.com
Other ec0-friendly ideas:
http://www.ecofriendlypackaging.blogspot.com
This is really really cool! I love paper things and I might make some just for myself!
cool idea, these look like so much fun to make
I linked to this tutorial in a blog post about floral industry alternatives… I thought it would be polite to let you know.
This is the post, in case you have any questions or concerns.
https://lorigami.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/i-want-to-buy-you-flowers-part-2/
xo
Lori
Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! I just Love it….
Love it…..how can you secure it so the spirals don’t just flop inside out if the flower gets turned sideways or upside down?
I was wondering the same thing–that’s why I’m reading the comments, actually. The only thing I’ve come up with so far is to put glue inside, and see if that will hold it when it dries. I was worried about the glue dripping through the bottom, but, happily (and weirdly), the only craft-type glue I have on hand is glitter glue, which is viscous enough that it doesn’t drip. (I tried poking holes through the side in hopes of inserting ornamental wire petals that would hold the whole thing in place, but it turns out that poking holes through a bunch of layers of paper bag with a safety pin is pretty difficult.)
thanks for help!
What an amazing idea. And they are absolutely enchanting and lovely too.
Those look very pretty, it’s a great example of an unconventional approach to flower arranging that ends up looking fantastic.
What a terrifc and clever idea. Very creative.
I find these ideas and tips very creative. These ideas also inspire me to adopt environmentally-friendly practices at home and for my parties or special events. Using recycled materials is inventive and unique. I also bring my paper waste to recycling facilities after I destroy them with a paper shredder. This way, I am not only contributing to eco-friendly practices, I’m also keeping my personal information secure.
Marvelous art
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