Cupcake Liner Flowers: Gorgeous!

Gorgeous right? These carnation look-alikes made from cupcake liners are fantastic, even more so in person! And you can whip up a bunch of bouquets in very little time (and for very little cost!) once you get the hang of it. They're delicate and romantic with a tongue in cheek craftyness. And they would make great centerpieces anytime, but especially for a DIY wedding, a bridal or baby shower, and of course Shavuos!


And I just love the idea of using these floral stamens for the little all white flowers, so sweet.....can't quite believe I made these. Mind you the idea itself is not mine, but I played around with a variety of techniques before coming up with what I think results in the nicest flowers.
You'll Need:

• cupcake liners in three graduating sizes (small, medium, large) You could certainly try using colored and patterned liners for this project, but there's something really nice about creating with just the basic creme liners! (And my local store only had creme and blue striped ones......)
• floral wire, around 22 gauge (you can use pipe cleaners for a kid's project, but not for yours!)
• red craft paint
• floral stamens (even available in Israel at basic craft stores!)

How To:

1. The large flowers are made from 9 total liners, 3 large, 3 medium and 3 small. the small flowers are made from 8 liners, all size small.
2. Stack the liners according to size, one inside the next.
3. With a very large needle, or something else sharp, like possibly a toothpick, poke a hole at the edge of the small liner, such that the hole goes all the way through all the layers. Make sure to keep holding your liners together after you poke the hole!
4. Thread a piece of floral wire through the first hole, and poke a second hole opposite the first on the inside bottom edge of the liner. the point is that the holes should be about 1 inch apart.
5. Thread your floral wire down through the second hole, and if you will be using floral stamens, insert them now under the wire. (You could also try using tiny piece of ribbon in place of the stamens!)
6. Pull the wire as tightly as possible without tearing the paper and fold the whole flower into a half moon shape.
7. Now, to shape your flower you'll have to play around a bit, separating the layers from one another while folding them up and towards the center. You may also want to crumple the paper a bit or fold the edges back as you rotate the flower.
8. To add subtle colored detail to your flower, dip a dense sponge in a small amount of paint and dab the edges. Alternatively you can use water color paint to add color to the whole flower, just go light on the paint!
9. I just can't stop gushing about this project and I've got at least another two projects in the works using cupcake liners (one for kids, and more flowers) so stay tuned!