How to Make Paper Dahlias

How to make paper dahlias

Dahlias are wonderful flowers and hey are known for their lush and full appearance. These reasonably large flowers are available in various colours from your local florist but, if you want some that last longer than a couple of weeks, you'll love this flower craft! Here's how to make your own paper dahilias!

You will need:

• Colour paper (two different colours for each flower)
• Cardboard circle with 15cm diameter
• Paper glue
• Pair of scissors
• Ruler
• Pencil

Method:

• Use your ruler to measure 5cm x 6cm squares and cut them out of your one colour paper. You will need 51 squares.
• Roll each of these squares into a cone shape and overlap the one edge slightly.
• Apply glue to the overlapping portion to stick it in place. Do this with all of your squares.
• The cones should have one tapered point and one open end. It should somewhat resemble the shape of a calla lily flower.
• Apply glue to the outer edge of the cardboard circle and stick the cone-shaped pieces of paper to the cardboard. You should stick about half of the flower to the cardboard to ensure that it is firmly held in place. It's also important to make sure that the longer, pointy end of the cone is flat on the table and pointing outwards. All cones need to be arranged in the same way.
• Once you have completed your first circle, you can add more to the middle and make sure that they generaously overlap the lower layer. That said, you want them to be placed slightly inside the circle and not directly on top of the lower cones. Stick them to the cardboard and the lower layer of cones.
• Repeat this with yet another layer of cones in the middle. You should have a small empty circly in the middle once you are done with these three layers.
• Cut the other colour paper into squares that measure 3cm x 5cm. You will need 48 squares.
• Roll these squares up into smaller cones. They will be longer in shape due to the measurements of the paper. This is perfect because you need to achieve the right height in the centre.
• Glue the paper in place just as you did with the larger cones.
• Fill the middle of your flower with these cones. Glue them to the inner side of the third layer of the larger cones. Once you have completed this layer, continue with more until your flower is complete and you cannot see the cardboard circle below.

Granted, these flowers are relatively large which makes them great for hanging on your walls or even used as part of tablescape designs. If, however, you want a smaller design, you can simply adjust the size of the cardboard circle and the paper squares. That said, working with such tiny pieces of paper will undoubtedly prove a bit more challenging. You can even add more than two colours if you like. For example, if you have paper in three shades of the same colour, you can use the lighter shade on the outsde, a darker shade in the middle, and the darkest shade as your third layer. Keep the central colour simple without such colour variations for the best visual effect.