Spring Branches
Finished Size Flower: 3" diameter Leaf: 2" long x 1½" wide Supplies Practice paper: 1 sheet of origami or other thin paper Ten #4 white cone coffee filters Scraps of card stock for templates, cut to 3½" x 1¾" for flower (F) and 2" square for leaf (L) Utility scissors
Everyone’s face brightens when the dogwood trees bloom in early spring. Create that happy springtime feeling in your home any time of year with these budding paper flowers. I chose coffee filters for these flowers because I knew their wonderful, crepe-like texture would give them a soft natural look. If you like, you can use a little watercolor paint to vary each one (see page 00).
Directions for leaves Note: One coffee filter makes two leaves (and one flower), and the directions below yield one leaf.
1. To cut two leaf patterns from a coffee filter, first position and trace the flower template (F) as follows: Place F on the filter’s folded edge, and trace around it with a pencil. Next place the leaf template (L) alongside the traced flower template, as shown in Drawing 1, and trace around L. Cut out the tracings, which will yield one square (when opened) for a flower and two squares for leaves. Set the flower square and one of the leaf squares aside for now.
Bone or wood folder Pencil Hot glue gun
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MO D E RN PAPE R CRAFTs
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