My Coffee Filter Flower Tutorial
By no means am I unique or original in my creations! I am sure there are tons of tutorials on the web on how to make coffee filter flowers. However, I am going to put my instructions on here as I adapted the instructions I found to suit my needs. (inexpensive and super quick!)
Aren't they pretty!!
Step 1: Get coffee filters and fold in half and in half and in half until you have a wedge. I was strong enough to cut through 4 or 5 at a time, but found that 3 at a time was much more efficient as I didn't have to struggle to cut them! In the second picture you can see how much of the edge I cut off some of the filters. The trick it to cut different amounts off so that you can different size filters.. ie petals!
After cutting a few sets, I decided that I liked the rough edge. So, I tore some of the edges off the filters and on some I took the blade of the scissors and roughed up the edge.
Step 2: Once you have some different size filters cut, open them all and make stacks with a couple of big, medium and small together. Some of my flowers have as few as 7 filters, some have as many as 14 filters. There is no science to this. Then fold in half and half again and staple the bottom of the wedge.
Step 3: Open back up. It won't lay flat. Take the top filter and pull up and scrunch together. Do this with each layer. Once all the layers are scrunched you will have a ball of scrunched filters.
Step 4: Pull open the layers and flatten out a little bit. You want the flower to be wrinkled and textured.
Continue the above steps until you have a bunch of flowers. It really is easier to make the flowers all at once so that you can paint them in one sitting. (these are words of experience...)
Step 5: Scrounge around the house for tidbits of paint. I found a bottle with a little of yellow, a small bottle of white and a new bottle of red. All were craft paints. If I had found house paints I would have used those. I don't believe in buying something for a project if something I have might work!
Pour some paint on a plate. Add some water.I don't know how much, just a little and swirl it around on the plate.
Step 6: Dip the flower in the paint. Swirl it around.
Step 7: Go to the kitchen sink and turn the water on softly and rinse out the flower. Yes, you are going to wash off some of the paint. Squeeze the flower, gently pulling the water from the staple to the tip of the petals.
Step 8: If desired, dip the tips into another color. Rinse.
Step 9: Lay the flowers out on newspaper or paper towels. You really need something absorbent. Not parchment paper.. (experience again.)
Step 10: After a little while, turn the flowers over so that the flowers won't get too squished on one side.
(notice I found some paper towels!)
Step 12: Now using my parchment paper... line a baking sheet with parchment paper and stand up flowers on it. Put in oven on the lowest setting your oven has... mine has a keep warm setting.
You only have to do this step if you are impatient like I am. But it works!! After a few minutes or so, turn the flowers over. then after a few more minutes, turn the oven off.
Step 13: Place the flowers on clean paper towel to cool and cure.They aren't hot, just warm! If they are hot, you probably don't want to do this in your oven!
Step 14: Look around your house for some old artificial flowers that have pretty (or decent/usable) centers that you can pull the petals off and reuse the stems. Yes, I am that cheap.
Step 15: Find the center-ish of the flower and push your stem through. The center isn't useable as it has a staple in it!
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