We all know the Hills are hosting a gender reveal party for our little nugget this weekend (because I can't stop talking about it!). We opted to go the DIY route for all of our décor, which was a choice based largely on saving money and creating the exact look that I envisioned. I have to say that it really worked out the way I wanted, and today I thought I'd share a simple craft that really adds a lot of character to your space. Let's make some paper rosettes!
All you'll need is a a stack of card stock paper, hot glue, and scissors. I found the blue and pink card stock at Michaels. And to make the number of rosettes that we did, we used both stacks in their entirety. Depending upon your quantity, you will use more or less card stock.
Before we start into the "how to", the most important piece of advice I can give you about making regular size rosettes is that for every one you make, you will use 4 pieces of paper. Don't try to use less because your rosette will look quite silly. If you want to use more for a tighter looking rosette, be my guest!
So you'll begin the craft by folding the paper accordion style. You can fold horizontally or vertically, either way works and you'll get a different look. You can also fold to whatever width you prefer. I typically stuck to about an inch.
Once you have it completely folded (as shown in the above photo), you will fold it in half, aligning the edges to have a 'perfect' center fold (see the following two photos).
You will make four of these 'v' shaped accordions before you begin hot gluing. Once you have them completed, you will hot glue down the middle of each 'v', pressing firmly together to ensure good stick. Then hot glue the 'v's' together one at a time. In doing this, make sure that all of them are facing the same direction. You can do this by looking at the center of the 'v' to verify that the fold is shown.
As you hot glue the rosette together, it will begin to take shape, and from the gif below, you can see how it fans out to create a beautiful rosette!
In making rosettes, there are about 4 different sizes you can make....large, medium, small, and tiny. To make a large, you will fold the paper accordion-style horizontally. To make a medium, fold the paper vertically. To create a small. you will cut the paper in half, then fold each half accordian-style (doesn't matter whether it's horizontal or vertical). In making the small size, you'll only need two pieces of paper since you're cutting them in halves. And for the tiny, you'll use one piece of paper, cutting it in half, then cutting each of those halves in half again.
Making rosettes is simple, but it will take a bit of time depending on how many you are making. We are filling a wall with them to use as a backdrop to our food table. Thus, we spent a good chunk of time folding and hot gluing to get the look we wanted. Making all four different sizes really gave depth to the background, and I highly recommend it. If you're feeling extra ambitious, you could add buttons or other decorative pieces to the center of the rosettes. But, we were happy without that extra step.
Hanging the rosettes was the most challenging part. We pulled down our gallery wall and used the existing nails. By attaching string loops to the back of the rosettes we built the framework. Then we hot glued the smaller rosettes over top. If someone has a better way please share!
Our paper rosette wall was exactly what we wanted for the party, and I'm so looking forward to seeing the rest of the party details come together! T-minus two days, people! You'll get more of a look when I share all of the party details next week! But, for now here's a sneak peak :)
p.s. Trying to put into words how to make these paper rosettes was harder than I thought. Isn't that the case when trying to explain something simple and you go and make it all complicated?! So if there is something that just doesn't make sense or needs more clarification send me an email and I'll happily respond!
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