Halloween Paper Centerpiece

I have had more fun cruisin' through blogland lately than I can even tell you! I know, I sound like the biggest dork, huh? But seriously, there are some super talented people out there who have an amazing array of ideas! Look out Martha!!!

Ok, I know it looks like I'm Miss Crafty Craftersnot herself, but I assure you, I'm not.  Halloween just happens to be the exception to my no-kitsch, no kiddy craft decor rule. I may have just lost a lot of the craft lovers out there, and don't get me wrong, I love to be creative, but my hot glue gun isn't something I couldn't live without because I use it on a daily basis...

If you're still reading, thank you!

I love projects, and this just happens to be the next in my bag o' fun craftiness for Halloween.

I got this idea from Lil' Luna when she was a guest blogger at eighteen25. To see the full post, click HERE.

Now, for my how to:

Materials:

Scrapbook paper or colored cardstock
Bamboo skewers
paint for skewers (I used acrylic - she used spray)
container
optional - embellishements for container

How to:

1. Cut paper into strips. These need to be long. I used 8.5 x 11 scrapbook paper and I cut two 11" long strips and glued them together end to end. The total strip measured 1.5" wide by 22" long.

2. Accordian fold strip.

Tips:
The smaller your folds, the "tighter" your flower will be.
Be careful, the straighter you fold your accordian folds, the easier it is to make it into a flower later.
Oh, and make sure you get a good crease on each fold, the edges will be much crisper.

3. Glue ends together to form a circle.

4. Bring sides in to make a flower. This is easier said than done. Good Luck.

Tip:
The longer your strip of paper, the easier this is to do. Buy more paper and use it!

5. Glue the center so it all stays looking pretty!

6. Cut out some circles, or use buttons like Lil Luna did. I like layering colors, so I cut out paper circles. Glue to center of flower.

7. Poke skewers in floral foam or in the side of an empty box. Paint.

8. Glue flowers onto tops of skewers, and place in container!

Embellishing your Container
I found this rectangular glass vase at Goodwill for about $1.50. I used the orange filler stuff from this post. I had some black grosgrain ribbon that I secured to the vase with a glue dot ( I LOVE these btw) and I unearthed some Halloween die cuts from years past in the Halloween bins in the attic. Die cuts were also secured with glue dots.

Note - I will be getting some floral foam to stick down in here. Usually it's not something I think is totally necessary, but for this one, since the flowers are a little top heavy, I'm going to add it.