Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Martha Stewart Craft Crepe Paper Flower Kits
Look! Martha Stewart Crafts has crepe paper flower kits for sale, they are in Michaels craft stores as well. The kits come with double-sided crepe paper, cardstock templates for cutting out petals, instructions, wire stems and floral tape. I have the Peony Kit. There are thirteen kits and they range from $13 to $15. It's worth noting that the Martha Stewart Crafts site accepts Paypal, way too convenient. Here is what they offer: Yellow Roses, Red and Pink Tulips, Tulips and Daffodils, Irises, Red Rose Bouquet, Yellow Tulips, Rose Assortment, Dogwood Blossoms, Garden Roses, Red Roses, Daffodils, and Peonies.
Martha Stewart Crafts also sells a few assortments of double-sided crepe paper in various colors, good for making flowers.
A few years ago I used double-sided orange crepe paper to make pumpkin favors for Halloween and every few months I get an email from somebody asking if it's still available. I bought Gloria brand double-sided crepe from Flax Art & Design in San Francisco and Alison (thanks Alison!) recently reported that she phoned Flax, 415-552-2355, and found they still carry it in a few colors for $1.80 a pack, and they will ship it to you if you want to order it over the phone. Lisa (thanks Lisa!) mentioned that she can find double-sided crepe paper at Kim's Crane Origami Supplies, however they are moving so the online store is closed until the end of April.
If you know of another source, either online or in art supply stores, for double-sided crepe paper please do share!
categories: craft
These are lovely! I wonder how difficult they are to make. I once tried to make tissue paper flowers (without the aid of a kit, mind you) and they ended up looking like wads of colored toilet paper. Oops.
Comment by Karen — April 8, 2008 @ 6:53 am
Karen - The directions in my kit are pretty clear, and the petal shapes make them look realistic, or at least better than something I would come up with on my own. Crepe paper can be stretched widthwise, which makes a big difference in the way the petals look as they sort of cup, something tissue just cannot do.
Comment by megan — April 8, 2008 @ 7:43 am
I think I am going to have to score a set of peonies. Thanks for the tip!
Comment by farmgirl — April 8, 2008 @ 8:38 am
Those look surprisingly real! Very cute. Martha Stewart just came out with a line of REAL flowers for 1-800-Flowers.com. They are really pretty too...I love her stuff!
Comment by Elizabeth — April 8, 2008 @ 9:54 am
Martha did a demo of the dogwoods on her show just before Easter. I looked for them online then, but couldn't find them. Thanks!
Comment by Carrie — April 8, 2008 @ 12:03 pm
If you are planning to head to Michaels to get the kit, they lifted their coupon moratorium on Martha stuff a few months ago, so check out the Sunday paper and see if there's a 40% off one item coupon for Michaels (they don't run every week). Martha's stuff is fab, but its even better with a discount!
Comment by sara jane — April 8, 2008 @ 12:27 pm
I made the peonies and tulips for my wedding in 2001. Once you get the hang of wrapping the crepe paper it really moves along. I still have a few that I use when I gift wrap.
Comment by Rachel — April 8, 2008 @ 2:53 pm
Thanks for posting this. I had seen these kits and wanted to get one, but was hesitant. They look so adorable and remind me of those corn husk flowers which I would never be able to make.
Comment by Julie in Houston — April 8, 2008 @ 4:23 pm
Cool.
I've been wanting to try these for a while.
Will have to make the trip to Michaels.
Comment by Robin Rivers — April 8, 2008 @ 5:44 pm
Woo hoo! Did anyone read the Kim's Crane website info? They are moving their store to Washington state! I wonder where.....:)
Comment by Nan — April 8, 2008 @ 7:53 pm
Do you think that regular crepe paper would work or is double sided a must? I was thinking of making these for my wedding reception, but can't find the right colors in double sided...
Comment by Lisa — April 10, 2008 @ 9:17 am
Lisa - Regular crepe would work fine. Years ago Martha Stewart had an article about making crepe paper flowers, based on what Jodi Levine did for her wedding and Martha Stewart Catalog offered two crepe paper flower kits. I have Tivo-ed an old episode of Martha Stewart where she and Jodi make crepe paper flowers using double-sided, but at that time it was just as difficult to find. If you're interested the MS Living magazine issue with templates and instructions is out there somewhere -- I wish I knew which issue it was!
A little later, a few years ago, a MS Weddings issue came out with templates for tissue paper flowers, which I think was the basis for the current tissue paper flower kit offered by MS Crafts.
Comment by megan — April 10, 2008 @ 10:27 am
Funny. I just bought the dogwood kit last night. I think a difficulty rating on the package would be helpful. I bought the dogwoods because they look lovely, but also because each flower only has four petals. If it is a total pain to make them, at least it won't take as much effort as the roses.
I noticed that the samples on display, made by Michael's staff, were a lot scruffier than the pictures. Many petals were cut with the grain the wrong way. That seems to make a big difference. The instructions seemed clear.
Comment by Dodi — April 12, 2008 @ 8:56 pm
Help! We're trying to make the roses from Martha's kit- and having no luck! They don't seem to be sticking, as soon as we wrap a few petals, they all fall off!
Any suggestions?!
Comment by Carrie — April 14, 2008 @ 5:42 pm
Carrie - Is your kit one of the ones that comes with glue? If not, you might try a dot of Tacky Glue on each petal just before you add it to the stem.
Comment by megan — April 14, 2008 @ 7:13 pm
There is a new book on making crepe paper flowers at http://www.ourpaperflowers.com.
The instructions are clear (glue is included in the materials list).
You can sign up for a free newsletter, which will have a free pattern each month--and there's a sample pattern from the book on the website.
Comment by Nicki — April 20, 2008 @ 11:29 am
I bought the roses yesterday and was having the same problem as Carrie. I love the kit, but the floral tape is a pain! I thought of the glue for the petals that would fall out.
It is easy, though the first couple don't look the best, they do get increasingly better and gorgeous.
I love the double sided crepe paper!
Comment by Christina — May 18, 2008 @ 2:02 am
[...] Â Your crepe flowers are ready. Arrange them with fresh or artificial leaves in a bowl and place them in the living room for all to enjoy. [...]
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