Orchid Miniature From Paper

Hello, everyone!

Previously, I made the Houseplant Miniature from paper and also Plant Miniature From Paper. This time I am going to show you how I made orchids miniature from paper. The orchids that I made were Paphiopedilum liemianum and Phalaenopsis bellina, both are protected plant species in Indonesia. This project would be perfect for your miniature dollhouse, more than that, you can give it to your beloved "plant mom".

Let's rock!

In this project, I used:

• Paper in various colors (purple-fuchsia, dark green, lime green, white, mustard, and dark brown)
• Gel pen/marker (White and purple)
• Cutter
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Needle/push pin
• Cylindrical object (diameter 0.2 cm & 0.5 cm)
• PVAc glue
• Super glue
• Double tape
• Sewing thread (black)
• Green satin ribbon (you can use artificial moss/grass)
• EVA foam 3 mm thickness
• Craft wire

Paphiopedilum liemianum is a terrestrial orchid species that is endemic to Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. This species is characterized by pouch shaped-lip, rounded at the ends, pink and fade towards the edge, leathery and ribbon leaves with a prominent middle rib, leaf color dark green at the upper surface and green with purple grape spotting at the lower surface with trichomes at the edge leaves. Inflorescence emerges from the tip of the stem, supporting approximately 8 flowers. The flowers stay fresh for up to 3 weeks. They are marketed as pot plant with high value because of their unique and exotic flowers. 

(Source: Repository UNAIR)

The lip of Paphiopedilum liemianum is like a tube/sac. Cut 0.1 cm x 4.5 cm strips from purple-magenta colored paper. I used a 0.2 cm diameter cylindrical object (the cap of my glue applicator) to make the outer of a tight coil. I usually make this outer ring for a tight coil to have a consistent size of several tight coils. Then I rolled the 0.1 cm x 4.5 cm paper strip and placed it inside the outer ring. Now I have a 0.2 cm in diameter tight coil. To turn this coil into a dome-like shape, I used my tweezers to give a little push to the coil to achieve that dome shape. Secure the dome with a little PVAc glue.

Cut 0.3 cm width strips from purple-magenta colored paper. Wrap this strip outside the dome and secure it with PVAc glue

Cut the dark green paper into the shape as you can see in the picture. I added some white lines on the edges of the dorsal sepal using a white gel pen. Glue it to the lip of the flower

I cut lime green paper into a seaweed-like shape to make the petals of Paphiopedilum liemianum. I added some purple stripes on the petals using a purple gel pen. Then I glue the petals on the dorsal sepal as you can see in the picture.

This part is like the cape of the flower. I cut dark green paper into a spade-like form. Then glue it on the back of the dorsal sepal.

For this part, I just cut a little from a 0.5-width paper strip, then I crumpled it. After that, I glued it on top of the petal.

This time I tried to make two flowers in one plant. So the peduncle (stalk) needed to be branched. I used a thin wire and covered it with dark green paper (you can use floral tape).

I cut the leaves from dark green paper, as you can see in the picture. Then I rolled the leaves around the peduncle and secure it with glue

I used this technique so many times to make a ring coil. I used a 1 cm width paper strip and also my cutting pen with 0.5 cm diameter (you can use a regular pen or any cylindrical object) to help me make the coil. I simply rolled my strip around my cutting pen, adding a little glue to the beginning end to keep it still. Then roll the paper (I rolled up to 3 layers of paper so that the pot looked thicker than the actual thickness of the paper). Glue to secure the paper when you reach the end of the strip. The ring is complete. Remove gently from the cutting pen. Cut a circle for the base of the pot.

I glued some crumpled dark brown paper inside the pot to resemble soil and then I put the whole Paphiopedilum liemianum inside the pot.

Phalaenopsis bellina is an orchid endemic to Borneo, Indonesia.

Flowers

Star-shaped, 5–6 cm in size, deeply saturated fuchsia or violet near the base of sepals and petals. The interior half of the lower sepals typically display more coloration than other sepals and petals.

Inflorescence

Inflorescences emerge from the leaf axils arranged alternately on the main stem. Oftentimes during development, they puncture the epidermis at the base of the leaves. A single inflorescence typically carries only 2 or 3 flowers at a time, however, more has been observed.

Leaves

Phalaenopsis bellina has thick, succulent leaves. They are oval, light to medium green, and sometimes wavy. When mounted, leaves grow so that older, lower leaves are shifted towards the sides while new growth points downwards, in order to expose as much surface area to sunlight. Potted plants do not display this growth habit, so it is often recommended that plants be grown mounted to best expose leaves to light.

Roots

Phalaenopsis bellina has a fibrous root system, with roots usually emerging near the base of the stem. Roots are thick and are capable of holding water for extended periods of drought. Dense root hairs emerge from the velamen and root tips to anchor plants to host trees or mounts.

(Source: Wikipedia)

For Phalaenopsis bellina, it's best to make the leaves first, because while we wait for the leaves to dry, we can make the other part of the plant. The leaves are quite longer and wider than the Paphiopedilum liemianum's leaves. They also have a glossy appearance on the surface. I cut the leaves shape from dark green paper and applied PVAc glue on the surface to make the leaves look glossy. Wait until dry about 20-30 minutes.

The Phalaenopsis bellina flower consists of inner and outer tepals, but to make it simple, I cut the white paper into a star-like shape. Then I added green and fuchsia colors to mimic the actual color of the orchid. For the green color, I used a gel pen, and for fuchsia, I used paper (you can use a marker).

To make the column of the flower, I made a small coil using a 0.1 cm width paper strip. Then I glued it on the center of the tepal.

For this part, I used fuchsia-colored paper and then cut it into a spoon-like shape. To make the "spoon" slightly more concave, I pushed the "spoon" part on the EVA foam with a straight pin.

I also cut a tiny piece of mustard color paper to make the lateral lip of this orchid and glued it under the fuchsia lip

This time I didn't place the orchid inside a pot, rather I decided to mount the orchid. I used a 3 mm thick EVA foam in the size of 1 cm x 1.5 cm. Then I stab the foam using a push pin.

Like the actual orchid that needs moss to be able to attach and grow properly on the mount, I also added a moss-like object for this orchid miniature. I crumpled a black sewing thread and then added glue to it to stiffen the thread. Then I added green moss to them using small cuts from a green satin ribbon. Then I glued it on the EVA foam using super glue.

Now it's time to glue all those parts to the mount. First I glued the leaves. I arranged it in a zig-zag direction, with larger leaves on the bottom. Secondly, I glue the stalk (I used the same method from the previous stalk/peduncle, but this time it's a single stalk, no branch). Then I glued the flower to the stalk. For this orchid I used the super glue to glue the parts.

I had so much fun with this project. Before, I was never interested in orchids. For this miniature project, at first, I had an idea to make a miniature of endangered plants in Indonesia, but then I came to learn that Indonesia is home to so many beautiful yet endangered orchid species.

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding this project, feel free to leave a comment, or contact me on my Instagram @quinzyvarira. I will also post some footage of the process of making these orchids on my Instagram.

I hope you enjoy this instructable as much as I do, and see you in the next instructable!