Paper Tulip Bouquet

For Mother's Day I wanted to give my mom something colorful and unique. Something made with my own two hands. Something that she can't just go out and buy for herself.

Paper and glass come together in this project to create a fun Mother's Day gift that you can enjoy creating! Paper and an old glass jar might not seem like the most natural of allies at first glance, but once you get going it becomes clear that they are an obvious match. This bouquet stays vibrant and bright much longer than a regular bouquet, and it's handmade with love.

What mom wouldn't love a handmade flower bouquet?

Let's get to it!

For the tulips you will need:

colorful paper, both for the flower heads and stems (store bought is great, or you can design your own or have some kids help)

scissors

tape

Begin with a square piece of paper. If you don't know how to do this, simply fold the corner of one side across the paper diagonally until it lines up with the other side nicely. There should be extra paper at the bottom. Cut the extra off. It may not be a perfect square, but it will work fine.

If you are using paper with color on only one side, begin with the white side of the paper face up. Fold the upper left corner to the lower right, creating a diagonal triangle. Unfold, leaving a crease.

Fold the paper in the opposite direction, the upper right to lower left corner, and once again unfold to reveal the crease. Your paper should look like it has an X on it.

Fold the top half backwards, creating a long, white rectangle. Unfold.

Poke the center of the paper where all of the creases intersect with your finger, causing it to pop up. Bring the left and right creases together and the paper should nearly fold itself into a triangle. If you are having trouble with this you can help it along by pressing it inwards along the creases.

Fold the left corner of the top triangle up until it touches the top. Repeat with the right. You should have a nice diamond consisting of two smaller triangles. Flip the paper over and do this again on the back side.

Fold the left side of the diamond over to the right. Flip over and repeat. Diamond should now have no visible creases on its surface.

Using the top layers, bend the flaps toward one another and insert the tip of the right flap into the left. Make sure that the flaps are uneven, then fold into place. This should create the appearance of an arrow that points upwards. You might want to secure these with a small piece of tape (I know I do). Simply fold the tape over the bottom of the place where the two flaps meet and secure. Turn the paper over and repeat this process on the other side.

Pick the paper up and spread the flaps out a little bit. On the bottom there should be a small hole. Blow into this hole and the entire thing will inflate to reveal a tulip.

Fold the petals down.

Make as many as you would like to put in your vase.

Take your green/stem paper. Assuming it is standard 8 1/2 x 11 size, cut the paper in half. You don't have to do this, I was just trying to save paper. Cut a small piece off the bottom if you would like to add leaves to your flowers.

Tightly roll the paper from the corner until it forms a long, tight roll. Secure with tape.

Insert into bottom hole of flower and set aside.

Take the small scrap for leaves and cut into a small, long triangle shape. Fold in half to give it a bit of dimension. Secure to the side of stem with tape.

Repeat this for all of your flowers. Now you're ready to arrange your bouquet!

For the vase and flower arrangement you will need:

Ribbon (burlap, lace, yarn, whatever embellishment you would like to add to the vase)

A vase, Mason jar, or an old jar that looks nice

tissue paper

Take your jar and tie your ribbon around the part that you wish to embellish. You may want to secure with a dab of glue.

Take a piece of colored tissue paper and insert it into the bottom of the jar. You may have to cut it down to a small size to fit.

Arrange your flowers.

Add a second small piece of tissue paper to help secure the flowers in place and hide the stem greenery.

There you have it, a stunning floral arrangement that will last for as long as you want it to.