DIY Leaf Roses
22 Oct
Being in Vermont for the end of Fall foliage made me really crave a fall wedding. I would serve hot apple cider, pumpkin whoopie pies, and apple cider donuts. In the spirit of this imaginary fall wedding, I decided to make leaf roses. I saw them here, but the directions (Lobzik) are in Russian. So I gathered up a bunch of leaves and set about determining what the pictures meant.
photo via me
Materials:
Leaves (6-8 per flower)
String
Tape (optional)
1. I organized piles of 6-8 leaves in similar colors by size with the smallest leaf on top. Since so little of the leaf actually shows, imperfections aren’t a problem. I did however pick up some leaves that smelled of cat pee and that was not pleasant.
photo via me
2. I picked up the smallest one and held it with the bottom facing me. Then I took the top and bent it down to the bottom of the leaf so it was folded in half. Be really careful not to crease the leaf as it will rip along the crease line.
3. Then I rolled the leaf starting from the right side, keeping it as tight as possible and trying to maintain an even edge on the top.
photo via me
4. When the leaf is all rolled up, I stuck a bit of tape on the edge so that it would stay curled. This was mainly so I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping a finger on it while I added the other petals. However, you can feel free to stick all the tape you want because you cannot see it in the end.
photo via me
5. Then I picked up the next leaf in the pile and held it so that the rolled leaf was a little lower than half way up the leaf. Then I folded the leaf down toward the back.
photo via me
6. I held the folded leaf down by holding the underside of the leaf and folding it around the rolled leaf. I found that using the underside of the leaf was easier for positioning and made it less likely to tear.
photo via me
7. When the petal looks right to you, you can hold it in place on the outside. Then do the same thing with the next leaf in your pile. Hold this leaf at the opposite side of the previous petal.
8. Do the first four petals about even with the height of the middle, rolled one. The next two or four should be staggered lower.
9. When you have finished arranging your petals, tie the bottom with a string. Be careful not to tie too tight because the leaves will rip. All I had was twine, but I would suggest using something thinner.
photo via me
10. Hold your finished rose upside and smoosh the top a little on a surface. I know it sounds violent, but it really helped flesh out the petals.
photo via me
Some other notes: Make sure your leaves aren’t too big otherwise the rose gets bulky and long. It takes a while to get the petal arranging down, but it is hard to make it look pretty at first. You can fold any extra on the leaf to the side so it adds dimension. Tying the leaves with the string and smooshing them, make it look much nicer. It look me three tries before I got a rose I liked, so keep trying.
photo via me
You are so creative!
Thank you, but it wasn’t my idea. It was more of a translation (from Russian to English) crafting exercise.
Still impressive! I’ve been having those fall-wedding cravings, too. How nice to put things in pumpkins and serve apple cider! One of my friends based her entire physics master’s degree out of an old Russian textbook. I still don’t know how…
Have you ever had a pumpkin whoopie pie? It is my new fall food obsession. So good.
I did my undergrad in astrophysics and I had a hard enough time understanding it in English, how did she do it in Russian? That is hardcore.
Really beautiful! I never would have thought to do something like this.