Nice Handmade Gifts: A Bouquet of Magazine Flowers

Just a few weeks ago, I was freaking out about what to give to my mother. No money, too much to think about other than presents (bills, hunting for a job, etc.). The sad part is that this happens every single year, about 3 times - on mother's day, on her birthday, and on Christmas time. I never know what to give to my mother, and quite often don't have the time or money to go buy her something really nice and especial that expresses my gratitude to her.

So I went through my stuff to see if I could come up with something nice of my own. I had no idea what to do. A few days went by and mother's day was approaching too fast.

Until, on the last day I had to come up with something, I remembered the time I helped one of my cousins make paper flowers for her University parade car. I did not have the same kind of paper she had (which does make things a lot easier) but I did have some wire and a bunch of old magazines piling up my living room.

I went through the old magazines and ripped off (carefully) the pages that had nice colours and designs. Usually the ad pages are the best to do this.

I also picked some wire that my fiancé had around. My wire happened to be modeling wire covered by white paper. Wire that is easy to manoeuvre with is the best pick, but you can pick which ever kind of wire you want and have available.

You can see the material that I used to make this bouquet of magazine flowers, on the side pictures.

There are a ton of ways to make flowers out of paper, but I had little time and patience to go research online. So I used my memory from the time I helped my cousin as my only resource. I think it went well, at least my mom liked it and was surprised that I had done it all by myself. It almost felt like the old times, when I was a kid. That same, surprised and happy expression on her face.

So here is what I did:

1. Cut pages in half size - because magazine paper is a little thicker it makes manoeuvre to be a little difficult. I find that cutting the pages in half takes some of the strength away and is easier to crunch the paper the way I want.

2. Put two or three different pieces of magazine paper together. Pick different colours or colours that go together. This depends on your taste and what you want to get from it. These pieces should be in different angles from each other (as it is on the side picture)

3. With the tip of a pencil or pen, find the centre of the two pieces of paper and twist the papers around the pen. This is what makes your flower petals.

Now you need to make the foot of the flowers and that is why you need the wire.

1. Cut a piece of wire in the length you like. I chose it to be big enough to bend into two pieces.

2. Bend the wire to becomes two pieces (do not cut) and then twist it. Leave a little piece on top without twisting

3. Glue the untwisted part of the wire onto your flower. You might have to untwist your flower a little bit. Let it dry.

I made this for mother's day to give to my mother, but you don't need to keep it to that. This is a great present for a girlfriend, or even just a friend (just be careful not to send the wrong message). You can also give it as a side touch to a gift you have already made or purchased. Little girls also like this stuff so you can give it to you little sister or little cousin, they will be very happy, especially if it goes along with a cool toy. There are many other ways you can use it. You can even use it to decorate you house. Oh, and if you're trying to get back together with your girlfriend or want to impress someone you would like to have as a girlfriend, this would be a very nice creative way.

Have fun with it!