If a normal size rose looks right on a real horse, how small does a rose have to be to look right on a horse only five inches tall? The answer is: really small. I did not actually measure other than to say this size flower looks right.
This photo was taken with the flower under a magnifying glass so you could see the detail.
I made this flower from paper. The rest of this article is about my process for figuring out how to make a flower that small.
This is one time that the internet was not a lot of help. I viewed multiple how-to videos before beginning. There are plenty of ways to make flowers out there, but they are all about making normal sized flowers. Cutting down the size of the pieces did not help. The smallest I could come up with was twice the size of this flower. Working this small is very difficult.
I also looked online for miniature flowers, but the ones I found were still too large for this project. So, before I threw in the towel on having flowers on the animals, I decided to develop my own method for making miniature roses. I did not see anything like this online, but I did not spend more than a few hours searching. I hope you will find this method helpful. I tried four different methods and multiple materials before I settled on how to make the roses.
The paper: I did not try this with newsprint because it was not sturdy enough. I used some heavy paper from a notepad that I had hanging around the house since about 1994. The paper is about the weight of printer paper or lightweight card stock.
The glue: Elmer's white glue.
Other materials: two pair of tweezers, sharp paper scissors, pen or ultra-fine marker, ruler, large sewing needle
Step 1This photo shows the paper from the notepad. The measurements are 3.5 x 4.5 inches (8.89 x 11.43 cm). Horizontally, I marked off every 1/4 inch (0.635 cm), then used the ruler to draw in the lines. Vertically I marked points at 2 inches (5.08 cm) and a second 2-inch segment at the 4-inch mark (10.16 cm.). The last little bit is crossed out as it was not going to be used.
I made two sheets like this.
Step 2
Once I had the sheets drawn, I cut the pieces apart.
Each sheet was cut into 1/2-inch x 2-inch (1.27 x 5.08 cm) strips. Then I cut along the marks at 2 (5.08 cm) and 4 inches (10.16 cm) It made 12 strips with one 1/4-inch (0.635 cm.) piece left over. The small strip is just a discard.
Two sheets would yield 24 roses. I hope that will be enough if I add other decorations to the animals as well. If not, then I will be making more roses later. The red background is just the notebook I used so that there would be some contrast. They were not very visible on the white background of the plastic I use to cover my work surface.
The line down the middle of each piece is a guideline for the next steps of the rose. You will not see the line in the finished piece.
Step 3
Roll the paper into little cylinders. I started by drawing the edge of the scissors along the long side of the paper as if I were making ribbon curls. This makes the paper want to curl and makes the next step easier.
I wrapped the strips of paper around a large sewing needle; it was about the size of a darning needle. Once I had it as tightly wrapped as possible, I slid it off the needle, held it between my left-hand thumb and forefinger, grabbed the loose end and pulled tightly to make it as tight as possible. Then I rolled it between my fingers to make the cylinder want to stay in that shape.
Step 5
I made small cuts on one side of the paper. The first and last cuts are cut just below the line. The cuts in between are cut just to but not through the line.
Once the small cuts have been made, I cut the right angles off each of the small cut pieces. It should look something like a picket fence. The points do not have to look exactly the same on each piece. (See next photo)
Photo for part 2 of Step 5
Step 6
Spread glue along the uncut edge. Then roll the paper back up into a cylinder, keeping the uncut edge even as it is rolled, and set it aside until the glue is dry. I found that it was easier to identify which side was the cut edge after it had been rolled back into a cylinder if I folded one of the tiny cut strips out so that I could see it later.
Photo for Step 6. Picture was taken under a magnifying glass in order to see it better.
Step 7
Photos taken under a magnifying glass. My husband took the picture as I needed two hands to hold the tweezers.
Once the glue has dried, hold the base of the uncut edge of the cylinder with a pair of tweezers. Use the second set of tweezers to fold back each of the cut edges around the cylinder. Curl the outer edge under. It will give you two or three layers of petals. Squeeze the center and twist slightly to give that bud shape in the center.
When the flower is shaped to your liking, dip the flower in white glue and set aside on wax paper until it dries.
The glue will help the flower to hold its shape. It eventually will be covered with a slurry of flour paste to harden it a little more before being added to the animals.
Check back next week on Monday or Tuesday for the next blog post.
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