Check out my first free printable template! These two templates will allow you to create a 6 inch paper medallion or paper rosette. On Monday I showed you how to create your own DIY medallion, but if you are making a lot of them or want an easy template to get started with simply print these on the backside of any 8.5 X 11 inch sheet of paper.
The first printable template will make a paper rosette with flat edges like the red one on the left side and the second printable will make a pointed medallion similar, but larger, than the blue one on the right. I haven’t made one with the scalloped edges… Why? Because honestly I wasn’t thrilled with them when they were done. Reminded me to much of flowers… Instead of fireworks. But after I cut out, folded, pressed, glued, etc. I wasn’t about to not use them on my 4th of July Mantel. I am meticulous; not insane.
Printable Templates are right here in case you skim websites like me:
Pleated paper medallions, also known as paper rosettes, are easy to make. The following step by step tutorial will show how I created paper medallions for a Fourth of July inspired mantel decoration. You only need a few tools (namely scissors, paper, and glue) to create these pretty rosettes.
Supplies
Paper
Scissors
Glue (hot glue recommended)
Ruler
Thing that you can trace and make a circle
Writing implement
Step 1: Math & Preparation
The first step in creating a paper medallion is deciding what diameter you want. This particular tutorial creates a rosette that is 6 inches across. In order to get 6 inches each pleated strip of paper needs to be half that size (Just go with me here it will make more sense in a minute). I used the ruler to mark two 3 in (half of the six inches b/c I want the finished medallion to be 6) strips of my 8.5 X 11 in paper and cut them out. You can see the faint lines here marked by arrows. Hold on the that extra 2.5 in piece left over. We will need that in a minute.
Step 2: More Math and Decisions
While the previous step only involved dividing by two, the math gets a little more complicated here. Your next step will be to figure out the pleating. Perhaps there is a website that offers a golden ratio for making these dang things but let us just say you want it to come out kinda close to even. (Scroll to the “Notes” section at the bottom for a discussion on pleat sizes and paper) In this case 1/2 in pleats look good on 6 inch medallions. You can mark all your pleats if you are Martha or be like me… Mark the first one and fold it very well then eyeball the rest.
Step 3: Folding
Accordion fold both pieces of paper.
Step 4: Oh yeah that other piece
Remember that other piece of left over paper? Extract it from where ever your cat/3 year old/baby has removed it and grab your “Thing you can trace to make a circle”. In my case it was this little decorative globe. Trace a minimum of two circles and cut them out. You can cut more in various sizes and stack them for a decorative look.
Step 5: Yes more steps… You can do it!
Back to the folded pieces of paper. Get out your glue. I suggest hot glue for a few reasons, namely it sticks and it dries fast. But as long as it glues you are good to go. First, glue the two strips end to end to make one long strip. Then circle it around to make a tube.
Step 6: Transformation
This really isn’t a step in itself but mastering the gathering of folds is slippery at best. You kinda loosely gather the pleats into a cone and begin pushing down. Try to keep the cussing down to a minimum, as it pops out of shape. Or wait until nap time, and feel free to make a sailor blush.
Step 7: Pressure Pushing Down On Me
Gently push the cone down. As the edges fan out the center will begin to flatten. Now, is why I recommend hot glue. The medallion will want to pop back up until you set the center. I use the “Thing I could trace and make a circle” to hold it down while I pop some hot glue on one of the circle centers and then again while it dries (cools? what is the appropriate term for hot glue?). For added firmness use the second circle and hot glue it on the back.
One Medallion Down!
Notes:
Pleats are a beotch and there are a number of things to keep in mind. The bigger (larger diameter) a medallion then the more pleats you will need.
More pleats can mean many smaller pleats or greater length of paper (2-3 strips attached). Though at some point you have to add length. I have made very small medallions with a single strip, but it needs to be lightweight paper.
Stiffer (heavier weight) paper will require more pleats (see above)
Hot glue is hot. Paper is thin. Be careful and don’t blister your finger tips like me.
Don’t limit the center to a circle. The center simply holds the medallion together, consider adding contrasting papers, shapes, and symbols for unique touch. It also has the added benefit of covering up a multitude of craft sins… Such as when you might have smooshed the center a little too vigorously.
The following tutorial shows how to create a folded paper star that was used in my Fourth of July mantel. The final star is raised, 3-dimensional, with 5 points.
Supplies:
Rectangle of Paper (ratio like 8.5 X 11 in but can be smaller or larger) The small stars in the above 4th of July mantel were a single sheet of 8.5 X 11 inch paper cut in half. Thick/Cardstock Paper* holds its shape well.
Scissors
Folding steps:
Fold paper in half
Take the left hand corner and fold it over to middle of the opposite side (halfway between 1 & 2)
Take the point you just lined up halfway and fold it back on itself making a nice sharp crease from the point down
Take the right hand corner that has just been hanging out till now and fold it as far over as it can go.
Take that same point and fold it back on itself just like you did on step 3
Cutting:
Here is where the magic happens! Depending on how steep or shallow you cut the star will come out with fat or sharp points.
Makes a fat almost round star
Normal American Flag 5 pointed star. (try to make the angles match)
Pointy Christmas Star
Voila, unfold and re-crease the points make a 3 dimensional point.
Notes:
For good dimensional quality a thicker paper like a medium weight cardstock work the best because it holds its shape. Also making nice sharp creases makes the final folds look the best.
To create my Dr. Seuss inspired trees I had to dye cotton balls. It got me thinking, there are a ton of household items that you can dye. Here is my quick tutorial on dyeing cotton balls plus 9 10 other household items (meaning things you can pick up at the grocery store).
1. How to Dye Cotton Balls
Supplies:
Rubbing alcohol, food coloring, cotton balls (duh), and a plastic baggy. Gloves and newsprint are a nice bonus.
Steps:
Throw cotton balls into a baggy with a few drops of food coloring (I was trying for a turquoise in the middle picture… Needed way more blue) and a splash of alcohol. Remove the air from the baggy and squish the cotton balls around until the are evenly colored. Pour them out on a newspaper to dry. When dry you can fluff the cotton which will reveal the white making the colors much lighter. You can see the final product on my Dr. Seuss inspired tree centerpiece.
Creating a thick tissue paper fringed garland add a lot of texture to my Spring Photo Wall. As an added bonus one single sheet of tissue paper will give you 4-6 feet of garland depending on how puffy you want to make it. The picture below shows a single sheet of yellow tissue paper turned into the piece of garland:
Supplies
Tissue paper
Scissors
Sewing Machine
Step 1
Cut a single sheet of tissue paper into thirds down the long side of the paper. Because I am lazy I folded mine in half to cut as you can see in the photo. After cutting the paper into thirds fold each third down the long/lengthwise side. This makes cutting the fringe much easier.
Step 2
This is either the very easy or very time consuming part of the project. Cutting the fringe. I stacked all three pieces that were folded in half to cut the fringe. Sure that is six layers… But six layers of tissue paper is still pretty easy to cut. You might not I have some awesome fringe scissors in the photos. You can cut them one at a time, but for 12 dollars fringe scissors are awesome. You’ll see that I left a lot of room in the middle. I’ll explain why in the final step.
Step 3
Unfold the tissue paper till each piece is flat and lay it on the sewing machine with the fringe on either side. For more detailed directions on gathering you can see the post on making Easy Crepe Paper Ruffles. But basically if you have a long stitch length and mess with the thread tension the tissue paper will gather itself a but to make the fringe fluffy and thick. When you get to the end of the first sheet just overlap about an inch and keep going sewing to make as long as a garland as you need. And then you are done!
Notes
Sometimes when I was sewing really fast the feeder teeth would rip a little hole in the tissue. It isn’t noticeable once the garland is done. The thick fringe hides any lazy mistakes imperfections.
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