flower me with love.

ummm, operaqueenie creative / wedding-related obsession #4573: handmade paper flowers...

love.

so schniz has been throwing ideas like this at me for the last few weeks about flower and centerpiece alternatives -- it saves money, and also lets me flex my DIY muscle -- but you know, sometimes it takes a catalyst or some a-ha! moment for these things to click. well, yesterday lil' ape pinned the picture above to our collective wedding board, and BING! yahtzeeeee!

well, first i clicked the link to the etsy shop listing it...and saw the price...and laughed. trust me, i am in no way trying to knock this lady's hustle. in fact, i was really, really impressed with her shop. but there is no way i'm paying that for flowers that aren't even real! then i thought, someone has got to have instructions on how to make these! and, of course, google swoops in for the win... i found this handy little post about kusudama flowers!

all of a sudden i got really excited about it, thinking about pretty paper flowers and using pretty papers. some of you may know that i am a recovering paper addict, i was flying high off of making cards for people for a good while. and i do still love it, but now that i have more time to get into my other crafts and sewing, cardmaking has taken a back seat.

so i went into my paper stash yesterday, and pulled out a couple sheets and my hot glue gun.

here is my first attempt at making one from last night...

not bad, for a rookie, right?!

aaaand, now i'm obsessed.

the etsy shop i mentioned is doing all sorts of cool things with the kusudama flowers. i think could work with this idea for bouquets and boutonnieres!

schniz also posted another cool idea....i think i'm gonna have to test this one out, too.

maybe for centerpieces?

and oh, the papers....sooooo many i can imagine playing around with. i love the lotka papers. LOVE them. and i have a few scraps of lotka at the house i'm going to test out first. then i think a trip to paper source is needed. expect more photos on this.

now, don't get me wrong, i love real flowers. i buy flowers for my house all the time, and they make me soooo happy. but as the wedding goes, i told y'all i want different. i want unique. i want offbeat.

so feel free to send me your opinions on paper vs. real flowers -- awesomesauce or tacktastic?