My little girl is graduating from Preschool and moving on to Kinder. Instead of the traditional real flower lei, I wanted to make something fun and childlike. I decided to put a modern spin on the plastic straw lei using cardstock paper in these bright and happy hues.
To start, you will need:
- Cardstock Warehouse Cardstock Papers
- Scissors
- Glue Gun
- Embroidery Needle
- Gold & White Twine
- Metallic Silver Paper Straws
- Flat Rhinestones
- Felt Balls
- Die Cut Machine
Using my die cut machine, I cut out leaves and proportional flower shapes to layer. To create a 3d effect, fold up the petals on each flower layer and glue together with your glue gun.
Once you have all the flower layers glued together, hot glue your rhinestones into the middle. Glue a leaf onto the back. I made 2 of each type and color of flower.
I really wanted the flowers to have the freedom to move around on the string instead of gluing them on. To do this, cut ½ - 1 inch sections of the paper straws and glue them to the back of one of the paper flowers. Take the matching color and shape flower with leaf and glue that to the other side of the straw. This will turn your flowers into beads and you can now string them onto the necklace.
Thread your metallic twine through the embroidery needle and alternate flower, felt ball, flower, felt ball...and so on.
Once you have your desired length, cut and tie off the ends!
Have you made your own paper flower lei? We’d love to see! Be sure to show us on Facebook or Instagram!
Happy Crafting!
-Melanie (A Peace of Creativity)