coffee filter peonies

I sometimes obsess over lovely little things, like beautiful paper peonies. And would you believe these are made from coffee filters? Filters are stronger and therefore easier to work with than tissue paper, and I love seeing the peonies come to life during this simple process. You should give them a try! But careful – you’ll become addicted to making these coffee filter peonies.

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supplies needed:

• dyed coffee filters (see this tutorial on how to dye them)
• florist wire
• scissors

step 1 – cut the coffee filters

Once your coffee filters are dyed (see how to do that here), designate 10 filters per flower. For this project I used filters dyed in light pinks, yellows and salmon, along with a few natural filters. First take the two darkest filters (I used natural colored ones) and fold them in half two times. Cut the top edge in a zig-zag pattern as shown below.

Then take 8 pastel colored filters and fold them in half twice. Cut the top edge in a scalloped pattern.

step 2 – attach the wire

Unfold the filters and place the two pointy-edged ones on top of the scalloped filters. Insert a small piece of florist wire (about 6 inches long) through the entire bunch, as shown below. Then twist it tightly in the back.

step 3 – make the flower

Crumple the top filter into a tight ball. Then crumple the next filter around the first one. Continue crumpling each filter individually to create a tight ball, resembling a freshly blooming flower.

In my opinion, this next part is the most fun. Begin to unfold the bloom, one filter at a time. You can open it fully or leave the center a bit closed, as if the peony is not yet in full bloom.

It’s as simple as that. I made some recently and placed a few in a vase of real flowers before a dinner party, just to see if anyone detected the impostors. They didn’t! 

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