Making my own spring

We got a little taste of spring here last week, when the temperatures hit 55 --- which is a big deal for Maine in February. The sun came out and the snow finally started to melt, and I started to dream about this...

And then, it got cold again, and today was like this:

SIGH. I thought we could finally put the snowblower away.

Since it'll be a while before we get some real flowers growing here (and since I don't have much of a green thumb), I decided to make my own. I found these paper daisy directions at Craft Stylish back when I was looking for fun DIY projects for our wedding but didn't end up using them. But they're cute and easy to make, so I decided to make some more.

Start with an assortment of scrapbooking or other speciality paper.

You can use anything to make your circles. I used a couple drinking glasses of different sizes. Trace around the glass twice to make two circles...

And cut them out.

Then, make about 6 or 8 slits in them like a pizza, but leaving about a 1/2-inch circle in the middle. These don't need to be exact -- I just freehanded mine.

Then, fold the edges of the slits downward. You can make big creases or leave them close to flat. I liked using fairly shallow creases, since the paper was a little thicker.

Put one of the paper circles on top of the other, staggering them so the bottom petals peek through the top ones. Hot glue them together and fluff the folds a little if you want.

Then, take some yellow cardstock and cut it into tiny strips. Again, it doesn't matter if you're exact here. I used my handy-dandy grid and rotary cutter.

Next, roll the strips as tightly as you can. This can be a little tricky (and cramp your hands!) 

With 12x12 cardstock, I found I liked the look of two strips the best, so once you roll through one, carefully stick the end of the second one into the roll and keep going. You can glue them together if that's easier. When you get to the end, use a dab of glue to hold it together. When you're doing, you'll have this:

Glue the circle to the center of the paper circles. Aww...cute!

I used green cloth floral wire and hot glued it to the underside of the flower.

You can arrange them in whatever you want. For vases, I took some old soup cans and covered them with paper.

Voila!

You can do so much with these depending on what kind of paper you use and the colors. I picked pinks, greens and blues because they seemed springy, and used plain or lightly patterned paper. You could use tissue paper for delicate, serious blooms, or super-graphic paper for a more playful, bold statement. Rolling the centers more loosely would also create a cool, modern look.

I also made some really pretty ones using solid metallic card stock in grays and purples, but I ran out of floral wire, so those aren't finished yet.

You can also mix and match the paper circles for more color and interest. I layered a green striped paper circle and a pink one here.

I also grabbed the white teapot my mother-in-law bought us as a housewarming present to add to the arrangement.

And the best part? They won't die! That means they'll last me until the all the snow finally melts in April...

I'm linking up to At the Picket Fence's Inspiration Friday! I hope you swing by!

Enjoy your weekend, everyone! I may or may not be picking up a little something for our living room...if I can carry it. Stay tuned!

Daisy photo here. Blizzard photo here.