This is my latest tissue paper experiment, a pale blue Delphinium flower, in single form. They are made from the tissue paper coloured with the Sloe berry dye I made last month.

Of course real Delphiniums have lots of flowers on one stem, but as I don’t use wire in any of my flowers I can only make a single flower for each cane stem. They still look pretty though and it might even be an advantage being a single flower when used in a bouquet.

24 June 2021

I made these lovely little white Alstroemeria flowers for a photoshoot I recently had the pleasure of being part of – photos to come shortly!

The flowers were easy to make with only 6 petals, but painting all the tiny speckles was quite time consuming.

I love Alstroemerias, they are jolly little flowers and remind me of my own wedding bouquet.

2 June 2021

A lovely little bunch of pale yellow paper tulips and dried Canary grasses in my great, great grandfather’s mustard pot! The pot is part of a cruet set he won for his prize vegetables back in the 1940s.

I used the bark from the Mahonia shrub in my garden to make a rich yellow dye. It only takes a second to turn the tissue paper a lovely pale yellow. I only dipped the edges of the paper to get the two tone effect on the petals.

8 April 2021

A very quick look at how I make my tissue paper roses.

The petal templates were copied from a real rose. Here I have used onion skin dyed paper for the 37 petals. The petals are curled and then attached to a Midelino stick using homemade glue.

Red cabbage makes a lovely purple colour but by adding a little ordinary cooking bicarbonate of soda it turns a teal colour. Red cabbage is ph sensitive, it turns pink with vinegar! I then over dyed the pale orange onion dyed paper with the cabbage to produce an olive green.

The sepals are made from the green tissue. And the stem is covered with thin strips wound around it.

8 March 2021

Beautiful peach paper roses and buds made from tissue paper coloured with pear bark dye.

3 March 2021

More roses!!

The yellow petals are dyed with Gorse flowers, the orange stamens dyed with dried onion skins, and the green sepals and stems dyed with onion and then over dyed with red cabbage. All glued together with homemade glue on natural Midelino sticks. Totally biodegradable!

8 February 2021

Three beautiful paper hybrid tea shaped roses with delicate pink centres.

The pink dye came from sloe berries I picked last autumn then frozen to use later. The paper for the outer petals was also dipped briefly in the dye but then turned a slight grey colour when dried. Unfortunately they just look white in the photos. All part of the experimenting fun!

1 February 2021

As this is a new venture for me, I first practise new flowers with plain tissue paper. Adjusting the petal shapes, sizes and numbers needed to produce a flower that I’m happy with.

I make petal templates cut out of card and an instruction sheet to remind me.

25 January 2021

Before I start researching new eco friendly materials I have decided to do my experimenting with things I already have. So these first tissue paper roses are made from ordinary florists white tissue paper and glued with PVA adhesive.
I have used natural plant dyes to colour the petals and leaves. But the leaves are also painted with an extra watercolour wash to make them a darker green.

13 January 2021