Grow your paper lavender field!

My husband and I travel a lot. Really a lot. And I am so excited when we stop in one place for more than a month! This is such a great time! Such a feast, such a celebration! I am meeting friends, buying new books and new wool for my crochet projects, planning home renovations and new decorations. Checking the net about more ideas how to organize my craft space… Feel so relaxed!

The problem for all travellers

One of my favourite things every morning is to water the plants! Because, as you can imagine, my neighbours and friends are not my slaves and I can’t tie them to my flower pots and some flowers are dying during the periods when we are not at home. Actually, every time I am coming home and I see at least one sad victim. This was one of the main reasons I started to make paper flowers.

On one hand they are paper – my favourite craft material! And on the other hand, they don’t need water! No! They hate water! No watering, no bothering the neighbours or friends. Ok, the truth is that the olive trees and the mandarins need watering because they are real and I am not planning to make a paper olive tree… Oh, great idea!… But the real ones are so beautiful and have big pots so can survive a few days with no water even in the hot summer.

The second problem

The second problem is maybe only mine but it is very strange. I can’t grow lavender! Every spring I am buying a new pot with a fresh healthy plant, giving it all the best care – great spot, special soil, a lot of love and attention…. And in the end of the winter my lavender is dead. I don’t know why! My friends have great lavender bushes. We are buying the plants from the same place. I am following all their advice and they say that my lavender has a great sunny place to grow – but they don’t ☹.

So, after maybe more than 10 years of trying and trying, one day I just decided to make my own lavender from paper!

Now I will share with you my very easy way to make your own lavender.

Step by step

You need crepe paper (the main colours are white and green), paper wire, not very liquid glue (my favourite is PVA white glue), acrylic paint, brushes and scissors.

Cut from the crepe paper two pieces – one about 9 x 4 cm (I’ll call this the “fat” one) and another 9 x 2 cm (the “thin” one). The sizes are not strict. You can make the pieces longer or shorter. It is only good to keep the proportions between the two pieces.

Attention! Attention! You can use any colour paper for the thin piece. It is not necessary to be white. Actually, it would be great with blue or green or dark purple.

Stretch the thin piece and twist it to make a “string”. See how the unstretched piece looks next to the stretched one.

Stretch the “fat” piece too and fold it as shown.

The “string” piece must be with the same length as the “fat” one. But don’t worry if it is not. You are the Creator and have the scissors, don’t you?

Cover the middle of the “fat” piece with glue. It is very important to ensure there is glue in the middle too, because the string must be stuck there.

Maybe here is the right moment to remind you that you can use any colour paper for the “string”. As I said before, it is not necessary to be white. After gluing the string in the middle it will be veeeery difficult to change the colour.

Fold the paper piece and glue gently. Leave the pieces to dry.

When they are fully dry – after maybe 2-3 hours, your elements will look like these. As you see in the picture, it is not a problem if the “strings” are longer than the main shape, you can just cut them before further colouring.

Colour with acrylic paint. This is my very warm advice, at some time in the future, in the case of a water spill, your tablecloths or clothes are not at risk of unintentional colouring.

Use light purple (your favourite lavender colour) on the top area, where the string is, and green down to the edge of the paper. (The white part can be trimmed off later if necessary.)

After the paint dries (to shorten this process I use my microwave for 1-2 minutes at a 650 Watt power setting) cut gently small fringes in the top part, where the string is. I suggest wrapping a soft plaster dressing around your fingers where the scissors press into your skin, otherwise the pressure can cause pain.

Completing the lavender stalk

Now is the time to make your lavender looks alive!

Put some glue on the top of the piece of paper wire – 10-11 cm long and start wrapping and gluing it in spiral shape.

Next is to wrap the stem with green crepe paper by gluing and stretching it – again in a spiral shape.

When the main part is ready, you can leave it like this, but you can make your lavender more realistic.

Cut from the green crepe paper another piece 9 x 4 cm. Rather than use green crepe paper a better way is to colour the piece yourself with acrylic paint. Even high-quality crepe paper can sometimes stain your tablecloth or fade in sunlight. With acrylic paint colouring this is almost impossible and you can get exactly the colour you want.

Make fringes in the piece again…

and stretch it gently. Twist the fringes between your fingers.

Wrap it  around the stem like you did with the green piece before. Stretch gently and glue, stretch gently and glue…

And your lavender stalk is ready!