Accordion-pleated paper flower and Christmas tree garland

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Tis the season to be jolly,

Fa la la la la, la la la la 

  

Christmas is just around the corner and thinking about it brought back memories of school and the fun we used to have as kids around this time of the year. 

There would be the much awaited Christmas play, rehearsals and if you were lucky you would be part of it which meant missing classes. So I always made sure I was in the play, no matter how small (or mute:p) the part! Then there would be Christmas carols  and school party where the lower grades got to show off their classrooms which were decked up with stockings, hollies, bells and what not made by little hands to the rest of the school. And let's not forget the much longed for holidays and break from school! 

So I thought I will do two tutorials today. In the first we will make accordion style paper flowers and in the second we will use that technique to create a Christmas tree garland. So lets begin.

 

Accordion-pleated paper flower.

Gather the following supplies:  2 pieces of square paper, scissors, pencil, ruler and a stapler. 

Mark one inch from the corner and make a fold. 

Use your first fold as a guide to make more accordion style folds. Remember how we used to make paper fans as kids? You are using the same technique here, but it has been given a more fancy name- so simply fold and flip, fold and flip..

until it is folded up like this:

Now cut off the ends in a pointed or rounded shape or leave as it is. Fold it in half and staple the ends together (you can also glue it or use a clear tape). Do the same with your other piece of paper so that you have two half circles.

Simply staple the two halves together to form a full circle and you are almost done.

To cover the center of the circle, pretty it up with a button, lace or a fancy piece of scalloped paper.

And that's about it. You just made your self an accordion style paper flower. 

Christmas tree garland

You will need: 

Red wrapping paper cut into 5 inch squares
Green card stock cut into 4 inch squares
Cream card stock cut into 3 inch circles (and if you want the circle to show from behind the tree, cut 5 inch or larger circles. You'll know what I am talking about in a bit.)
Stapler/tape/glue
UHU petafix (available at any stationary shop)

Grab your red squares and using the first tutorial make accordion flowers. I kept half inch wide accordion folds.

Now glue your circles to the center of each paper flower.

Next take your green card stock and draw a Christmas tree. I roughly drew a christmas tree on one, cut it out and used the template to draw and cut the rest. Once you have your trees cut out..

Take out your UHU petafix and following the manufacturer's instructions fix it to the circle like so:

Next, attach your trees to it.

Grab some twine, ribbon or whatever you'd like to use and tape it on the back of your flowers.

And you are ready to hang your garland.

Enjoy!

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