Duct tape flowers are a fun and easy project especially considering the varied colors of duct tape available these days. In WalMart last night I found everything from bright pink to animal print duct tape! Perfect for a flower project.
Duct tape was invented by Johnson and Johnson Company during WWII to keep moisture out of ammo cases. Originally it was known as “duck” tape because it was made from cotton duck and was waterproof. It first came out in Army green but after the war the color was changed to silver since most builders were using it to connect electrical ducts. Because of this, the name gradually changed to “duct” tape.Making A Duct Tape Flower:
- Measure the width of the duct tape. Straighten out the wire, and cut 10 pieces of wire that are 1/2 inch longer than the duct tape’s width.
- Measure and cut off a 12 inch long strip of the duct tape and place it sticky side up on a flat work surface
- Making sure each piece of wire is as straight as possible, place a piece of wire about 3/4 inch from the end of the duct tape. The wire should just touch the edge of the duct tape and stick out about 1/2 inch over the other. Then place the rest of the wire pieces about 1 1/2 inches apart down the rest of the length of the duct tape.
- Cut another 12 inch piece of duct tape and place it, sticky side down, on top of the first piece of tape, being sure to match up the edges as close as possible
- Measuring about 3/4 from each side of the first piece of wire, cut the tape so that each wire has 3/4 of tape on either side of it. (It will look like a square duct tape lollipop.) These will be your petals.
- With your scissors, trim the duct tape squares into the shape of the petals you want. You can make them long and skinny, heart-shaped, or rose petal shaped. Make sure, however, that the thickest end of your petal is on the end where the wire sticks out
- Make a stamen or two by cutting off strips of wire a little longer than the petals. You can leave them straight, or curl the ends around a pen or pencil.
- If you want to make leaves for your flower, make them now using the same steps as above, but using green duct tape. Do not make as many leaves as petals and make sure you cut the leaves in a different shape than the petals.
Putting the Flower Together:Gather all of the petals together, making sure that the bottom of the petals are evenly lined up. Place the stamen in the middle of the petals.
Using the floral wire, begin wrapping the bundle near the bottom of the petals. Wrap tightly, overlapping the wire a little closest to the petals to make it look authentic. Continue wrapping the bundle until you get to the end and cut off the floral wire.
Using the floral tape, begin wrapping the tape around the floral wire, overlapping the tape slightly to make sure all the wire is covered.
Add one or two leaves, either staggered or directly opposite each other, starting about 3/4 inch down from the petals and add as many as you like, taping each one to the main bundle with floral tape.
Begin carefully spreading the petals out, bending them slightly and arrange them in the way you want them. Arrange the appearance of the leaves the same way. Each flower can be used alone or make a number of them, the same or different, and use as a bouquet.
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Now THAT is creative! Making beauty out of something so….well, it’s duct tape.