Paper craft
Rolled Spiral-Flower Arrangement
- Confident (level 4 of 5)
- 45 min
- 10 steps
- Ages 7–12 (a guide, not a rule)
- Uses scissors
- Uses glue
- Adult help suggested
A circle cut into a spiral becomes a long curly strip, and rolling that strip from the outside in turns it into a rose. Make three roses in different colors, fold a few leaves, roll a little vase and glue it all together into an arrangement that stands on a shelf.
Before you start
You need
Decorating (optional): Color the circles bright colors before cutting (both sides if you like), and add stripes or dots to the vase.
No paper printed with the flower template? Any paper circle works: trace around a cup on colored paper and draw your own spiral, about 1 cm (3/8 in) between the lines. Use a short cardboard tube instead of the paper vase.
For the grown-up: Cutting along a spiral takes patience: help turn the paper while the child cuts, and check that the middle circle stays attached.
Use blunt-tip scissors and cut away from your fingers.
- Valley fold: blue dashes. Fold toward you, like a valley.
- Cut: a thick solid line with scissors.
- Glue: a yellow area marked "glue".
Step by step
Each step shows what to do (left) and how it should look after (right).
Step 1 of 10
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Step 1 of 10 Cut Cut out the three circles along their outer lines. -
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Step 2 of 10 Cut Take one circle. Cut along the spiral line, starting at the outside, until you reach the middle circle. Do not cut the middle off. (Zoomed in on one circle.) -
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Step 3 of 10 Roll Start at the outer end of the strip and roll it tightly toward the middle, like a snail shell. -
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Step 4 of 10 Roll Keep rolling all the way to the middle circle. Then let go a little so the roll loosens into petals. -
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Step 5 of 10 Glue Rub glue on the middle circle. Press the roll down onto it and hold for 30 seconds. One rose is done! -
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Step 6 of 10 Put together Make two more roses the same way from the other circles. -
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Step 7 of 10 Cut Cut out the four leaves and the vase strip. Fold each leaf in half along its middle line, then open it a little. (Back to the printed sheet for the leaves and the vase.) -
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Step 8 of 10 Glue Roll the vase strip into a tube. Glue the end tab inside the other end and hold it until it stays. -
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Step 9 of 10 Glue Glue the three roses on top of the vase, close together, so they rest on the rim and on each other. -
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Step 10 of 10 Glue Tuck the folded leaves between the roses and glue them in place. Your flower arrangement is ready!
You made it!
Yours may look a little different. That is part of making things by hand.
Template
Print the template at 100% (Actual size), not "Fit to page". Then measure the check bar with a ruler: it must be 5 cm (2 in) long.
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Spiral circles, leaves and vase · 164 × 218 mm. Circles 74 mm across with a spiral strip about 10 mm wide; vase strip 140 x 48 mm plus a 10 mm glue tab. Print at 100%.
If something goes wrong
The strip tore while cutting.
Glue or tape the two ends together on the back and keep rolling; the tear hides inside the rose.
The rose springs open.
Roll it tighter, then hold it pressed on the glued middle for a full 30 seconds.
The roses fall off the vase.
Add glue where each rose touches the rim and its neighbor, and let it dry before standing the vase up.
Helpful hints
- Roll around the tip of a pencil to get started, then slide the pencil out.
- A tight roll makes a small closed rose; a looser roll makes a big open one.
An original PlayOwl project.
Try next
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Accordion Paper Flower
Paper craft Strip of pink (or any color) paper for the flower Scissors Glue Adult help suggested -
Five-Petal Paper Flower
Paper craft Sheet 1: petals, back circle and center, printed on paper Scissors Glue Adult help suggested -
Rose