Spiral Rose Valentine Tutorial

Perhaps you've seen spiral paper roses... start with a circle, cut a swirl, roll it up, done!

spiral cut paper rose

Wait... was that the tutorial?

Honestly there isn't much to add, except for this little twist... try cutting the circle with a pair of scallop scissors instead of your usual straight edge variety. The roses will look like these... which are practically too dark to see, darn winter light.

Spiral Rose Tutorial

Scallops make it more rose-like, yes?

So, the actual how-to...

Spiral Rose Tutorial
1. Lightly draw a circle with a pencil. (I used burgundy metallic paper and traced around a bottle which was about 1.5 inches in diameter.)

Spiral Rose Tutorial
2. Cut out the circle with scallop-edge scissors, using the pencil mark as a baseline.

Spiral Rose Tutorial
Step 3. Cut into the circle in a spiral motion, going around as far as the scallop scissors will let you. Oops, I snipped off the inside of the circle. It's okay... the cut doesn't have to be perfect.

Spiral Rose Tutorial
Step 4. Insert the inner end of the spiral into the slot of a quilling tool and roll the paper until you reach the opposite end. Slide it off the tool. If you prefer to finger-roll, that works fine also.

Spiral Rose Tutorial

Step 5. Compress the spiral gently between your thumb and index finger... it looks more rose-like now. Put a little dab of glue on the tail and hold it in place on the side of the rose while the glue dries. A quick-dry glue is ideal for metallic paper.
 

My recent Flower Power card tutorial featured a fringed leaf that works well with roses. Here's how to make one... it's a cinch: fold, make a curved cut, and snip along the open edge of the still-folded leaf.

Folded Leaf Tutorial

But with Valentine's Day coming up, we need to discuss something. To whom does one send such a flowery card? Let's face it, a guy might tell you it's nice, but I bet such a fancy one wouldn't really make a big impression.

Not to worry, I've found just the thing - make that two things - to get your point across.

Show him exactly where your heart lies...

Cut Paper Rib Cage

Or maybe you'd like to suggest he'll have to wrestle with a fierce opponent to win yours.

Cut Paper Praying Mantis

These popular lovelies aren't your run of the mill Valentines. They're available from Etsy shop, xlessthan3 (not currently active), that is owned by Nathan and Matthew Crislip, two New York City designers.

Cut Paper Praying Mantis

Nathan told me the 3D figures are cut using a small digital cutter, then finished by hand - fine details like cutting of the mandibles and eyes, and attaching the heart and antennae. Pretty cool!

Paper craft supplies I recommend can be found in my Amazon shop.  
 
All Things Paper is an Amazon and Etsy affiliate.



Ann Martin
Ann Martin

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Comments

  1. ooh Anne..I love the twist on the roses.. does make them look so much more rose-like..I had forgotten about these.. Thanks...
    those 3d figures are great...
    Thanks
    Kath
    xx

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  2. What an elegant card! I love the crimped strip border, I did not know it could be shaped like that. The roses are so beautiful .

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  3. Like the rose tutorial!
    Also like the paper sculptures thanks for sharing!
    Paula

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  4. Красивая открытка! Чудесные розы! Спасибо за МК!

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  5. Love the rose tutorial. Can't wait to show my girls!! I am always looking for cute homemade things for them to do. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Using the scallop edge scissors really does make a big difference in how it looks. Sounds easy enough to do too. While I prefer the flowery card that you made those last two are pretty cool

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  7. Thanks for the tutorial on the roses, it was very clear and has inspired me to try them. I like the use of the metallic paper in one of them. The other cards are a neat idea too
    Lee:)

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  8. You are so "with it and original" Ann! I've never seen these made like this. Cannot wait to try it. Thanks for sharing :) ~Molly

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  9. Those roses are gorgeous, Ann! So simple, but so sweet!

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  10. I love that rib cage with the heart!

    Your rose tutorial is very easy to follow and makes me realize that I've done something similar--so maybe I AM I paper quiller after all! (Or not...a girl can dream, right?)

    I also wanted to mention that I showed my crafty girls your HGTV tutorial and they LOVED it. You have 6 new fans.

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  11. Thanks so much, everyone. I'm glad you liked the idea.

    Richela, I'm thrilled the girls enjoyed the video. Hope you all will get your twirling fingers on again sometime. :)

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  12. Thanks so much for the tut on the spiral roses.

    Rose
    http://rose-homemadecards.blogspot.com/

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  13. Just wanted to let you know I shared this on my blog.

    Rose
    http://rose-homemadecards.blogspot.com/

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  14. Moms would love to get this Valentine! I'd just die and sigh if one of my kids ever made something so lovely for me...and I love the mantis card! fyi: I'm thinking of buying a digital cutter, crafting quality, not professional...what do you think is best? You'be interviewed lots of people, does it ever come up? Thanks!

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  15. Hi Kim, good point... most moms would love a flowery card. I don't know too much about digital cutters, but remember reading reviews of various ones on http://www.craftcritique.com/ If you search names like Cricut, Silhouette, and Wishblade on the site, you're sure to find lots of info.

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  16. Ann,

    I hope you like it, I have a tutorial for making stunning paper roses which I think you'd like:
    http://blog.craftandsmile.com/2011/02/12/stunning-paper-roses/

    I use a Silhouette SD, but have included a link to the original PDF template if anyone wants to try them by hand too.

    Hope you enjoy, I was shocked at how good these things looked.

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  17. Thanks for your tutorial link and pdf, Fio. Your roses look very nice. If a person needed to make a lot of them, it sure would save their hands to use a die cutter!

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  18. Beautiful! Looks like your technique for these flowers may have got me wanting a new species of tools. That quilling tool looks HANDY! :o)

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