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The time I was going to show you how to make paper dahlias

    I was joking with my family just the other day about how I use the word favorite quite liberally.

    flowers-on-coffee-table

    My favorite candy? Good & Plenties. Sour Patch Kids. Hot Tamales. Fruit Mentos. Twix if I’m feeling chocolaty.

    Favorite color? Blue – all shades – or sometimes just the jeweled tones. Green. White – ah, I love white!. Gray.

    My favorite season? Which ever one is up next.

    See? Lot’s of favorites. Don’t try to stick me to only one from each category because I just can’t decide. There are just too many great things to choose between.

    The same is true for types of flowers. My long-time favorite has been the hydrangea, but when peonies are in bloom, or lilacs or ranunculus each one becomes my new favorite.

    dahlias-in-silver-vase

    And then this time of year rolls around and dahlias pop open and I forget how much I love their colors and shapes and variations. And they turn into my current favorite.

    dahlias-close-up

    I was feeling so inspired by these farm-grown flowers that I thought I’d figure out how to recreate a paper version. I do have a thing for paper/fabric/tissue/crepe paper flowers.

    I came across a few great tutorials – with templates even – and combined them with some methods of my own to create this pretty flower:

    paper-dahlia

    The plan was to share the tutorial with you, but here’s the thing: that one flower took me over an hour to make! 60 minutes for one little flower is just not a practical project. So I scraped the tutorial idea. I’m all for paper flowers, but I much prefer simple crafts to long, meticulous ones with lots of required precision cutting. If you have time to spare and meticulous cutting is your thing (or you have a fancy silhouette machine), here is the diy version I liked best.

    So nevermind the dahlia tutorial I was planning on doing. It was great in theory, but this time around, I’ll just stick to looking at the real things. Dahlias are my favorite.

    dahlias-on-table

    P.S. don’t make fun of me for liking good & plenty. I can’t help it.

     

    22 thoughts on “The time I was going to show you how to make paper dahlias”

    1. You know, when I was younger, those email things used to come around, with the “questionnaires” all about what you like and that kind of thing. I always had trouble with about 90% of the “favorites,” because I couldn’t narrow it down to just ONE. Glad to hear I’m not alone! ;)

    2. Emily
      At home, the dahlias bloom in July until frost. Also, I was very surprised to see tasks you these pretty flowers. I already had in my garden and I thought seeing your beautiful flowers, I’d probably replant next year! Thank you for this honest. Like you, I do not offer creative projects too long on my blog. We often tired by the end and that’s unfortunate. Your flower is beautiful but yes, 1 hour is too long !! Happy weekend to you and your family!

    3. I’ve always said my favorite season is what comes up next, but after decades of New England winters I don’t feel that way come the end of fall anymore and I hang on to summer as long as possible. I always have your current seasonal watercolor “favorites” displayed in a vintage clipboard leaning on my kitchen counter. Yesterday my 8-yr old daughter commented to me, “So you finally swapped out the summer one for fall?” P.S. If you want to see some real live Dahlias to DROOL over, follow Five Fork Farms on IG. You’ll die.

    4. A girlbi work with keeps candy in her office and i just told her today that i was going to restock it with good & plenty so that I won’t eat anymore of it! Never got on the black licorice train but I think they sure look pretty in a bowl

    5. I’m the same way about favorites, this made me smile! Someone sent me one of those 10 question quizzes that you had to answer about yourself, and many of the questions were about your favorites, like what’s your favorite food, what’s your favorite color, etc. I just couldn’t complete the quiz because I kept changing my mind about what my favorite was and realized I have too many favorites, so I just gave it up! :)

    6. I love Good and Plenty so much, I used to have a t-shirt with the logo on. My sister bought it for me. I also have a Good and Plenty chapstick in my purse right at this moment!

    7. Good and Plenty was always my candy of choice at the movies when I was growing up. It is still a favorite of mine even though my kids cringe at the smell of the black licorice. It is always nice to find a Good and Plenty kindred spirit! Thanks for sharing this and your other favorites with us. I agree that there are too many wonderful things in this world to have to settle on only one favorite.

    8. Good and Plenty and Hot Tamales are my faves as well…and I have passed my love on to my adult daughter who loves them as well! You are not alone.

    9. Thank you for not encouraging everyone to spend our time making a one hour paper flower. I doubt anyone in my life would feel blessed by that stewardship of my time. Life’s too short for hand making paper flowers – go take a walk and pick something fresh. Thank you!

    10. Awesome. I’m not a big Good and Plenty fan, but my good friend brought me a bag of them mixed with almonds. The combination is heavenly. Those dahlias are beautiful!

    11. Haha to Good & Plenty! Definitely NOT my favorite… Although, I probably can’t talk, because I love candy corn. Yes, I do. I look forward to it every fall.

        1. I love to put candy corn out because its a cheap, easy way to make everyday things look festive but I don’t eat it. I’m still a brand-snob about it and only buy Brach’s though…

    12. I think it’s great that you have so many favorites. I’m the same way. How can one choose when there is so much greatness in this world?!!

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