In keeping with this collection’s French Riviera theme, today, we’re showing you how to make this vibrant Crepe Paper Bougainvillea Flower for the August Member Make. This project is a challenging accompaniment to our earlier felt version and should be an exciting undertaking for our intermediate crafters looking to move up a skill level.
Members can join us live on August 18, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. PST or you can watch the video playback right here later.
The Bold and the Beautiful
Bougainvillea flowers are a symbol of passion and beauty. With their gorgeous shades of pink and red — it’s not difficult to see why. Bougainvillea produce tiny white flowers which are surrounded by waxy, brightly colored leaves called bracts. So, believe it or not, those breathtaking shades of pink and purple that you see on this bougainvillea aren’t pretty petals — they’re leaves!
The white flowers of the Bougainvillea are very small, so your needle-nose tweezers will definitely come in handy when making this flower. Don’t be intimidated by the more technical aspects of this project — we’ll be right there crafting along with you. Our video tutorial will show you how to use your curling tool and steel ball shaping tool to make the distinctive pink leaves of your bougainvillea ultra-realistic.
Once complete, you’ll have a lovely bouquet to brighten up your space and bring a touch of French culture into your home. Share your crafting success with us in our crafting community or on Instagram with the hashtag #MadeWithLia.
Skill Level: Advanced
Tools
- Kai 8″ Scissors
- Kai 5″ Detail Scissors
- Cricut Maker or Silhouette Cameo 4 (recommended)
- Needle-Nose Pliers/Wire Cutters
- Needle-Nose Tweezers
- Curling Tool
- Steel Ball Shaping Tool
Materials
- Member Make Bundle (includes the paper, floral tape and wire below)
— OR —
- Lia Griffith Heavy Crepe Paper – Fuschia and Raspberry Azalea
- Lia Griffith Extra-Fine Crepe Paper – Linen and Juniper
- Lia Griffith Double-Sided Crepe Paper – Fern & Moss
- Aleene’s Tacky Glue or Art Glitter Glue
- Floral Tape — Fern & Moss
- Floral Wire – 24-Gauge Paper Covered Green
- Thick Paper Covered Stem Wire
Become a Member to unlock this project
Are you having trouble? Feel free to contact us and we will be happy to help you out.
24 Comments
Lia, for me I tried the extra fine with wire, the look felt stiff. The extra fine seems to have worked just fine without the wire. I went that route instead, due to the color I needed.
My daughters wanted a fall color so I am using the Poppy in extra fine. I will post pictures when I am done.
I also did a little hot glue ball for the center buds. I found the crepe paper not covering well without doing that. Some pictures of the orange ones look like they have round tips.
That hot glue tip ,I learned in one of the other member make classes.
Oh, good to know! Thanks for testing it and sharing that with us. The hot glue dot is brilliant!
If using the double sided, do you recommend a thin wire between like the extra fine crepe? Or will it hold up like the thick. I prefer the softer lines in the crepe paper double sided vs the heavy. Personal preferences esthetically.
BTW: I could hear perfectly the interaction about opening up the white flower piece. Maybe it made more sense due to some experience with shaping a tube, bell type piece. Please continue to stay real and raw in the what you share!
Thank you for all you share and teaching us Lia and Megan. I am grateful that you choose to share with us so we can learn too!
Thank you! We really do try our best to make this useful for everyone. 😉
I think if you use the double-sided you don’t need a wire. The paper is strong enough. But, be sure to shape it before the glue dried. If you use the extra-fine, the wire would be a good idea since that paper is so light and thin.
Since I missed the live class (UGH!), I am so grateful I was able to watch today. This is quite an easy flower but so striking. Now to decide on the color….
So many beautiful choices! 😉
Unfortunately, I’m once again trying to deal with Meagan and Lia talking together at the same time and I’m not able to make out what they’re trying to say. In the video at the 20:03 point Lia says, “It seems like every time I wrap each stem I have to reopen my s (Meagan begins to talk over Lia and I cannot make out what Lia has to reopen). Meagan says, “Yeah, you’re gonna have to reopen them after you add your bracts around it too”. Lia says, “oh, okay”. So I’d really like to know what Lia was saying after the s and of course, Meagan refers to “reopen them…. – around it….”, whatever them and it is. Don’t know if you can help me. I’m quite frustrated so far and I haven’t gotten through the video as yet. Pray for me!!!!!!
I am sorry you can not hear it. I was referring to reopening the tiny center flowers. I have been trying to be very mindful of not talking over, so I will try harder. 🙂
Are you stretching the heavy crepe paper on the bract?
We will be stretching the bract very slightly but mostly using a curling tool to get the shape we want. Tune in this Friday for our live member make and follow along with us while we make this flower and give you all of our best tips!
I did grab my bundle and have not received it yet. Is there a problem
Can you email hello@liagriffith.com and we can track that package for you.
Do you think I could make these with the extra fine crepe rather than heavy?
Oh maybe I’ll just give it a try. Our Bougainville bracts I. The yard look more delicate.
I think extra-fine is a great idea! You can add thin wires between the petal halved to give them strength too.
Thanks Lia! It came up today.
Oh good!!
I can’t pull up bougainvillea SGT. I can see PDF on the download file but not cutting file
I just double-checked the download folder, and I do see two files in there. A PDF and the SVG. Maybe download it again?
Hi all, I can’t see to open download the template etc. Is it me?
All of the files are in one folder now. It is zipped, so it will open in a new window. You can just double-click to unzip. Let me know if that does not work.
I don’t see the video attached to the bougainvillea for the July member make. We are now in August.
Totally my mistake! The summer ran away from me, and this is an August project. I just updated it and added the actual date. 🙂
Hi Emily. Just a Heads up! Bougainvillea is not July but the August member make, right? The date for the class is not listed. Looks like a challenging project. Looking forward to it.
It is me… Lia here. You are so right. The summer is flying by! lol