Paper Poppy Flower

November 11th is celebrated in the United States to honor those who have served as well as those who have died in the numerous wars defending freedom for others.

As a former military dependent and Air Force veteran myself, I hold a soft spot in my heart for those serving in the military past, present and future. At many Veteran’s Day parades, you will find the VFW handing out paper poppies. This inspired me to make my own for a card to give to a friend.

I’m going to show you how to make your own paper poppy. I have even made a template for the petals.

Supplies:

• Denim Darling by Jennifer Labre
• Poppy Petals template by Christy (me)
• Scissors
• Adhesive
• Button
• Stickles (optional)

Using Jennifer’s gorgeous kit Denim Darling, I printed on both side of my flower. I picked a patterned paper for the back of my flower and chose red for the front. (My printer is almost out of ink, so please excuse the discolored few petals, I am all about using my ink till it is completely gone.)

Next, cut out the petals.

To give some definition to the flowers, I crinkle folded each petal. You can also curl them around a pencil.

After cutting the slit in the petal, overlap the paper to form a “cup” — you will do this to all seven of the petals.

Next, start layering all the petals together to form your flower. It took a little experimenting and I ultimately only used six of the seven petals.

I was quite happy with my results, I added a little Stickles to the edges and added it to a card I made.

*Card design by Sylvia

A detail shot of the flower.

I hope you enjoy this simple tutorial   Below you will find a poem about why poppies are used to celebrate Veteran’s Day.

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Other Articles by Christy:

• Flip Flop Card - June 13th, 2012
• Tootsie Treat Box - May 7th, 2012
• Pretty Spring Mobile - April 16th, 2012
• Mini Journals - March 28th, 2012
• Easy as 1, 2, 3! - February 22nd, 2012