Delicate Tissue Paper Cherry Blossom Using Office Supplies

Cherry blossoms are delicate and beautiful, but so fleeting! For just a few weeks in spring they are everywhere creating their magical display, but they quickly dry up and turn brown if you try to save them. There are cherry trees lining the entrance to my office where I take my daily walk. I just wanted a fresh looking delicate blossom I could keep year round. (HR can't stop you from crafting during lunch!) Here's how I made a tissue paper cherry blossom using office supplies.

Step 1: Trace Your Petals

Find tissue paper at your office. Think outside the box! I promise you, there's tissue paper at your office. Perhaps you are super lucky and someone just had a birthday so there's tissue paper gift wrapping laying around. Find that girl who always orders shoes online and gets them sent to the office, she's got tissue paper. If you aren't that lucky but you still feel the irresistible urge to do this craft immediately, like me, go grab a tissue paper toilet seat protector. Hey! It's just paper! Do you want to craft or don't you? Sometimes I doubt your dedication to making cherry blossoms during your lunch hour.

Unscrew a pen and use the top to trace semi circles onto tissue paper. You only need 5 petals but make a few extra, trust me, just do it.

Step 2: Cut Out the Petals

Carefully cut out the petals. Marvel at your surgeon steady hands! If you don't have surgeon steady hands this craft is not for you! Don't forget to cut out a few extra.

Step 3: Dye Your Petals Pink

Go find a pink highlighter. Supply room!

Use the pink highlighter on the lower portion of your petal then immediately place the petal in a small amount of water. The ink from the highlighter will leech into the water and lightly dye the whole petal, but it will remain strongly where you used it at the base. Also, the petal will become almost invisible the second you put it in water.

Anyone who wears contact lenses will have a competitive edge completing this step and the next step.

Step 4: Dry Your Petals

Carefully, I mean EXTREMELY carefully, fish each petal out of the water and drape it over a sharpie. Use a long tack from your cubicle walls or perhaps a toothpick to help.

The petals are extremely fragile while they are wet. This is why you made extra. Keep trying until you have successfully draped 5 petals without tearing them.

Rethink your future as a hotshot surgeon!

Push the cup of sharpies away and let the petals dry. They dry in about half an hour. Ignore the looks from your coworkers, they will be jealous later when you have a cherry blossom and they don't.

Step 5: Cut Four Lengths of String

I had string at my desk. I have more string in my car. If you aren't weird like me, go ask someone who does shipping for some light cotton twine.

Cut four lengths of string.

Step 6: Dye the String

Fold each length of string in half and dip it into the pink water. Don't let it wick all the way up! You just want a hint of light pink but white at the top.

Step 7: Coat the Tips of the Strings With White Out.

Coat the tips of the strings with white out. Build it up a but in a few coats. It drys really fast!

Step 8: Add "pollen" to the Tips

Use a brown dry erase marker on the tips of the strings. This is why you used White out, so it doesn't wick and stays at just the tips.

Step 9: Make the Bottom of the Strings Burgundy

Use a red dry erase marker on the bottom of each string, flip it over and make sure the red is really in there.

Go over the same portion LIGHTLY using a brown dry erase marker. You want some red to show through, so it feels like a burgundy or deep wine color.

Step 10: Unravel the String

Twist the string until you see the three threads that make up your string and use a tack or toothpick to unravel the string halfway down. You will need to break apart the white out at the tip. Now you have lots of tiny stamens.

Step 11: Glue the Strings

Dash to the break room and grab a black coffee stirring straw. If you see your CEO in there just let him/her think you are too busy and important not to run, don't offer explanations to anyone!

Use a glue stick to thoroughly coat the bottom half of your strings. Twist all the bottoms together and stick it into a tiny black coffee stirring straw. Pinch the straw at the top for a sec to make sure the glue has good contact inside. Make sure some of the burgundy part is still visible. It should look like a weird little paint brush.

Pro tip: You can splay them all out and add more brown to the center if needed.

Step 12: Glue the Petals On

Use a glue stick on the bottom part of your petals and glue them to the outside of the straw. This is the moment when it finally looks like a cherry blossom. It's also the moment when your coworkers suddenly become jealous of your cherry blossom.

Step 13: Color the Stem

Use a brown dry erase marker on the part of the petals glued to the straw to blend them in.

Step 14: Enjoy!!

Stick it in your cup of pens and enjoy the beauty of a cherry blossom from this day forth! Feel the pride of accomplishment that can only come from creating something. Plus, if your office ever has a power outage you can make more of them to pass the time until power is restored. Perhaps someday you'll have a bunch of cherry blossoms!

If you make this please comment. I'd love to know how it turns out for you!