Have you ever wanted flowers in a certain colour? And size? Trying to find them can be impossible and they may break the budget if you do finally hunt them down. I had the honour to make some wedding flowers for a 'quick' wedding plan. There was no time to shop around and the colour was not that typical, so I did what I usually do...made them.

Well, this is mind-blowing easy and can't really be any cheaper. Maybe you are accessorizing some bridal party so using some dress fabric will make it even more magical!

Simple supplies and a bit of time and you will be stunning everyone...

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

Doesn't everyone have a stash of old beads and baubles?! I just love to up-cycle whenever I can! Fake pearls and jewels are such nice accents to flowers.

To make these be-jewelled flowers you will need:

Some pearls (small, or large, anything can work)
Some faux plastic 'diamonds'
Some medium gauge wire for the stems
Some finer gauge wire for making loops
Pliers/needle nose and other
Polyester Fabric (taffeta works great) in the colour of your choice, 1/4 yard will yield you much for a bunch of flowers
A pair of Scissors
A Candle
Glue gun & glue sticks

Step 2: Making the Jewel Centres

Adding some 'bling' to the usual flowers makes all the difference and takes it into the modern design.

For the 'Loops'

thread some tiny pearls on a fine wire and twist ends.

For the 'Diamonds'

Using a longer stem length of heavier wire; heat it in the candle flame
Immediately plunge it into the back end of the gem
Hold until cooled (very well attached once cool)This will work for most plastic gems/[earls

Accent 'Poofs'

Satin Ribbon or Sheer Ribbon can be looped and twisted

Step 3: Making the Realistic Flower Petals

Make sure it is polyester fabric as a cotton will not work. Most lining and fancy fabrics are polyester. To make flower petals cut shapes from the fabric. Many varieties of shapes can work. For 'cabbage' roses; large shapes similar to circles or ovals work great. Make variations of the shape to look more realistic. If need be rip apart a real flower to see what shapes the petals are. Size variations will allow better layering as well

Once you have a bundle of petal shapes you will need to shape them. Light the candle and hold the edge of the fabric shape close enough to see it start to pucker and shrink from the heat of the candle (Do NOT let it catch fire, so be aware of your surroundings). Rotate it to get the effect all around each petal. This will also seal the edge of the fabric to help stop fraying.

Make a bunch of these 'cupped' petals depending on how many flowers you will make.

Step 4: Assemble Your Flowers

To assemble the flowers there are a few options. For the open roses that I made I used the bundled gems as the centre wire. Cut some small slits in the bottom of the petals allowing the petals to be threaded on this centre wire. Use the smaller petals first as it will be the middle and work round and round with larger petals. I help secure it with a dab of hot glue near the stem.

You will be amazed at how quickly the flower comes together and looks so realistic since the petals are all unique.

If you want to be extra unique you could also add some different colours and tones. Just like nature there is no limit to what can be done!

Step 5: Use Them in an Arrangement

Once you've made a few or a lot, you can now arrange them with some greenery or other flowers. Use floral foam and other sparkly bits...

Step 6: Or Make a Corsage/Boutonniere

On my list of wedding flowers was some corsages and Boutonnieres as well. A sprig of sparkly branches, a leaf and some ribbon made a great addition to the handmade flowers. My motto is always to keep it simple, and these fit the bill... oh actually super cheap bill!

If you want to have great flowers on practically no budget; check out my post where it ALL came together!

Most of all be creative... I know you can do it! And you will be so proud to say you made them!

If you like to make things that are not the typical web-rehash check out my thorough tutorials.