Paper flowers have been popping up everywhere now that spring is here.

Black Prism decided to put their own spin on it, which of course involved LEDs. ;)

We created these flowers for a commissioned art installation. Feel free to reach out if you're interested in us creating a mystical garden for your space!

http://blackprism.io

https://www.instagram.com/blackprismart/

Step 1: Materials, Tools, and Knowledge Needed

Materials needed:

Crepe paper (light colours work best)
Diamond craft mesh
LED circle
Power supply
Microcontroller
Level shifter
Tacky glue and hot glue

Tools needed:

Scissors
Soldering equipment
LED circuitry

We will go through the basic concepts and general idea of how to make these glowing flowers, with an assumption that you have some technical know-how with LEDs already.

Step 2: Create Base Dome

Use craft diamond mesh or chicken wire (craft mesh is a lot easier to handle for a project this scale!) to shape into a dome for your flower's base. I went for a dome with a flatter top, so that the light doesn't have to travel too far out the flower to be seen.

Cover with crepe paper (white works well) and glue.

Step 3: Cut Strips of Crepe Paper

Using crepe paper, cut long strips of varying sizes. These were about 18" long, 1 1/2" tall, and 18" long, 1/2" tall.

Decorate the strips (optional). You can stain white paper with watercolour ink, or bleach coloured paper to get the effect you see in these photos.

Step 4: Cut Out Petal Shape

The petals in the middle of the flower will be the smallest, so we'll use the shortest strip.

Fold your paper in half, and then in half again. Do this until you get to the size of the petal you want. Cut out a petal shape.

Curl them in without creasing completely and gue onto the middle of your base.

Step 5: Repeat With Larger Petals

Cut larger petals (don't fold them this time).

Glue onto your base.

Step 6: Install LEDs

We used these, and removed the outer two rings. Use whatever size will fit inside your base.

Step 7: Cap Base

Use green crepe paper to make the flower's calyx.

Use the craft mesh to cap the base of the flower. Cut your desired shape into the green crepe paper and glue to the mesh. Make sure to leave a bit of a hole for the wire connector.