Making a wafer paper rose is a straightforward process of wrapping the petals around a center and creating overlapping rows.
For this flower, I used 1 1/2″ rounds and 2″ rounds for the petals, and I used a 1-inch center styrofoam ball.
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Materials needed to make wafer paper roses:
- 1″ styrofoam balls
- Wafer paper
- 1.5″ round paper punch
- 2″ round paper punch
- Vodka or water to wet the petals
- 22 gauge floral wire
Wafer paper supply list:
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- Wafer paper, white or colored
- Silicone flower center molds
- Petal veiners
- Petal dust
- Floral wire
- Tylose glue
- Fluffy paintbrushes
- Flower former
- Craft scissors
- Liquid Food Coloring
- Food-grade glycerin to make wafer paper conditioner
- Corn starch
- Flower paper punches
- Steamer to shape wafer paper
Start with the wafer paper rose center.
Start with a 1″ wide styrofoam ball for the center.
Insert the wire in the center and attach it by bending the wire or by using hot glue to attach it.
Cut out some 1.5″ rounds out of wafer paper.
Cover the top of the ball with a circle of wafer paper and moisten it to stick it to itself It probably won’t stick to the ball, but the next steps will hold it in place.
Wrap three more 1.5″ wafer paper circles around the center, facing the colored side out if the paper is printed. That way people will see the color around the center. The larger petals on the outside will face in so that people will see the color.
Continue wrapping the petals around the center
Create more layers of petals until the rose is formed into a bud size. This will be about 3 rows of petals.
The finished rose bud should be dried for a while to give the center time to dry securely.
Start adding larger petals.
The larger petals will go on the outside of the flower. Do two rows of about 4-5 petals that are cut and overlapped to create a slight curve in the petal. Make sure that the color of any printed paper faces toward the cupped side of the petal.
The cupped shape will fit around the bud and will start to give the flower an open shape.
Place the base of the petal right up against the wire at the base of the flower.
Wrap the petals around the flower, continuing all the way around to make two rows.
Alternate the petals so that they don’t line up exactly, and the overlapping will make the flower look more realistic.
These two rows should fit against the base of the flower at the wire.
When you’ve made two complete rows, you’ll have a fully-formed rose.
Add optional larger outer petals.
To add more width to the flower, add more rows of petals, but you don’t need to cup these.
For an article about making a more realistic wafer paper rose, click here.
You don’t need to place these against the wire, just arrange them so that they extend slightly farther than the previous rows.
Keep adding more petals as you go around the flower.
The final flower. To curl the outer petals, you can use steam to shape them.
Hold the rose over a pot of boiling water to soften the edges of the petals, and press them into a curled shape to make the edges rounded.
The final flower’s petals should be shaped, but the inner ones don’t need to be steamed unless you want to give them a little shape.
Be careful holding the wafer paper in hot steam, it can burn you!
