Bridal Showers & May Flowers

A few weeks ago I was honored to help throw a wedding shower for one of my best friends, Murphy! (Check out her YouTube channel here!) With the help of two other friends, we planned a special day for the bride-to-be. One of the responsibilities I was given in preparation of the shower was the decorations- and of course, I saw this as the perfect DIY opportunity! Hand crafted decorations always add a special touch to any party. I had made these tissue paper flowers for other occasions in the past, but this time I gave them a unique twist by making them into garlands! The garlands made for the perfect springtime wedding shower decorations and added bright pops of color to other white and gold decorations, like the the custom "Future Mrs. Blosil" banners. I made those with some flag garlands I found at Michael's and some gold letter decals. They were so simple to make and added something personal for the bride! As for the flower garlands, they require a few more steps than the banners, but they are so easy to make as well! They only require three materials and although they are a bit more time consuming than just buying decorations, they are a lot less costly and give you a fun activity! Keep reading to see how you can make the paper flower garlands for yourself and for more snapshots of how they looked at the party!

Here's what you'll need:
- Tissue paper - I alternated between light pink, white, and this
                          pink ombre paper I found at Micheal's
- Scissors
- Bakers Twine - I also found this at Micheal's in their $1 bins! It comes in all different colors!

First cut the tissue paper into small rectangular pieces. For bigger flower I used around 8" X 10"sized paper and for smaller flowers I used around 5" X 10" sized paper.

Next, layer 5 to 6 sheets of paper on top of each other. For the ombre paper, I alternated which way the darker side of the paper faced so that the color was spread throughout the finished flowers.

Starting on one of the shorter sides of the paper, accordion fold the tissue paper the whole way down.

Holding the folded paper together, use your scissors to round each end of the paper. This will give the petal shape to the flowers!

Next, cut a very small triangle in the center of the folded paper on each of the long sides. Make sure they do not cut through to each other or your flower will fall apart!

Now, we will cut the bakers twine! You can cut the twine as long or as short as you want depending on how long you want your garland to be. I pulled the twine out to be a full arms span from finger tip to finger tip.

Taking one end of the twine, leave a small amount at the end to be able to hang the garland up, then tie the twine around the folded paper right in the grooves we created by cutting out the small triangles. Secure it with a double knot!

Now comes the best part! Make your flowers bloom by simply pulling apart the layers of the tissue paper and evenly space them out, fluffing them as you go!

You're on your way to a whole paper flower garland! Repeat these steps, alternating the color and size of the tissue paper, and continue tying the flowers down the whole length of the twine as seen below!

One of my favorite parts about this project is that no two garlands come out exactly alike! The variety of colors and sizes of flowers adds a unique touch to these adorable decorations. I made about six different garlands to be hung throughout the party space. Take a look below to see how I styled them for the wedding shower and then be sure to try making them for yourself!!

Thanks for reading!