DIY: Flower Tea Lights

Remember all the giant paper flowers from this fun wedding I shared this morning? Well, Brittany is sharing a super cute diy to make paper flower tea lights – so whimsical + fun! From Brittany, “After making hundreds, perhaps thousands, of paper flowers, just before the wedding we found out that the reception site wouldn’t have much lighting at night so we decided that somehow we needed some lighting on each table. Candles combined with paper flowers was just not a good idea so we had to opt for battery-operated tea lights. My sweet sister came up with the model and my mom got to work recreating.” This is how it goes:

Supplies:
Your choice of colored paper for the petals. We used Canson art papers from our local art supply store and they were really great about reordering when we needed more of a certain color.
Black paper, Yellow paper, Green paper for leaves
scissors
pencil
battery-operated tea light
glue gun
x-acto knife

Cut a 5 1/2″ circle with your choice of colored paper for the petals. I choose red here. Scallop the edges making sure it’s uneven.

Cut 1 3/4 inches into the circle evenly 8 times.

Shape the petal by squeezing the two sides together and gently bending them in.

Cut a 2″ circle with the black paper.

Cut evenly around the circle about 1/8″ apart to create the “stamen” of the center of the flower.

Round up the cut edges with the edge of some scissors.

Cut a 1 1/2″ yellow circle and do the same as you did to the black.

Glue both in place into the center of the flower. You might consider placing the glue on the perimeter of the centers as you’ll need to cut through them in the next step.

With an x-acto knife, cut an “x” in the center of the flower where the tea light will peak through.

The tea light should stay secure without glue but add if necessary.

Cut 4″ leaves. Any shape goes.

Fold the center of the leaf but stop about an inch before the edge to give it shape.

Glue leaves to the bottom of the flower.

Turn on light and voilá! Brittany placed about 3 – 5 on each table setting and it really added that much needed light and charm. Good luck!