I'm still messing around with table decorations for that afternoon tea on Saturday, and, for me, it's all about what I can do with what I (or my friends and family!) already have on hand.
One of my Seesters let me cut a few blooms from her azalea bush to use in my floral centerpiece.
And I cut some scalloped round placemats out of paper for additional color.
I tried two different papers before I decided to go with the green, and I got to looking at the scraps which were left after cutting off the corners.
They made me think of those azalea blossoms.
And I wondered if I could make some paper azalea blossoms for a spot in the tablescape which was needing color.
I got out a few supplies...
...and did a little free-form cutting.
I used the large scallop edge scissors for the petals, but I cut them with the negative side of the scallop toward the inside.
I crinkled up the bottom part of the petals, but did not wire them individually.
I did wire the leaves individually.
And, pretty quickly, I had a pile of possizaleas.
I made a loop in one end of a 5" piece of wire and...
...wrapped it in floral tape.
I'll just stop here to say I really appreciate floral tape.
I made a few loops with my heavy-duty black thread...
...and started assembling flowers.
Loops first, a couple of petals, the top leaf, the rest of the petals, and then the bottom leaf.
In much less time than it took the OKC Thunder to beat the LA Lakers, I had eight complete flowers.
Whether or not they look like azalea blossoms may be debatable.
But, with the addition of a few pins, I now have eight paper corsages and...
...the color I needed for that plain space.
Don't let anyone tell you that cutting corners is a negative thing.