Creative ideas for Self Isolation: Making a Rose Brooch
Emily has always been interested in upcycling and learning new ways to minimise waste. She’s been looking at creative ways to use those materials we all have in our recycling bins, which also provides a creative outlet in these difficult times.
“With all the talk of toilet roll hoarding, I started to think about what I could make with the cardboard tubes. I did a bit of googling, and my rose brooch idea originated from this blog post by Accents and Petals.
I didn’t have enough tubes to make a whole posy of flowers as pictured in the blog above, but I did want to make it into something – so I decided on a brooch. Here’s how I made mine…”
Step 1: Cut out petals
Cut open a toilet roll tube, flatten it, draw four flower shapes (with 6 petals), then cut them out into the required pieces (as pictured) – making sure that each petal is distinct and has a cut between them.
Step 2: Curling the petal edges
Using the rounded tips of a pair of paper scissors (you could use a chopstick or cocktail stick instead), roll the edges of the petals.
Step 3: Petals & glue stick
Use a glue stick to attach the layers, starting with the whole flower, then the five petal one (gently ease the petals together to remove the gap and stick with a dab of glue). Repeat the process with the cone in the middle. I added a few more 3 petal layers, as I wanted a ‘fuller’ rose.
Step 4: Complete rose with leaf & paint
If you, like me, decide that you would like to add colour to the rose and also a leaf, then cut the leaf shape out of the same cardboard tube and colour it with an oil pastel (a crayon, pencil or pen would also work well). Then apply some nail varnish to colour the rose petals.
Step 5: Attaching the rose to the leaf
To attach the rose and leaf together, I used a decoupage sticker, but you could use glue or some sticky tape.
Step 6: Safety pin
To make your creation into a brooch, use a piece of sticky tape to attach a safety pin to the back. Before you attach it, make sure you position the safety pin at the angle you want the brooch to appear when wearing it.
I hope that you have a great time making your own brooch! Tag @PoplarUnion in photos of your creations!