DIY: Easy coffee filter flowers

I may be dating myself, but the first record I ever owned was Marie Osmond’s “Paper Roses.” To this day, I’m still obsessed with flowers made of paper. They add a festive touch to home décor, parties or even gift packaging. And they last forever.

I’ve made flowers out of tissue paper, book pages and comic books — they all have their unique charms. But flowers made of coffee filters are all the rage on craft and lifestyle blogs, so I thought I’d give them a try. I can see why they’re so popular. Coffee filters are cheap (150 of them for a dollar at 99 Cents Only Stores), durable even when wet and easy to dye.

This being my first time working with coffee filters, I experimented with a method that would be easy, yet still produce big, fluffy flowers. And it worked! The ones pictured here are the real honest-to-goodness first coffee filter flowers I’ve ever made. It shows that if a novice like me can do it, anyone can.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Coffee filters (basket style, 8-12 cup size)
Dye or food coloring
Scissors
Masking tape
Skewer or chopstick

1. Dye the coffee filters

Using a liquid dye (such as Rit) or food coloring, tint the coffee filters with the hues of your choice. Wring out excess moisture from the filters, and let them dry in the oven set at the lowest temperature. Even stacked up, the filters will dry completely within about 15 minutes. You also can leave the filters white if you wish.

2. Fold the coffee filters

For seven of the coffee filters, fold them in half, then into quarters, and then into eighths. (In other words, fold them three times.) For two of the coffee filters, fold them in half, then into quarters, then into eights, and then once more into sixteenths. Cut the top of each folded filter into a curved petal shape.

3. Line them up on masking tape

Tear off a piece of masking tape that is about 12 inches long. Place the strip of tape on your work surface with the sticky side up. Then line up the folded coffee filters with the pointed end on the sticky side of the tape. Working left to right, position the two filters folded into sixteenths first, and continue with the other seven. They should overlap, with about a half-inch space between the pointed ends.

4. Roll up with a skewer

Place a skewer or chopstick on the left end of the tape and start rolling it up in the tape. As the skewer gets rolled up, the coffee filter petals also roll up in the tape. Pinch the tape into the petals as you go to make sure they stick really well.

5. Finish taping the petals

With any extra tape, secure the bottoms of the petals so they don’t flop down. You can also add additional tape if you need it. The folded coffee filter petals look a little funny at this point, but the flower will blossom in the final step.

6. Fluff the petals

Spread out the petals with your fingers to add volume. Push the pedals in different directions — there’s no right or wrong way for how they should look. Don’t fluff up the two folded coffee filters in the center of the flower. Those petals should stay closed. Place the finished flowers in a vase, and sit back to admire your handiwork while enjoying a cup of coffee.

Jonathan Fong is the author of “Walls That Wow,” “Flowers That Wow” and “Parties That Wow,” and host of “Style With a Smile” on YouTube. You can see more of his do-it-yourself  projects at jonathanfongstyle.com.