Our homeschool group is making Valentines for the local senior center and Meals On Wheels. The kids and I are contributing 70 of these little tissue paper/lollipop posies that we made. Here's how we did it...
Supplies:
tissue paper in a variety of colors
Dum Dum lollipops
floral tape
scissors
You'll need circles of tissue paper measuring 4-5 inches in diameter (doesn't have to be exact). We did this by cutting squares first, then rounding the corners to make circles.
We used a layer of 3 tissues per flower, you could use a couple more if you're so inclined.
To find the center of the circles, fold the set of three lightly in half first, then fold again to quarters. When you open it up, there'll be a little creased X in the middle.
Poke the Dum Dum lollipop through the creased X.
Gently gather the tissue at the top of the lolly, going slowly so as not to tear the tissue paper. Squeezing the paper at the top makes more wrinkles in the paper and looks more "petal-ish" when finished.
Pinch the base of the lolly really well and tight, so the floral tape can go on snugly.
Have you used floral tape before?
It can be a little tricky, but once you get the hang of it, I think it comes in handy for a lot of craft projects and gives things a nice finished look. You can get it in craft stores in green, white or brown depending upon your needs. Be sure to catch the tissue paper in the tape as you start. Just stretch a bit (1/2 inch?) at a time, wrap, stretch, wrap... going tightly down the stick at a diagonal. No worries if it tears, just press it on where you left off and continue to the bottom. Tear at the bottom when you're done. The kids did all the other work and I did the floral tape. Getting it nice and tight at the base keeps the tissue paper petals from getting too floppy.
Gently separate the paper petals and tweak until you have the flower shape you want.
I think they look like poppies!