Day 118-Paper napkin rose for an absent crafter.

So due to a slight miscalculation of timing, Bronwyn is currently on an airplane and won't be able to attend to her regular posting duties. So it's guest crafty Andee here again filling in on day 118.

I decided to make a paper rose tonight. It's a piece of craft I learned many years ago and I suspect many people know it, but if you don't I think it's really easy and sweet, and can come in really handy in certain situations.

Start with a plain paper napkin.

Roll it around two fingers until you have a tube.

This part can be trickier then it looks, but use both hands to "even out" the ends and you shouldn't have too much trouble.

It doesn't need to be perfect, but try to get at least the end with your finger fairly neat.

Some napkins, like the one I'm using, have a strong "grain" to them along which they tear a lot easier then against. The tear you can see away from my fingers is where I was testing the grain, you want to make the rose so the grain is along the tube, the tear i made was across the grain.

Once you have the tube, pinch it tightly with your other hand about five or so centimeters from the end.

Now carefully but firmly twist the napkin tightly into a "stem"

Once you've started the stem, make a tear along the edge of the napkin like in the next picture. Use your fingertips to make the tear piece by piece, if you try to do it in one go, you're unlikely to get the desired shape.

This will become the "leaf". Once you have the tear, simply continue twisting the rest of the napkin tightly into a stem and just be a little mindful not to ruin the leaf as you go.

In the end you should end up with something like this:

There are a few variations and a little more tweaking you can do if you want to make an extra special rose, if you're interested I encourage you to investigate further, however I think this is the simplest version and yet still very effective..

Your next post should be from a Bronwyn in America!

Craft out.