peonies, anytime.

who doesn't love peonies?  i just wished they lasted all summer.

it's a shame they only bloom for such a short time.

wanna know how to have them on your table all year long?

i made these from tissue paper, yes tissue paper.

aren't they cool. i can't believe how sorta real they look.

and just how easy they are to make.

i found the directions here , but i didn't follow their measurements exactly,

i just experimented until i found the sizes i liked.

to make these lovely ladies you really only need some thin wire & tissue paper.  

(if you want to add stems to them, i just used some craft sticks and green floral tape.)

i picked out the colors that i thought best represented the colors of peonies.

speaking of tissue paper...since i only had white, i took a trip to my mom's house because she has a ridiculous amount of tissue paper.  just look at that stash!!!

basically you just layer the tissue (the more layers you use, the fluffier it gets)

i used around 10 to 12.  

then, just like in grade school when you made those accordian fans out of construction paper,

you just fold the tissue and crease.

then wrap your wire around the middle and twist.

next clip the ends off in either a point or curve, depending on what you want it to look like.

i think mine ended up being a little of both...(crappy scissors) 

then, just start pulling the tissue apart and fluffing.

(this is where you need a wee bit of patience!)

to add a stem, hold your stick just under the flower and start wrapping the wire in with the floral tape.

easy, smeasy!

and since you can't stick em in water, i plunked my down in a vase full of white beans, cause that's how i roll.

who says you can't have a polka-dot peony!

or a ginormous one. 

i hung mine from a chandelier, and in the process did this.  oops!

wouldn't these look cool in a girls bedroom hanging from the ceiling with fishing line, in all sorts of fun colors and sizes.

well i must go,  i have to feed my fake flower addiction some more.