Lily-of-the-Grunge

My father was the one who initially taught me how to fold origami. I can still remember waiting impatiently while he folded me yet another paper basket so I could pretend to go on a picnic. I gradually learned to make paper fox puppets, mail boxes, whales and swans out of scrap paper. As I grew older, I started attempting more complicated patterns like scorpions and dinosaurs but in recent years, I have mainly been interested in making origami flowers.

Paper flowers are versatile as decorations and crafting embellishments. I have been wowed by elaborate Oribana flower arrangements and have been tempted to make my own. Lately, time has been my enemy for this ambition but because I had a few minutes to spare today, I thought I would make a start.

I was surprised by this lily-of-the-grunge-look that I managed to achieve by gluing the flowers on the ends of some straightened paper clips and putting the whole ensemble in a can. I plan on wrapping the wire in floral tape later on, cutting out leaves and creating a full bouquet. For now, I will enjoy this blooms-in-a-concrete-jungle feel.

A close up so you can see all that lovely detail in standard printer paper. : )

There is almost a light-from-heaven-upon-Easter-lilies effect in this shot. I thought it looked interesting.