ti leaf rose

Today, I made some ti leaf roses! I learned how in a lei making class in Hawaii, and I find it so amazing that you can make a beautiful rose like the ones in the picture out of a leaf! Here's what you need:

ti leaves or newspaper strips                                               string, yarn, or raffia

If you are using ti leaves, freeze them for two days and let them thaw before working with them.

Fold a ti leaf into thirds the long way.

Crease it so that it has a right angle.

Do the same thing on the other side so that you have a long tail and a short tail.

Roll along the crease nearest the short tail.











Fold the long tail behind itself.

Roll along the crease you just made. Keep repeating this until the long tail is about the same length as the short tail.

Tie the two tails together with yarn or string.

Make some more!








Other Ideas
You can make this kind of art out of lots of different materials. I've seen it done with not only ti leaves and newspaper, but also tissue paper, construction paper, and magazines. You can make bouquets out of flowers of an outrageous variation of materials and colors. I did 3 different colors in the bouquet above, and it looks really great! The choice is yours!