How to make paper roses

The red rose symbolizes love, and what better way to show it than to invite guests to a home filled with love by decorating with paper roses. Unlike real roses, paper roses will last longer than a few days. These maintenance-free flowers add a splash of color to any room.

Create a single rose or multiple roses with a few basic supplies. Consider getting kids involved with this craft for Valentine's Day, or help them create paper roses for any special occasion. Younger children may require supervision with scissors and a hot glue gun.

Materials
- Sheet of red construction paper
- Scissors
- Black marker
- Hot glue gun
- Glue stick
- Pencil
- Green craft wire

Instructions
1. Place a piece of red construction paper on a flat work surface. The paper should be in the landscape position.

2. Cut a strip of paper approximately 2 inches from the left side of the sheet. Start the cut from the bottom of the paper and work toward the top. Set the larger piece of paper aside.

3. Fold the strip of paper cut from the previous step. Fold the left side of the paper until it meets the middle; press down firmly.

4. Fold the right side of the paper until it meets the middle; press down firmly. Both sides of the paper should now meet in the middle.

5. Fold the paper in half; press down firmly to reveal the shape of a square.

6. Draw a circle in the center of the square with a black marker.

7. Cut the circle out of the folded paper to reveal four circles.

8. Repeat step 2 to step 7 with the paper set aside in Step 2. However, instead of cutting a 2-inch stripthis time, cut a 4-inch strip of paper—the larger strip of paper is necessary to make larger circles.

9. Collect all the circles cut from paper and set them aside.

10. Draw a skinny triangle on the unused portion of red paper.

11. Roll the paper to make a tube-like shape; glue the loose end of paper to the rest of the roll with hot glue.

12. Bend each circular piece of paper around a pencil. The goal is to make each circle look like a rose petal.

13. Grab the small paper tube made in step 11. Glue a 2-inch paper rose petal to the bottom of the tube.

14. Glue another small paper rose petal to the tube, across from the previous paper petal.

15. Continue gluing smaller paper rose petals; overlap petals to make the rose look full in appearance.

16. Glue larger paper rose petals to the base of the rose; fold the tips of these backwards slightly.

17. Pinch and bend rose petals to give the flower a more authentic look.

18. Glue green craft wire to the back of the rose. Allow the glue to dry.

19. Place the paper rose in a vase. Make additional roses following the steps above, if desired.