If you missed it, we just launched our Lime Ricki swimsuit collection on Tuesday and the response has been overwhelming! Thank you all for your support! The collection is inspired by Brazil, one of my favorite countries, where I lived for 2 years. One of the suits features the gorgeously inspiring passion fruit flower. I decided to make some oversized passion fruit flowers out of paper for our photoshoot and LOVE how they turned out! I thought they would make a great party decoration, especially if you’re going for a tropical vibe or just want something fun and punchy. You could certainly scale it down and make some as a bouquet or garland or something. I think I’m going to try it out myself sometime and have them decorating our office! Here’s the full DIY!
Passion fruit flowers
The passion fruit flower, scientifically known as Passiflora edulis, is a mesmerizing sight to behold. With its intricate design and vibrant hues, it effortlessly commands attention. The flower boasts a complex structure, comprising five delicate petals in shades ranging from snowy white to pale pink, contrasted by filaments of deep purple and a prominent pistil at its center. This intricate dance of colors and shapes serves as an irresistible invitation to pollinators, enticing them with promises of nectar and pollen.
Beyond its aesthetic appeal, the passion fruit flower plays a crucial role in the fruit’s life cycle. It serves as the precursor to the luscious passion fruit, acting as the conduit through which pollination occurs. Interestingly, this flower employs a unique mechanism to ensure successful fertilization. With its fragrant aroma and vivid colors, it attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, which inadvertently aid in the transfer of pollen from stamen to stigma, thus facilitating the formation of fruit.
Culturally, the passion fruit flower holds significance in various parts of the world. In some regions, it symbolizes love and passion, while in others, it carries religious connotations, representing Christ’s crucifixion due to its intricate floral anatomy, which is particularly appropriate for this time of year. Additionally, the flower’s versatility extends beyond its ornamental value. In certain cultures, it is utilized in traditional medicine for its purported medicinal properties, ranging from calming effects to digestive aid.
Despite its fleeting existence, the passion fruit flower leaves an indelible mark on those fortunate enough to behold its splendor. Its ephemeral beauty serves as a reminder of nature’s boundless creativity and the interconnectedness of all living beings. Whether admired for its aesthetic appeal, revered for its cultural significance, or cherished for its role in sustaining biodiversity, the passion fruit flower continues to captivate hearts and minds worldwide, a true testament to the enduring power of botanical wonders.
Tutorial
Difficulty:
BeginnerTime:
1 hour (will take less time the more you do it)Materials
- Template
- Heavy or medium weight crepe paper
- Glue gun
- 2 pound wire
- Wire cutters
- Backer rod (3.5′ per flower)
- Pencil
- Scissors
- 8″ circle
- Duck tape
- 5 pieces of 12″ x 12” scrapbook paper for each leaf set
- 5 pieces of 18 gauge floral wire per each leaf set
- royal blue crepe paper
- ivy green crepe paper
- natural rose
Instructions
To make the flower
-
Cut out 8 of the petal templates with the grain of the crepe paper going vertically. Gently stretch the petals so that they curl in the middle. The shape should curl inwards to the flower.
- Cut out an 8” circle out of the same colored paper on cardstock.
- Glue the petals to the circle where indicated on the template. Squeeze them a bit together at the base and have them curl around the center. You can also adjust this at the end.
- To make the fringe, cut an 8” wide stripe of crepe going against the grain and gently stretch it out. Cut 6.5” strips into the grain of the crepe. Twist the strips so that they turn into fringe. Glue them into the center of the flower in 2-3” sections. Curl the base of the fringe with your scissors so that they curl into the center.
- Cut out a circle out of crepe paper to cover the edges of the petals on the center of the flower.
- Cut out a 5” width rectangle and about 5” long on the crepe paper going against the grain. Form it into a cylinder like a toilet paper roll and glue together. Make ¾” slits at the bottom and glue those to the center of the flower.
- Cut 5, 7” strips of crepe paper going with the grain of the crepe paper.
- Cut out 5 bean shapes out of crepe and glue them to the ends of the strips. Curl the strips with your scissors so that they curl out of the toilet paper roll. Glue the strips into the toilet paper roll shaped. Make sure they look like they are curling out of the roll.
- Fluff the flower. Make sure the petals are curling inward.
To make the stems
- Cut out a piece of crepe paper about ¾” thick going against the grain. Gently stretch out the paper. You’ll need several of these strips to wrap around the stem.
- Use the 2 pound wire and cut about a 3.5-4’ piece. You’ll want it to be curly so no need to straighten it out.
- Attach the backer rod to the wire. Leave a 4” section of the wire blank and then start wrapping the crepe paper around the wire/backer rod. Secure with glue at the base. When you run out, glue another piece of crepe paper on. Glue at the end.
- Secure the 5” bare wire to the back of the flower head. Tape with duck tape. Add on a piece of cardstock onto the tape so you can’t see it either in rectangle or circle shape.
- Each flower should have at least 1-2 additional tendrils. Part way through the stem wrapping, add in another swirly piece of 2-3‘ wire, but this time no backer rod, in while you wrap. You’ll wrap this piece of wire separately with crepe paper. This will help the flower to feel more swirly wirly.
To make the leaves
- Use the template to make 5 leaves
- Glue a piece of floral wire to the back of the center of the flower about 4-5” from the end.
- You can wrap a small piece of crepe paper around each piece of wire. I didn’t do that for this one, but if you’re worried about seeing the wire, do that now. The crepe paper should be about ¾” going against the grain.
- To form to cluster of leaves, start with the longest leaf in the middle. Add on a second leaf onto the side and wrap them around.
- Add on a third leaf on the opposite side of the middle leaf and wrap together.
- Add on another leaf below it angling it into the middle of the cluster. Repeat on the other side.
- Now with a piece of ¾” crepe paper cut against the grain, dab a glue at the top and wrap around the stems all the way down.
Variations of the passion fruit flower
I took a lot of liberties with the colors, obviously, but the first one I tried was more realistic, with the accurate colors of the flower, which shows that you can do whatever you want! You can make the petals smaller, wider, longer, whatever!
