Geometric Rose.

Hello again! This is Amy Johnson from Maker Mama, and I’m thrilled to be sharing another fun project here at The Southern Institute today! I love a good upcycled craft supply challenge (I’m a recyclables hoarder), so when I was playing with the supplies for today’s project I was thrilled to discover this geometric rose in my hands. My muse for this project?…

…Cardboard frame corners. I’m like a moth to a flame when it comes to oddly shaped recyclables, and I knew I’d eventually find something to make with these (and it’s really fun stacking them, you should try it). You’ll need eight frame corners for your rose, and a little red paint to pretty it up.

The basic idea is to undo the tabs of each corner piece so you can reconnect them.

The rose is made up of three layers. The bottom layer has four pieces (bottom left), the middle has three (bottom right), and then you use a single corner piece for the top. To connect the bottom and middle layers, insert each tab into its neighboring piece until they’re all connected.

All you have to do is insert each layer inside the previous one, and you have yourself a rose!

If you want to paint your roses read (tee-hee), then I recommend laying each piece flat and adding your color first. I used a red base, and then added some sparkly paint on top. I also liked the way it looked without painting the inner layer of the rose. Feel free to paint yours any color you want. And for some staying power, I also recommend gluing the layers together.

This would make a sweet and artsy Valentine’s Day gift, and a dozen of these costs less and lasts longer than the real thing (although they won’t smell as good).