Water Lily Sculpture
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This paper water lily sculpture is as beautiful as it is simple. It involves cutting, scoring, folding, and layering paper before you glue it to a lilypad base. You can make the baseboard from a single sheet of card stock. You glue two rows of petals into place on top of the baseboard, along with some paper leaves. The finished result is an elegant water lily with a layered look that defies the simplicity of its construction.
2 to 3 sheets of thin white card Ruler Pencil and eraser Scissors or a sharp craft knife
Cutting mat White school glue and glue spreader
1. Copy the templates from Figure 9-1 onto a sheet of card and cut them out.
Three parts make up the flower: the large outer petals, the small inner petals, and the
stamen. Copy the templates as accurately as possible. Then cut them out to create patterns
that you’ll trace around in the next step.
2. Draw around the petal and stamen patterns you created in Step 1.
The final flower has six of the large outer petals and six of the small inner petals. Draw around each petal pattern six times, each time carefully lining up the pattern with the outline you’ve just drawn. Erase part of the lines where the petals touch each other to make them dashed — these are score lines. Trace around the stamen pattern three times, creating three separate pieces.
3. Draw a tab on each of the petal parts and stamen as well as a tab to close the petal shapes.
Look at the petals in Figure 9-2. Draw a small tab on the base of each petal as shown and also draw a tab to close the petals.
4. Score along the dotted lines and cut out the petal and stamen parts.
Cut in toward the center of the cuts to get the best quality cuts. If you cut outward from the corners, the card tends to twist, leaving unwanted kinks in your work.
5. Glue the petals together and glue them to the center of a sheet of card.
Glue down the tab that closes each set of petals, creating two rings of petals. The two sets of petals fit one inside the other. Fold the tabs from the outer petals outward and those from the inner petals inward; glue them to a sheet of card (your baseboard).
6. Glue together the stamen parts and glue them into the center of the flower.
The stamen is made of three identical stamen pieces. Fold two of them in half and glue two halves together; then glue the third stamen piece into place so that it touches the other two stamen pieces. Glue the finished stamen into the center of the flower.
7. Finish the model by adding two or three large leaves to the base piece of card stock.
Cut out some large lilypad leaves; don’t worry if they hang over the edge of the baseboard.
Glue them down and then trim off the excess to look like this.
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Tools and Materials
2 to 3 sheets of thin white card Ruler Pencil and eraser Scissors or a sharp craft knife
Cutting mat White school glue and glue spreader
1. Copy the templates from Figure 9-1 onto a sheet of card and cut them out.
Three parts make up the flower: the large outer petals, the small inner petals, and the
stamen. Copy the templates as accurately as possible. Then cut them out to create patterns
that you’ll trace around in the next step.
2. Draw around the petal and stamen patterns you created in Step 1.
The final flower has six of the large outer petals and six of the small inner petals. Draw around each petal pattern six times, each time carefully lining up the pattern with the outline you’ve just drawn. Erase part of the lines where the petals touch each other to make them dashed — these are score lines. Trace around the stamen pattern three times, creating three separate pieces.
3. Draw a tab on each of the petal parts and stamen as well as a tab to close the petal shapes.
Look at the petals in Figure 9-2. Draw a small tab on the base of each petal as shown and also draw a tab to close the petals.
4. Score along the dotted lines and cut out the petal and stamen parts.
Cut in toward the center of the cuts to get the best quality cuts. If you cut outward from the corners, the card tends to twist, leaving unwanted kinks in your work.
5. Glue the petals together and glue them to the center of a sheet of card.
Glue down the tab that closes each set of petals, creating two rings of petals. The two sets of petals fit one inside the other. Fold the tabs from the outer petals outward and those from the inner petals inward; glue them to a sheet of card (your baseboard).
6. Glue together the stamen parts and glue them into the center of the flower.
The stamen is made of three identical stamen pieces. Fold two of them in half and glue two halves together; then glue the third stamen piece into place so that it touches the other two stamen pieces. Glue the finished stamen into the center of the flower.
7. Finish the model by adding two or three large leaves to the base piece of card stock.
Cut out some large lilypad leaves; don’t worry if they hang over the edge of the baseboard.
Glue them down and then trim off the excess to look like this.