Secretary of the Interior

Like most girls, I love flowers. I'm most happy when there are fresh-cut blooms adorning all the nooks in our home. But, let's be real. I don't have enough cash to constantly keep beautiful flowers all around the house. However, I have found a wonderful DIY alternative to fresh-cut flowers.

Do you see the flowers on my kitchen island?  They look like they could be gorgeous roses, carnations, or maybe even peonies.
 

But don't be fooled—I made those out of tissue paper and you can, too!

If you decide to undertake this fun DIY project you will need the following:

1. Some sort of glass with a diameter you like
2. Floral ball (mine was purchased at Wal-Mart)
3. Container (mine was a milk glass flower pot I already had)
4. Tissue Paper (4 whole sheets, folded once)
5. Floral Wire
6. Push Pin
7. Scissors
 

Let's get to the DIY details!

1. Trace  the diameter of the glass as many times that will fit on the tissue  paper. (I used the sheets you see here and about 1/2 of another set)

2.  Cut the circles out and push the pin through the circles (all 8 layers of them) twice.
 

3.  Thread the floral wire through the holes and twist underneath like you're making a stem.
 

4.  Push up the tissue paper one sheet at a time in the shape of petals...the more random, the better.
 

5.  Near the end, your flower should look pretty similar to this.  This time, I cut the floral wire to about 3 inches on the end.
 

6.  Push the wire into the foam and arrange the bottom layer first.  Then fill in the rest, row by row.
 

Ta-da! You're left with a bunch of blooms that never need water or pruning! Plus, most people have to take a triple glance to believe they're not real!
 

Joi Svezia is the owner of Nuestra Vida Dulce, a blog on home decorating and DIY projects. She has been featured on "The Nate Berkus Show" and appears regularly on "Great Day St. Louis."