Faux Paper Plants

Some plants and petals are so detailed and intricate with their designs, colors, and patterns that they look as though they have been hand painted!

Here are some plants and flowers I have found as examples of this:

PLANTS: 

Hypoestes phyllostachya

"poika dot plant"

Calthea

Varieties: Calathea Makoyana, Calthea Orbifolia, Calethea Medallian, Calethea Lancifolia

                      

Fittonia Albevenis

               

Begonia Maculata

Coleus

Croton Petra

Caladium

Sansevieria (snake plant)

Go Here...

SUCCULENTS

Zebra haworthia (Haworthia attenuata)

FLOWERS

Tiger Lily

Orchids

CRITERIA-

-Choose actual plant that you want to replicate.

If you choose one not on the blog, it must be approved by teacher. 

(must have pattern on petals/leaves and be multi-colored. 

Should look like a painted petal/leaf)

-Make a plant or flowers with at least 5 parts with:

coffee filters, green card-stock, construction paper, or white computer paper. 

-Each part needs to be paper with pattern added to it with :

markers, acrylic markers, colored pencils, Prisma colors, or crayon. 

-You must use creative strategy with the materials given to build/attach the leaves/petals together with:

glue, hot glue, pipe cleaners, dowel rods, or sticks from outside. 

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1. Pick Your plant

2. Pick your base color paper. 

3. Cut out the shape of your leaf. 

*if you fold it, it will be symmetrical.

3. Draw/paint/color on your designs. 

*you may have to use mixed mediums to get the look you want. 

I used Posco paint markers (didn't cover well), 

I used black crayon to fill in, Prisma colored pencils to get most of the details. 

4. Attach your leave/flower to the stem.

(pipe cleaner, wire, dowel stick, ect. ). 

5. Insert into vase. 

You may need to stuff your vase with something heavy or fluffy to keep your stems up. 

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Need ideas and inspiration on 

HOW TO START?

Watch some of these...

We made these before our plants and will put them into the vases after completion. 

CONNECTED "Lost Sock" PROJECTS

Decorative Cardboard Vases

https://tabithaannthelostsock.blogspot.com/2026/01/decorative-cardboard-vase.html

Decorative Cardboard Vase

 

Advance Art Student Vases

After learning about various methods of constructing cardboard, we will not make a 

DECORATIVE VASE.

LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION

Find and idea(s) that give YOU ideas. 

What shape, design, pattern, colors do you like?

Do you want your vase pretty, funny, modern,

 abstract, in the shape of an animal?

plaidonline.com (above)

MAKING THE FORM

Choose a vase shape you would like to make. 

Use paper to draw a stencil of your vase shape. 

This will. be the front and back of your vase. 

If you want it symmetrical, fold it in the middle and draw half the design. 

Put your stencil onto cardboard and trace it 2 times. 

STUDENT CONSTRUCTION ZONE

Taping the front and back to side strips... 

Cut strips long enough to go from top to bottom of the vase front and back. 

Make them as wide as you need to be the sides of the vase. 

*I would suggest at least 2 inches. If it is too skinny, it may fall over. 

Tape the strips to the sides of the vase. 

MAKING THE FORM

ADVANCED ALTERNATIVE-

Make 4 (instead of 2) shapes to make it more dimensional. 

Doing this, you would leave off the side strips. 

(See below)

PAPER MACHE 

Use a water and glue mixture with strips of paper towel 

to go over the seams of the vase where the tape was.

 Let this dry. 

Students applying the paper mache... 

PAINT & DECORATE

Go over the vase entirely with one color that you want as a BASE. 

If you want big bold designs instead of small ones, you can continue to use paint and brush. 

If you want one base color and more intricate details, 

decorate the rest with Acrylic Paint Pens.

I drew my designs in first with pencil and sharpie. 

Then I painted over for base color. 

Below, I used a light orange BASE for my cat and a white BASE for my other. 

I used paint pens for all the details.